Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the "Regina Coeli" from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 2, 2021. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Is Pope Francis a populist? The simple answer is no. A better answer is necessarily more complicated.
But, someone might ask, does it really matter? As a matter of fact, it matters a lot–at least if you’re trying to understand where this sometimes controversial pontiff wishes to lead the Church.
One reason why the question isn’t open to a simplistic response arises from the fact that “populist” and “populism” cover a bewildering range of individuals and political systems. In the U.S., for instance, Andrew Jackson, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders have all been called populists.
In general, populism is a way of doing politics that exalts “the people” ln opposition to an “elite” said to be oppressing them–Wall Street, the denizens of the Washington “Swamp”, segregationist populist George Wallace’s “pointy-headed liberals” or whoever it might be.
The question of the Pope’s relationship to populism arises naturally in light of a conference in London last month (cosponsored by the U.S. Catholic Campaign for Human Development) inspired by his recent book Let Us Dream (Simon & Schuster). In a video message to the gathering, Francis called for “a politics with the people, rooted in the people.”
That has obvious populist resonances. Given populism’s mixed record, it’s fair to ask where the Pope himself stands.
In Fratelli Tutti. the encyclical “on fraternity and social friendship” that he published last year, he presents a mixed picture: on the one hand, “popular” leaders who truly reflect “the feelings and cultural dynamics of a people” and, on the other hand, demagogues who exploit people for their own advantage or appeal to “the basest and most selfish inclinations of certain sectors of the population.”
The Pope’s concern for these matters goes back years–in fact, all the way back to the late 1960s when he was a youngish Jesuit provincial in Argentina and Catholic thinkers there were developing what came to be called la teologia del pueblo, the theology of the people.
In a study called The Roots of Pope Francis’s Social and Political Thought (Rowman & Littlefield) political scientist Thomas R. Rourke speaks of the “reverential attitude toward” the people shaping this theological movement: “In Latin America, despite the negative dimensions of colonization, the simple faithful had in many ways throughout their history incarnated the gospel in their culture.”
Although, as Rourke points out, Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., the future pope, was not an academic theologian, he shared this way of thinking. His attitude is suggested–though not in a political context–in a remark the author quotes: “When you want to know what to believe, go to the Magisterium. When you want to know how to believe, go to the faithful people. The Magisterium will teach you who Mary is, but the faithful people will teach you how to love Mary.”
A half-century later, Francis is still thinking that way. “The true response to the rise of populism is precisely not more individualism but quite the opposite: a politics of fraternity, rooted in the life of the people,” he told the London conference.
Populism, politics of fraternity–the danger is sentimentalizing “the people” while ignoring the fact that, in a demagogue’s hands, the people can be as self-absorbed and wreak as much havoc as any elite. Which may be why Francis felt is necessary to add this caution: “I like to use the term popularism.”
So, no populist he, but a popularist. In his mind, there’s a big difference. Just how big may be the real question.
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Pope Francis boards his flight to Geneva June 21, 2018. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
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Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
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Today marks the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 265th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. . Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23–28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19–22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22–27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26–31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30–Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12–13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27–Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15–21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25–26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. . Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3–28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22–27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21–24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6–27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5–8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2–6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24–30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31–Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
“This sometimes controversial pontiff” is popular with the Left and never controversial, and is clearly controversial with the Right who struggle, many torn between allegiance to the Chair and Apostolic Tradition the two allegiances drifting apart to the point of contradictory beliefs. Why might we say this if not the facts. Two are outstanding, the refusal to respond to the Dubia on vital questions of practice, and the current ambivalence by this Pontiff on the German apostasy. The latter now come to a head with the refusal of German bishops to comply with Catholic doctrine now focused on blessing of immoral same sex relationships. If Pope Francis does not unequivocally defend the faith and if necessary provide a declaration of excommunication for Bishops Felix Genn of Münster and Georg Bätzing German Bishops Conference president that reluctance substantiates the questions posed by the Dubia cardinals. What is come to fore unless we witness a remarkable change is the machinations of a master manipulator. We can’t hedge any longer on what we’re confronted with, it’s no longer a question of where a pontiff stands when the Church has become increasingly an image of the author’s convictions explicated in Amoris Laetitia rather than Christ.
The difference between “populist” and “popularist”?
Giving full attention to our common Human Nature, rather than not; and thinking of the deep infiltration of self-inflicted original sin versus the other and gratuitous origin of supernatural grace; and thinking cross-culturally…
Is it just possible that, at least sometimes, people are more unalike than alike? What then is the danger of implicit bias, either way and probably both (unalike/alike), in setting public policy?
Small wonder that the Catholic Social Teaching, correctly understood, is not rooted in any implicit bias, but rather in the moral virtues and particularly in prudential judgment.
He longs for parishes to always be open, but demands they be closed by the state. He’s all for the marginalized against the Church- the cardinals and canon lawyers and moral theologians. But he’s all for the experts telling us what’s right about how to live in society.
The darling of the World Economic Forum, celebrity trash, faculty lounges and the kind of Catholic who reads National Catholic Reporter certainly should not be described as a populist or “popularist”. Demagogue, on the other hand, fits him to a T. And he is particularly crude one at that.
He knows nothing of what it means to be a people with a culture and identity which they have a right to preserve, and he thinks he is competent to distinguish between populism and popularism?
Pope Francis perfectly fits the model of a populist who appeals to the Left and is confrontational [poking sincere Catholic priests in the eye as in the recent CWR article] to the Right. Since he is obviously more a populist than Trump ever was, because Trump had appeal among Dems that won him the election, Francis who exacerbates the polarity between the Left and Traditional Catholics invents a word popularist to extract himself from the truth. As is his wont.
From the start of the announcement of Francis as Pope, something supernatural happened around the world. People like myself and millions of others had a strange sense of severe disappointment about the new Pope. We couldn’t even stomach to look at him. I have compassion for Francis and pray for him daily but I don’t even want to hear what he has to say. I’m one of those accused of Papolotry. When I listened to St. John Paul the Great and to Pope Benedict XVl I always knew as a fact it was God’s voice on earth. But with Francis, it’s not. I pray he steps down. This is how popular Francis is with me. Nil, Nada, Niet!
Thank you – had missed the context related to the article and the use of the word
‘ Popularist ‘ by the Holy Father – that sounds as an echo of the mission of The Lord , in the Will of The Father , for all to repent and be saved ; our intent and desire for same is precious to The Lord even if same may not take effect in the manner we imagine .
The efforts of others such as Bp.Barron also exhorting the faithful to ask for mercy and salvation for all ,also echoed in the Divine Mercy prayers – ‘have mercy on us and the whole world .
Glad to have come across the article that elaborates on the context , the words of the Holy Father that are very much in line with the mission of the Lord and as intended , to counter dangerous ‘ populists ‘ who focus on an earthly kingdom using the fallen wisdom of the world – https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/04/pope-francis-proposes-popularism-to-counter-populism/
Tomorrow also Feast day of Apparition of St.Michael , with the interesting narrative of how the arrow that was shot into his cave was sent back –
The Holy Father as a son of Italy , thus blessed with double Feasts tomorrow along with the Octave of the Feast of St.Joseph the Worker . 🙂
May the blessings from all such abound for his life and ministry , for all to be united in the intent , to popularize with The Church , the love and the desire to live in the Divine Will that reigns in the Two Hearts .
One factor that is driving populism is the chasm that exists between the common person and the ruling establishment elites. There is one set of rules for the commoners, and apparently next to no rules for the ruling establishment elites. They are regularly caught in the position of do as I say, not as I do. Last summer’s looting and rioting was described as a “summer of love.” But when Washington D.C. got a milder one day dose of the “summer of love” last January up goes the fencing and in come the guards. This from the same people who decry fences(walls) and guards at the US Southern border. It’s easy for people who can afford to live in gated communities with personal guards to call for defunding the police. How many of the Second Amendment critics have armed guards packing heat?
*
The Catholic Social Teaching people have a real love affair with governmental solutions. The government treated as if it is all seeing, all knowing, and all powerful. It has gotten to the point of being idolatrous. The government as god. Concentrations of power that invite the corruption of those wielding this power. The Founding Fathers took great efforts to decentralize power as much as they could and established a system of checks and balances. To me this is probably why they are under attack by modern leftist demagogues who are obsessed with power. Due process and the rule of law puts a crimp in their utopian schemes.
Populism is a word so abused, it probably has no accurate definition. What I believe about Francis is that he often demonstrates an hysterically, narcissistic, neophilia and elitism and a personal understanding of Christianity that is so tarnished by personal conceit, he can not see how often he embodies those vices he projects onto those who fail to so much as join the throngs who adore him. I say often, because he is indisputably moody, and his personal beliefs change one day to the next depending on the audience, a kind of quantum mechanics world view. One day he can be avuncular towards flag carrying visiting guests from a national tour group, and another day berate another group for their “nationalism.”
He is a Pelagian who calls orthodox anti-Pelagian Catholics Pelagian with a complete absence of irony. He is a process theologian who believes even an uncertain God can change His mind. His idea of mercy excludes mercy for the victims of the sins committed by those whose desire for guilt avoidance is his supreme concern for the exercise of mercy, especially regarding sexual sins. He remains oblivious to the self-evident connection between sexual sin and the abortion he claims to decry, although even this is suspect given his affinity for population controllers within his globalist visions.
Elitists are what they are because they insist on the eventual perfectibility of humanity once the right people (themselves) are allowed to dictate the terms of utopia functioning within a super tyranny. Francis has told a conference of economists, while maintaining a straight face, to “design an economy” without money or any system of markets whatsoever. All the world’s elitists, including Francis, disdained Trump principally because, whatever his flaws, he had the good sense to be a passionate anti-elitist, in addition to pointing out, well, how intelligence challenged elitists are.
Anyone who believes that God might not be giving His Church its most extreme test in history with a loose cannon pontificate is taking refuge in populist manipulation that pretends everything is more or less normal.
“This sometimes controversial pontiff” is popular with the Left and never controversial, and is clearly controversial with the Right who struggle, many torn between allegiance to the Chair and Apostolic Tradition the two allegiances drifting apart to the point of contradictory beliefs. Why might we say this if not the facts. Two are outstanding, the refusal to respond to the Dubia on vital questions of practice, and the current ambivalence by this Pontiff on the German apostasy. The latter now come to a head with the refusal of German bishops to comply with Catholic doctrine now focused on blessing of immoral same sex relationships. If Pope Francis does not unequivocally defend the faith and if necessary provide a declaration of excommunication for Bishops Felix Genn of Münster and Georg Bätzing German Bishops Conference president that reluctance substantiates the questions posed by the Dubia cardinals. What is come to fore unless we witness a remarkable change is the machinations of a master manipulator. We can’t hedge any longer on what we’re confronted with, it’s no longer a question of where a pontiff stands when the Church has become increasingly an image of the author’s convictions explicated in Amoris Laetitia rather than Christ.
The difference between “populist” and “popularist”?
Giving full attention to our common Human Nature, rather than not; and thinking of the deep infiltration of self-inflicted original sin versus the other and gratuitous origin of supernatural grace; and thinking cross-culturally…
Is it just possible that, at least sometimes, people are more unalike than alike? What then is the danger of implicit bias, either way and probably both (unalike/alike), in setting public policy?
Small wonder that the Catholic Social Teaching, correctly understood, is not rooted in any implicit bias, but rather in the moral virtues and particularly in prudential judgment.
He longs for parishes to always be open, but demands they be closed by the state. He’s all for the marginalized against the Church- the cardinals and canon lawyers and moral theologians. But he’s all for the experts telling us what’s right about how to live in society.
The darling of the World Economic Forum, celebrity trash, faculty lounges and the kind of Catholic who reads National Catholic Reporter certainly should not be described as a populist or “popularist”. Demagogue, on the other hand, fits him to a T. And he is particularly crude one at that.
He knows nothing of what it means to be a people with a culture and identity which they have a right to preserve, and he thinks he is competent to distinguish between populism and popularism?
The wording used for article will not get the author in hot water with his colleagues at Opus Dei.
Well played, I guess.
Pope Francis is a left wing version of Donald Trump.
Pope Francis perfectly fits the model of a populist who appeals to the Left and is confrontational [poking sincere Catholic priests in the eye as in the recent CWR article] to the Right. Since he is obviously more a populist than Trump ever was, because Trump had appeal among Dems that won him the election, Francis who exacerbates the polarity between the Left and Traditional Catholics invents a word popularist to extract himself from the truth. As is his wont.
From the start of the announcement of Francis as Pope, something supernatural happened around the world. People like myself and millions of others had a strange sense of severe disappointment about the new Pope. We couldn’t even stomach to look at him. I have compassion for Francis and pray for him daily but I don’t even want to hear what he has to say. I’m one of those accused of Papolotry. When I listened to St. John Paul the Great and to Pope Benedict XVl I always knew as a fact it was God’s voice on earth. But with Francis, it’s not. I pray he steps down. This is how popular Francis is with me. Nil, Nada, Niet!
Thank you – had missed the context related to the article and the use of the word
‘ Popularist ‘ by the Holy Father – that sounds as an echo of the mission of The Lord , in the Will of The Father , for all to repent and be saved ; our intent and desire for same is precious to The Lord even if same may not take effect in the manner we imagine .
The efforts of others such as Bp.Barron also exhorting the faithful to ask for mercy and salvation for all ,also echoed in the Divine Mercy prayers – ‘have mercy on us and the whole world .
Glad to have come across the article that elaborates on the context , the words of the Holy Father that are very much in line with the mission of the Lord and as intended , to counter dangerous ‘ populists ‘ who focus on an earthly kingdom using the fallen wisdom of the world –
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/04/pope-francis-proposes-popularism-to-counter-populism/
Tomorrow also Feast day of Apparition of St.Michael , with the interesting narrative of how the arrow that was shot into his cave was sent back –
https://luisapiccarreta.me/archives/2338
The Holy Father as a son of Italy , thus blessed with double Feasts tomorrow along with the Octave of the Feast of St.Joseph the Worker . 🙂
May the blessings from all such abound for his life and ministry , for all to be united in the intent , to popularize with The Church , the love and the desire to live in the Divine Will that reigns in the Two Hearts .
He is not a son of Italy. He is a son of Argentina. Some would even say he is a son of the Devil.
Some would even say he is a son of the Devil.
One factor that is driving populism is the chasm that exists between the common person and the ruling establishment elites. There is one set of rules for the commoners, and apparently next to no rules for the ruling establishment elites. They are regularly caught in the position of do as I say, not as I do. Last summer’s looting and rioting was described as a “summer of love.” But when Washington D.C. got a milder one day dose of the “summer of love” last January up goes the fencing and in come the guards. This from the same people who decry fences(walls) and guards at the US Southern border. It’s easy for people who can afford to live in gated communities with personal guards to call for defunding the police. How many of the Second Amendment critics have armed guards packing heat?
*
The Catholic Social Teaching people have a real love affair with governmental solutions. The government treated as if it is all seeing, all knowing, and all powerful. It has gotten to the point of being idolatrous. The government as god. Concentrations of power that invite the corruption of those wielding this power. The Founding Fathers took great efforts to decentralize power as much as they could and established a system of checks and balances. To me this is probably why they are under attack by modern leftist demagogues who are obsessed with power. Due process and the rule of law puts a crimp in their utopian schemes.
Populism is a word so abused, it probably has no accurate definition. What I believe about Francis is that he often demonstrates an hysterically, narcissistic, neophilia and elitism and a personal understanding of Christianity that is so tarnished by personal conceit, he can not see how often he embodies those vices he projects onto those who fail to so much as join the throngs who adore him. I say often, because he is indisputably moody, and his personal beliefs change one day to the next depending on the audience, a kind of quantum mechanics world view. One day he can be avuncular towards flag carrying visiting guests from a national tour group, and another day berate another group for their “nationalism.”
He is a Pelagian who calls orthodox anti-Pelagian Catholics Pelagian with a complete absence of irony. He is a process theologian who believes even an uncertain God can change His mind. His idea of mercy excludes mercy for the victims of the sins committed by those whose desire for guilt avoidance is his supreme concern for the exercise of mercy, especially regarding sexual sins. He remains oblivious to the self-evident connection between sexual sin and the abortion he claims to decry, although even this is suspect given his affinity for population controllers within his globalist visions.
Elitists are what they are because they insist on the eventual perfectibility of humanity once the right people (themselves) are allowed to dictate the terms of utopia functioning within a super tyranny. Francis has told a conference of economists, while maintaining a straight face, to “design an economy” without money or any system of markets whatsoever. All the world’s elitists, including Francis, disdained Trump principally because, whatever his flaws, he had the good sense to be a passionate anti-elitist, in addition to pointing out, well, how intelligence challenged elitists are.
Anyone who believes that God might not be giving His Church its most extreme test in history with a loose cannon pontificate is taking refuge in populist manipulation that pretends everything is more or less normal.
Thank you for this trenchant analysis.