It has become evident to many Catholics around the world that the Francis pontificate has been a disappointment and even a disaster. There are more learned Catholics than myself who have meticulously catalogued the myriad of ways in which Pope Francis, from the beginning of his pontificate in 2013, has made statements and promoted pastoral practices that depart from Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and previous solidified teachings of the magisterium.
“I want a mess,” the pope said a few months after his election regarding his plans to shake up the Church. Well, he got what he wanted.
Off the top of my head, here are some of the bigger messes that Francis has made:
- signing a document that states that “pluralism and the diversity of religions…are willed by God” even though God tells us that He is One (Deuteronomy 6:4) and Him alone shall we serve (Luke 4:8);
- stating that contraception can be used by married couples “in certain cases,” making it clear through his spokesman that these include “cases of emergency or special situations” even though the Catechism of the Catholic Church follows Humanae Vitae in teaching that using contraception is “intrinsically evil”—namely, that it is always and in every case morally wrong to use contraception in marriage, no matter what the circumstance or the purpose;
- setting the stage for and then explicitly approving a pastoral practice that allows those committing the grave sin of adultery to receive Holy Communion despite this practice negating the Sixth Commandment and Catholic teaching from previous popes;
- approving a pastoral practice that allows for the blessing of homosexual couples even though such a practice contradicts previous Catholic teaching (here, here, and here) and the Bible’s explicit condemnation of homosexuality (here and here);
- endorsing civil unions for same-sex attracted persons despite previous Catholic teaching expressly stating that “respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions”;
- promoting the ideas of “hell as empty” and that it is “not the logic of the Gospel” that someone should be “condemned for ever” despite Christ making the opposite claims in the Gospels (here, here, and here);
- allowing an idol to be worshiped in the Vatican Gardens and carried in procession in St. Peter’s Basilica during ceremonies he presided over, despite God stating that He alone is God and we should have no strange gods before Him (Exodus 20:2-5).
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