Pope Francis has died aged 88

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Pope Francis has died aged 88
Pope Francis' reign in the papal throne spanned more than a decade, and witnessed the spread of widespread confusion

 on numerous matters of the Catholic faith.

Apr 21, 2025
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews [adapted, not all photos and hyperlinks included from original]) –– Pope Francis has died today, aged 88.

The Holy See Press Office announced the news, writing:

A short while ago, His Eminence Cardinal Farrell announced with sorrow the death of Pope Francis with these words:

“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with deep sorrow that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.

He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially toward the poorest and most marginalized.

With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God.”

Pope Francis’s health had been steadily declining in recent months. He had suffered persistent breathing problems through the winter and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 for bronchitis but was then diagnosed with double pneumonia in what was first described as a “complex” then a “critical” medical scenario. He suffered a number of respiratory crises and failures and presented with symptoms of “mild” kidney failure during his hospitalization. Discharged back to the Vatican after 38-days, Francis began a 2-month convalescence as his doctors revealed he nearly lost his life twice in the spring hospitalization.

He was last in public on Easter Sunday to give the Urbi et Orbi blessing, but looked notably weak, being barely able to raise his arms and with a particularly strained voice.

The Argentinian prelate had led the Catholic Church as Pope since March 13, 2013. He emerged to the world as a surprise successor to Benedict XVI, following the German Pope’s shock resignation in February 2013.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ordained on December 13, 1969 and was raised to become Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in May 1992, before assuming control of the see in 1998. Created cardinal by Pope John Paul II in February 2001, he served as the vice-president and then president of the episcopal conference of Argentina from 2002 – 2011.

In the papal conclave following Benedict XVI’s resignation, Cardinal Bergoglio was elected to the Papal throne on March 13, 2013, at the age of 76.

Styled as the “pope of confusion” by commentators, his reign was marked by a rapid diversion from Catholic teaching on numerous issues, with his pronouncements and writings leading to widespread confusion amongst Catholics on topics such as LGBT issues, divorce and “re-marriage,” nature of the priesthood, role of the laity in ecclesial governance, adherence to Tradition, and the permissibility of the traditional Latin Mass.

Indeed, the issues arising from his pontificate do not end here, since they also include the gutting of the Pontifical Academy for Life and re-filling it with supporters of abortion; the championing of “climate change” and globalist policies; the promotion of taking abortion-tainted COVID-19 injections as a moral duty; pushing an irreligious concept of “human fraternity” which was widely accused of rejecting God and subsequently welcomed by Muslims and Freemasons; being involved in the reported cover-up of a number of high-profile abuse cases, such as Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick; remaking the Vatican curia with individuals noted for their rejection of Catholic teaching on numerous points.


Pope Francis: A bishop from ‘the ends of the earth’

Announced as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on just the second day of the conclave. Many have argued that his election was a result of a longstanding and coordinated plan by the secretive St. Gallen group or mafia. (More details on his election are provided further below in this obituary).

Citing concern for the poor as his reason, Bergoglio chose the new papal name of Francis in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi, though he had in fact not visited Assisi at that point. Addressing the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on the evening of his ascent to the throne, Francis avoided using the term “Pope,” presenting himself instead as “bishop” of Rome. “You know that it was the duty of the Conclave to give Rome a Bishop. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth to get one… but here we are… I thank you for your welcome. The diocesan community of Rome now has its Bishop.”

His appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s was notable for is departure from tradition: gone were the Pope’s red shoes which symbolized martyrdom; gone were the Papal pectoral cross and ring, with Bergoglio choosing his own instead; gone also was the traditional red mozzetta.

He also dispensed with the usual order of a papal blessing, asking the assembled crowd to pray for him, before imparting a blessing.

The evening was a revelatory one, with many commentators already remarking on the new Pope’s disregard for customs.

He created over 140 cardinals in nine consistories through his reign, and issued well over 3,500 documents, texts or speeches. Among this number were 4 Encyclicals: Lumen Fidei, largely written by Pope Benedict and finished by Francis; Fratelli Tutti, which expounded a form of irreligious fraternity dubbed as “blasphemous”; Laudato Si’, which advocated for “climate change” measures and formed the basis for his future ecological writings and interventions; Dilexit Nos, on the Sacred Heart.

Pope Francis also penned 74 Motu Proprios, 92 Apostolic Letters, 7 Apostolic Exhortations, 20 Apostolic Constitutions, and one Papal Bull. Francis made over 40 official papal trips outside of Italy and visited 65 countries as of September 12, 2024.

Newly elected Pope Francis speaks to the waiting crowd from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.




Pope Francis bows to receive the prayers of those assembled in St. Peter’s Square, March 13, 2013.

Traditional Latin Mass

One of the most notable and impactful aspects of Francis’ tumultuous pontificate is his attack on the Church’s traditional Mass, which was affected over a number of years. His July 16, 2021, motu proprio Traditionis Custodes abrogated Pope Benedict’s 2007 Summorum Pontificum, declaring that the liturgy of Pope Paul VI, or the Novus Ordo, is the “unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.”

The immediate fallout of the text saw closure of traditional Masses in various locations around the world. It was supposedly born out of a survey by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which claimed devotees of the traditional Mass fostered “disagreements,” ruptures in the Church, and the “peril of division.”

READ: Cdl. Roche says Latin Mass needs to be restricted because the ‘theology of the Church has changed’

However, the implementation of the restrictions was not swift or widespread enough, prompting Francis’ perfect of the Congregation for Divine Worship (Cardinal Arthur Roche) to issues increased restrictions in December 2021, followed by yet more restrictions in February 2023. The results of the CDF’s survey were never published, and are believed never to have been seen by Roche’s dicastery implementing the restrictions.

Canonists have argued that Traditionis Custodes itself was not canonically legal, and prelates such as Cardinals Raymond Burke, Robert Sarah and Bishop Athanasius Schneider repeatedly spoke out against the papal moves. Schneider has stated that to comply with the restrictions would be a “false obedience,” Sarah decried them as “diabolical,” and Burke styled them as being a “persecution.”

By virtue of these various documents against the traditional Mass, Francis thus ordered traditional Masses out of parish churches, forbade newly ordained priests from automatically being able to say the traditional Mass, limited the number of priests already with that permission, restricted the use of the traditional sacraments, and removed diocesan bishops’ powers to exempt their priests from the papal restrictions.

In addition to this, the Pontiff repeatedly took aim at devotees of Tradition, describing them as “rigid” and highlighting this as a problem related to “clericalism.” In one such characteristic discussion, Francis argued that devotion to the traditional Mass was a “nostalgic disease” resulting in “indietrism.”

In a quasi-autobiographical book published in January 2025, Francis also accused Catholics who attend the traditional liturgy of having a “mental imbalance, emotional deviation, behavioral difficulties, a personal problem that may be exploited.”

READ: Pope Francis accuses young Catholic priests who like the Latin Mass of ‘mental imbalance’

Indeed, further restrictions on the traditional Mass had been rumored to be enacted over the summer of 2024, with Francis reportedly having the document on his desk ready to sign. But following an outpouring of public support from groups and individuals, the rumored text never emerged.

Fiducia Supplicans: same-sex blessings

On December 18, 2023, the Vatican published the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which contained approval for “blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex.” Written by CDF prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, and approved by Pope Francis, the document caused instant and widespread consternation throughout the global Church.

READ: Pope Francis publishes norms for clergy to ‘bless’ homosexual couples

The Declaration argued that offering blessings to same-sex couples did not change the teaching on marriage, or validate the “status” of such relationships. It came in apparent contradiction to the CDF’s 2021 note which ruled out the possibility of blessings “unions of persons of the same-sex,” stated that blessings could be provided to individuals who came alone, seeking a blessing.

Fiducia Supplicans was swiftly welcomed by LGBT advocates and heterodox clerics, while vocal opposition was found predominantly in Africa along with a steadily growing number of dioceses in the U.S., Europe, the UK, and amongst religious orders.

Notable prelates – Cdls. Müller and Zen and Sarah, Abp. Viganò, Bp. Schneider – all penned their rejection of the document’s proposal for same-sex blessings, many doing so repeatedly. Sarah went so far as to state that Fiducia Supplicans proposes a “heresy that gravely undermines the Church, the Body of Christ, because it is contrary to the Catholic faith and tradition.”

Francis and Fernández defended the document strenuously from critics, with Francis arguing that “those who vehemently protest [Fiducia Supplicans] belong to small ideological groups.”

In one March 2024 interview which exemplified the rationale often used by the Pope, Francis stated that “I do not bless a ‘homosexual marriage,’ I bless two people who love each other and I also ask them to pray for me.”

Fiducia Supplicans’ publication arguably caused one of, if not the greatest, tumult in the Francis pontificate up until that time, with the global backlash against the text on a scale previously unseen in the prior 11 years of Francis’ reign.


Homosexuality and LGBT

The late Pope’s record on homosexuality and apparent promotion of it, is of proportions previously unseen by the Vatican. He was repeatedly praised by LGBT activists for regular comments appearing to break with Church teaching opposing homosexuality and gender ideology.

This record infamously began with his 2013 in-flight comments “who am I to judge” when asked about the existence of a gay lobby within the Vatican and the practice of homosexuality. Such support took a marked increase in the wake of the CDF’s March 2021 responsum condemning same-sex “blessings,” as Pope Francis made numerous public statements praising and supporting advocates of LGBT ideology and same-sex civil unions.

READ: Pope Francis appears to reject the idea that homosexuals are called to chastity 

Numerous times he appeared to suggest that homosexuals could present themselves for Holy Communion, though without stating so explicitly. Such statements often took the form of the Pope refusing to answer specific questions with the relevant aspect of Catholic teaching on chastity or the immoral nature of homosexual actions. Notably, when speaking with Portuguese Jesuits in August 2023, he appeared to suggest that homosexual should not be encouraged to practice chastity if “they are not yet mature, or are not capable.”


Pope Francis and Fr. James Martin SJ

The Pope also argued strongly against anti-sodomy laws – in contradiction to the teaching of saints and Church Fathers – saying that criminalizing homosexuality is “unjust.” He criticized bishops who supported anti-sodomy laws, calling for them to “undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.”

READ: Pope Francis calls woman with sex-change operation a ‘man’ and calls partners ‘married’

As part of his LGBT advocacy, he repeatedly welcomed prominent LGBT activists at the Vatican, such as Fr. James Martin S.J., along with transgender individuals and groups. He also allegedly told dissident U.S. activist and professor Aaron Bianco, who is in a same-sex “marriage,” to continue his efforts to make the Church more open to homosexual unions.

A duo of pro-LGBT advocates – Sr. Jeannine Gramick and the openly homosexual Juan-Carlos Cruz – respectively claimed that Francis wasn’t aware of the text of the CDF’s 2021 note prohibiting same-sex blessings and that he subsequently fired the officials responsible for the text. {This CDF text was of course contradicted by Fiducia Supplicans in 2024} Cruz himself attested that Francis told him that “God made you gay;” Cruz was brought by Francis to join the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Pope Francis meeting with woman who underwent sex-change surgery (right) and her ‘wife’ (left)

Due to his policy of public inaction against bishops repudiating Catholic teaching on homosexuality, bishops in both Belgium and Germany approved plans and documents for same-sex blessings, despite the church’s prohibition of such. Prior to FiduciaSupplicans’ publication, Belgium’s Bishop Johan Bonny claimed on a number of occasions to have the Pope’s personal approval for the Belgian bishops’ same-sex “blessings,” a statement which supported the German bishops’ approval of same-sex blessings in March 2023.

Such was Francis’ record on LGBT issues, that the CEO of one of the most influential pro-LGBT pressure groups in the U.S. – GLADD, which describes itself as “the world’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization” – praised him for his actions, during the 2025 World Economic Forum’s Davos meeting.


Amoris Laetitia, the Dubia and Holy Communion

The emergence of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia in April 2016 was a seminal moment for the Catholic Church, due to the text’s promotion of Holy Communion for the divorced and ‘re-married.’

In the brief lines of the infamous footnote 351 in Chapter 8, Pope argued for the “integration” of those in “irregular unions” into the life of the Church. In the footnote, he stated that this “integration” can, “in certain cases,” involve admittance to the sacraments, including the Eucharist.

Fielding questions on the text, he answered by saying there is “no other interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia except the one provided by the bishops of Buenos Aires allowing Communion for the divorced and remarried.

The Pope was also asked during an in-flight press conference if the text contained a “change in discipline that governs access to the sacraments” for Catholics who are divorced and “re-married,” Francis replied, “I can say yes, period.”

Pope Francis receives a ritual feather from an indigenous elder, Quebec City, Canada, July 27, 2022, on the day he participated in a smudging ceremony.

The document served as a catalyst for many Catholics – clerical and lay – who had hitherto been trying to interpret Francis’ increasingly obvious heterodoxy in line with Tradition. Within months, a group of Catholic scholars issued a letter to all the cardinals and patriarchs, warning that Amoris Laetitia contained “dangers to the faith” and appealing for a correction.

READ: Pope fails to reply to 4 cardinals’ urgent plea for clarification, so they go public 

Then on November 14, 2016 four cardinals publicly released a letter, the Dubia, which they had privately sent to the Pope on September 19 but had gone unanswered. The four signatories – Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, and Joachim Meisner – issued the Dubia only ten days after Francis’ comments to the Buenos Aires bishops – an interpretation of Amoris Laetitia which Brandmüller had previously warned would be heretical.

Their Dubia consisted of five questions each requiring a simple answer of “yes” or “no,” and positing Amoris Laetitia in juxtaposition with Catholic Tradition.

The letter was never officially answered, with Caffarra and Meisner dying some years before Francis.

READ: Pope Francis signs text affirming Amoris Laetitia allows Communion for divorced and remarried

However, responding to a Dubia from Cardinal Dominik Duka O.P. on the same issue in 2023, the CDF provided an answer to the 2016 Dubia. Duka asked whether Pope Francis’ response to the Bishops of Buenos Aires – when the Pope stated there was “no other interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia except the one provided by the bishops of Buenos Aires in allowing Communion for the divorced and “re-married” – can be considered “a statement of the ordinary Magisterium of the Church.” Fernández wrote that since Pope Francis’ words were published in the Vatican’s official compilation of documents, the Acta Apostolicae Sedes, they were “authentic Magisterium.”

Pope Francis also refused to issue Catholic teaching on the prohibition of Holy Communion for politicians complicit in promoting abortion. He regularly argued “Communion is not a prize for the perfect,” that clergy should not “go condemning” pro-abortion politicians, and that he has never refused Communion to anyone.

Then in October 2021, Francis made waves when he reportedly told the radically pro-abortion U.S. President Joe Biden to “keep receiving Communion,” calling Biden “a good Catholic.”

Some months later, at a Papal Mass, Nancy Pelosi was permitted to receive Communion, despite having only recently been banned by her local bishop {Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone} due to her support for abortion.

Francis’ 2022 Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi, in which he reaffirmed his restrictions on the Latin Mass, also contained his argument that Communion was to be offered to all, leaving out the “essential topic of repentance for sin for the worthy reception of the Eucharist.” This prompted a group of prominent bishops, priests and lay scholars to write a statement warning that Francis’ claim of “garment of faith” as the only requirement for the reception of Holy Communion, “contradicts the faith of the Catholic Church.” Their statement went unanswered by the Vatican.

Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Iain Greenshields give a joint blessing in South Sudan, on February 4, 2023.

Papal Pachamama idolatry

During the 2019 Synod on the Amazon held at the Vatican, Catholics were shocked when pagan idols were afforded center stage in an idolatrous ceremony. One of the offerings made to the idols was later placed on the altar inside St. Peter’s Basilica.

On Friday, October 4, Pope Francis took part in the “highly symbolic tree-planting ceremony” in the Vatican Gardens, during which an Amazonian group prostrated themselves before a number of carvings, including two nearly identical wooden Pachamama statues depicting a naked, pregnant woman. Pope Francis was offered a statue of the image, which he blessed; he then set aside his prepared speech at the event, and instead simply recited an Our Father.

The Pachamama is a pagan goddess of the “figure of life,” an Incan fertility goddess, and is revered among Indigenous groups.

Ednamar de Oliveira Viana leads prayer ceremony in the Pachamama event, in Vatican Gardens, Oct. 4, 2019




Pope Francis receives a Pachamama statue in the Vatican gardens during the pagan indigenous ceremony, Rome, Oct. 4, 2019.




Pope Francis and female indigenous leader at tree-planting ceremony, Vatican Gardens, Oct. 4, 2019.

The event caused instant consternation and outrage amongst faithful Catholics, with laity and prelates condemning the act of seeming idolatry which was attended, and partially led, by the Pope.

A number of the Pachamama statues were kept in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, some few hundred meters down the road from the Vatican. However, On October 21, an Austrian Catholic Alexander Tschugguel and his friend took the Pachamama carvings out of the Catholic church and threw them into the Tiber – an action which won the praise of numerous prelates, including Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, and Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Undeterred, Pope Francis apologized for this to “the people who were offended by this act,” and argued that there was no “idolatrous intention” in their usage. Francis stated that the statues had been recovered from the river and even suggested they would be displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica during the final Mass of the Synod.

This did not come to pass, but instead Pope Francis directed a bowl of plants – associated with Pachamama by virtue of having been “offered” to the pagan false god during the October 4 ceremony – to be placed on the Papal Altar for the Synod’s closing Mass on October 27. The altar is situated directly over St. Peter’s tomb.

“Many saw in this bowl an occult sign, an offering to a demon, that was scandalously placed on God’s altar on which the Pope offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” wrote LifeSiteNews’ Dr. Maike Hickson.

Dr. Hickson also noted how even in late 2020, the altar had not been used for Mass since the Amazon Synod, and the infamous honoring of Pachamama statues. The absence of any Mass at the altar since the Synod was described by Professor Armin Schwibach, a Vatican Correspondent who has lived in Rome for more than three decades, as a “symbolic emptiness.”


Ecumenical human fraternity without God

Both with his Abu Dhabi Document on Human Fraternity (2019) and Fratelli Tutti (2020), Pope Francis issued a defining feature of his papal reign – namely, a form of “fraternity” and “unity” which appeared divorced from the Catholic faith. The Abu Dhabi document, signed by Francis and his friend the Grand Imam Ahmad el-Tayeb, infamously states: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.”

Responding to its release in 2019, a Dominican theologian known to LifeSite argued that the document “in its obvious sense is false, and in fact heretical.”

Dr. Ahmad el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif and Pope Francis visit Sheikh Zayed Mosque on February 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Abu Dhabi text was also described as seeming to “overturn the doctrine of the Gospel” with its promotion of equality of religions in a form of “fraternity.” Similarly, Fratelli tutti was condemned by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, as promoting a “blasphemous” form of brotherhood without God as well as “religious indifferentism.”

READ: Pope Francis’ new foundation appears to have more in common with French Revolution than with Catholicism

Promoting “fraternity” once more, Fratelli Tutti’s publication was met with praise by Spain’s Masonic Lodge, with the Masons calling it “the latest encyclical” of Pope Francis in which he “embraces the Universal Fraternity, the great principle of Modern Freemasonry.” Together, the two documents became the backbone of a number of subsequent aspects of Francis’ activities, particularly with regard to increased events, papal trips, and relations with Muslims.

Notably, the documents gave rise to the Abrahamic Family House in the UAE: a place of ecumenical encounter where Catholics, Moslems and Jews come together to worship in a “new phase in the history of religions.”

But in response to the texts Bishop Schneider has noted that: “it contradicts Divine Revelation to say that, just as God positively wills the diversity of the male and female sexes and the diversity of nations, so in the same way he also wills the diversity of religions.”

According to Church historian Roberto de Mattei, when “fraternity” is divorced from Christian charity, “far from constituting an element of cohesion in society,” it “becomes the source of its disintegration.” He argued that “if men, in the name of fraternity, are forced to live together without an end that gives meaning to their sense of belonging, the ‘ark’ becomes a prison.”

In September 2024, Francis made comments which appeared to dwarf the controversy of the afore-mentioned two texts, when he told an inter-religious group of children that “every religion is a way to arrive at God. There are different languages to arrive at God, but God is God for all. And how is God God for all? We are all sons and daughters of God. But my god is more important than your god, is that true? There is only one God and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.”

READ: Pope Francis: ‘Every religion is a way to arrive at God’

A widespread controversy erupted and the Pope’s comments were widely criticized as being akin to “heresy” and contradicting the “entire Gospel.”

Such a style was often displayed in Francis’ ecumenical actions, as he often joined leaders from various creeds for ecumenical vigils, and on several occasions joined Protestant and Orthodox prelates in giving a blessing in unison to the congregation.


Synod on Synodality

While the years of Francis’ pontificate were denoted by a series of Synods – Synod on the Family in 2014 and 2015, Synod on Young People in 2018, Synod on the Amazon in 2019 – the multi-year Synod on Synodality saw many themes of his time in the Vatican come to fruition and become a chief focal point of his years in white.

Beginning in October 2021, the Synod is set to last until October 2024. It is comprised of various stages, proceeding from local diocesan levels, through bishops’ conferences, then to continental levels. Its culmination in Rome in 2024 will see bishops and laity assemble to discuss the key themes of the Synod.

READ:  Vatican’s Synod on Synodality will consult non-Catholics, lapsed Catholics

Since its inception, the Synod has been a cause of alarm for faithful Catholics, due to its process of “listening” including “Catholics who rarely or never practice their faith, etc,” as well as “people who have left the practice of the faith, people of other faith traditions, people of no religious belief, etc.”

With each successive synodal document, such concerns were increasingly vindicated with prelates such as Cardinals Burke, Müller, Pell, Joseph Zen all condemning the Synod and its trajectory in the strongest possible terms. In August 2023, Burke wrote that “Synodality and its adjective, synodal, have become slogans behind which a revolution is at work to change radically the Church’s self-understanding.” October 2022 saw Müller declared in an interview that the Synod was a “hostile takeover of the Church.”

Pope Francis with the Synod team. L-R: Cdl. Jean-Claude Hollerich, Fr. Giacomo Costa, Cdl. Mario Grech, Bp. Luis Marín de San Martín, Sr. Nathalie Becquart. October 14, 2022.

Bishop Schneider, for his part, argued that the Synod is “a tool used to dilute evermore the clarity of the Catholic faith,” and that it is permitting “poison, spiritual poisons” to spread.

A number of anti-Catholic issues presented themselves through the Synod process, including allowing Holy Communion for the divorced and “re-married,” the inclusion of “the divorced and remarried, people in polygamous marriages, or LGBTQ+ Catholics,” female deacons, and a new priority given to lay governance in the Church.

From the outset, the Synod received notable praise from Francis’ loyal supporters, and papal biographer Austen Ivereigh argued it was “potentially the most transformative moment in Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council, which it seeks to embed permanently into the life of the Church.” Such a statement which aligned with Francis’ own ideas, as he denoted the Synod as a continuation and implementation of the work of the Council, and event he described as “a visit of God to His Church.”

Francis also made ground-breaking changes to the structure of the Synod of Bishops, personally choosing lay-people to have voting rights alongside the bishops. While this move itself made waves amongst observers, his other select choices for the Synod’s meetings highlighted the direction of the event with numerous, influential pro-LGBT prelates and advocates listed as participants and leaders of the Synod.

Opening the Synod in 2021, Pope Francis quoted Vatican II theologian Fr Yves Congar and called for “a different Church” courtesy of the Synod. “Synodality is, in fact, the long-game of Pope Francis,” Newark’s Cardinal. Joseph Tobin revealed in May 2021. Indeed, Francis has previously stated in Canada in 2022 that “the Church is either synodal or it is not Church.”

When the Synod officially closed in October 2024, that goal appeared to have been effected and though the Synod event was over, the Synod process was ordered to continue.

Francis also accepted into the Magisterium the Synod’s final text, which contained the false claim that women’s access to the ordained ministry “remains open.” This was roundly rejected by a number of cardinals, though few among the wider episcopate made vocal objection. However more concrete changes on LGBT aspects were not contained in the Synod’s final text, leading to disgruntlement from such activists.


Handling of abuse

A phrase often repeated during the course of Francis’ pontificate was “zero tolerance,” which was how the Pope described his, and the Church’s, policy in response to cases of abuse.

In 2019, Francis issued a motu proprio responding to clerical sex abuse, entitled “Vos estis lux mundi,” making the cover up of sex abuse a crime under Canon Law. However the document was nevertheless lacking in that it did not condemn consensual acts of homosexuality by members of the clergy. It was subsequently slightly modified and re-issued in March 2023, this time condemning as criminal sexual acts not just with minors but also with a “vulnerable adult.”

However, as the years of his pontificate grew, reality did not appear to support the “zero tolerance.”

The Pope’s handling of the case of fellow Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta is a high-profile example. Zanchetta was one of the new Pope’s first appointments in 2013. In 2015, Zanchetta was summoned to Rome, after pornographic images of “homosexual sex,” along with “nude selfies” of Zanchetta himself were found on his phone. Francis accepted Zanchetta’s statement that the bishop had been subject to phone hacking.

The next year, several priests in Zanchetta’s diocese testified regarding evidence of Zanchetta’s behaviors, describing him as “a personal friend of the Holy Father.” When Zanchetta resigned his see in 2017, Francis created a new post for the bishop at the Vatican, defending the bishop for the next two years. The bishop underwent a canonical trial, with no results publicly delivered. When he finally underwent a civil trial in Argentina, the Vatican refused to cooperate. He was eventually sentenced to jail for “aggravated continued simple sexual abuse committed by a recognized minister of religion,” with commentators stating he “received an extraordinary degree of personal attention and protection from Francis.”

Pope Francis greets Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta.

The Pope’s record with disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick has also come under scrutiny. Former Papal Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò famously accused Francis of knowing about McCarrick, about the restrictions imposed on him by Benedict, and of deliberately repealing the restrictions. Viganò’s 2018 testimony took the Church and much of the world by storm, with the 11-page text naming numerous prominent prelates, and accusing Francis of making McCarrick “his trusted counselor.”

The long-awaited McCarrick report, released in November 2020, revealed that, contrary to Francis’ statements, he had in fact been informed of the immoral behaviors of Theodore McCarrick but did not act upon them.

Summarizing the McCarrick report, Dr. Maike Hickson observed how the text confirmed that:

Pope Francis did know about the sex abuse allegations against McCarrick and that the Vatican had taken steps, from 2006 on, to remove him from the public, by telling him to move into a more remote residence and to hold back in his public appearances and travels. Pope Francis chose not to follow up.

More recently, Francis’ credibility on the issue was further rocked by the case of fellow Jesuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik. Rupnik was accused of psychologically and sexually abusing religious sisters in an order for which he was a co-founder. In a separate offense, Rupnik was also automatically excommunicated and found guilty by the CDF’s court of absolving in confession a woman with whom he had sexual relations.

Francis was accused of having direct involvement in the case, and even of intervening within “a few hours” to overturn the excommunication. In January 2023, Francis denied his involvement in the case, a move described by Messa in Latino – which lead the coverage of the Rupnik case – as “lying diplomatically.”

Rupnik was later expelled from the Jesuits, but despite his alleged victims testifying that his artwork was “deeply connected” to his abuse, Francis continued to promote the images in various videos. Only after international outcry over Rupnik being incardinated into a Slovenian diocese in October 2023, did Francis announce the Vatican would open an investigation into the priest.

In late 2024, the inaugural edition of a Vatican investigation into its own policies for responding to abuse highlighted “current deficiencies” in procedures, including the CDF’s own handling of abuse cases, but notably did not touch on the potential role of a Pope intervening in abuse cases.

Pope Francis in audience with Fr. Rupnik, January 2022.

Closure of churches in COVID era

In a move, which was linked by many to the October 2019 act of idolatry led by the Pontiff, Pope Francis oversaw the closure of Catholic Churches in Rome in response to COVID-19. The Pope’s action was copied all across the globe, with Catholics locked out of their churches and denied the sacraments for weeks and even months on end.

With the emergence of COVID-19 into Italy, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis – the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome – announced March 12, 2020 that all the Catholic churches in Rome would be closed until April 3, 2020. The decision was made only with the approval of Pope Francis, according to De Donatis.

Indeed, when De Donatis’ hand was essentially forced by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski – who refused to shut his church in Rome – the cardinal vicar reopened churches for private prayer. This decision was also taken with the direction and approval of Pope Francis.

The COVID related closures saw the Vatican portrayed in a hitherto un-envisaged light. Masses were live-streamed online, with the vast basilicas and churches left empty of worshippers.

Pope Francis famously held a special Urbi et Orbi prayer and blessing in the rain-drenched Vatican square on March 27, 2020, during which he prayed in front of two ancient religious images of Rome. The icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani – kept in the Papa Basilica of St. Mary Major – along with the miraculous crucifix kept in the church of San Marcello.

Following the 14th century crucifix’s exposure to the rain, strong concerns were raised that the image was damaged beyond repair, though subsequent analysis found that the damage was not as severe as initially thought.

Speaking in March 2020, Pope Francis said he believed that the coronavirus pandemic is nature “having a fit” in response to environmental pollution. He echoed this some weeks later, describing the emergence of COVID-19 as “certainly nature’s response” to what he referred to as human impact on the environment.

Dr. Hickson opined, regarding the COVID closure of churches and Masses, “whether there is a connection between all of these events: that is to say, from the Pachamama bowl on the Papal Altar to the cancellation of the Christmas Midnight Masses in many parts of the world.”


Climate change adherence

One of the repeated and very visible focal points for Francis during his time in the papal throne was his promotion to “climate change” oriented policies and promotion of an “ecological spirituality.” His 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si’ became the reference text for a number of Vatican and Papal initiatives focused on the green agenda. In it, Francis spoke about “true ecological approach” which listens to “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

The document later gave rise to the Laudato Si’ Movement, which aims to “turn Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’ into action for climate and ecological justice,” as the mass divestment from “fossil fuels” is inspired by the pontiff’s environmental writings.

On October 4, 2023, Francis published a second part to Laudato Si’ in the form of an Apostolic Exhortation named Laudate Deum.

READ: Pope Francis is subverting faith to the all-consuming ideology of ‘climate change’

The Pope also made numerous calls to action for global leaders to implement the pro-abortion Paris Climate Change Agreement, citing the “negative effects of climate change” and an “ecological debt” which required “climate finance, decarbonization in the economic system and in people’s lives.”

After many years of such rhetoric, in 2022 the Vatican officially joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Climate Agreement. Francis defended the controversial move, saying that “she [‘mother earth’] weeps and implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction.”

READ: Vatican’s official newspaper promotes call to ‘fast’ from fossil fuels during Lent

His actions disregarded long-standing and repeated concerns from pro-life and family advocates, who continually warned about the climate activism movement’s alignment with pro-abortion and population control advocates and lobby groups.

READ: Pope defends participation in Paris Climate Agreement, says ‘mother earth’ is at ‘breaking point’ 

As already noted on numerous occasions by LifeSiteNews, the Paris Agreement is indeed pro-abortion and connects to the stated U.N. goal of creating a universal right to abortion in line with Goal #5.6 of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Consequently, Bishop Schneider joined the late Cardinal George Pell in condemning Francis’ concept of “ecological conversion,” with Schneider arguing it was “an expression of pure naturalism… there is no supernatural vision, or a very vacant supernatural vision.” “Ecological conversion is an abuse of this concept of conversion itself,” he stated.


Vatican’s deal with China

A feature more of the latter years of his pontificate, the Pope’s secretive deal made with authorities in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to be one of the chief elements of scandal from Francis’ tenure on the papal throne.

First signed in 2018, before being renewed every two years in 2020, 2022, and in 2024 the deal has remained a closely guarded secret, known only to the Vatican and Beijing authorities. Francis and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin continually defended the deal, with Francis stating in 2018 that it would usher in a “new chapter of the Catholic Church in China.”

Cdl. Parolin has argued that the terms of the agreement remain secret since it is technically still only provisional. With the 2024 renewal being for a 4-year period, the deal will be a decade old by the time of its next renewal date.

It is believed to recognize the state-approved version of the Catholic Church and allows the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to appoint bishops. The Pope apparently maintains a veto power although in practice it is the CCP that has control, as has been evidenced by repeated violations of the deal by the Chinese. It also allegedly allows for the removal and replacement of legitimate bishops by CCP-approved bishops.

READ: Pope Francis empowered Communists with Magisterial authority in Vatican/China deal

Pope Francis and Parolin were both vocal in their defense of the agreement, with the Pope stating before its 2022 renewal that the deal “is going well.” Indeed, in a 2018 letter to Chinese Catholics, Francis described the deal as forming a “new chapter of the Catholic Church in China.”

China expert Steven Mosher described the deal as an action which was “perhaps the most controversial of a papacy dogged by controversy.”

Mosher’s assessment was strongly supported by emeritus bishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, who repeatedly proffered his criticisms of the deal. He described the agreement as an “incredible betrayal,” and accused the Vatican of “selling out” Chinese Catholics.

The deal also led to a heightened increase in religious persecution, which the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China described as a direct consequence of the deal. In its 2020 report, the Commission wrote that the persecution witnessed is “of an intensity not seen since the Cultural Revolution.”

READ: Pope Francis’ deal with Communist China has led to greater persecution of Catholics

Yet both Parolin and Archbishop Paul Gallagher – the latter being the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations – have argued separately that the deal is chiefly the work of Pope Benedict XVI. Such a claim, Zen described as telling “a series of lies with eyes open,” as he accused Parolin of knowingly “lying.”

Indeed the Vatican’s deal has garnered criticism not just from Catholics, but from politicians and freedom advocates. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notably slated the deal in September 2020, writing that “it’s clear that the Sino-Vatican agreement has not shielded Catholics from the Party’s depredations, to say nothing of the Party’s horrific treatment of Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong devotees, and other religious believers.”


Early life

Born in Buenos Aires on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the eldest of five children. His parents were of Italian origin: his father Mario José was an Italian immigrant and an accountant, while his mother Regina Sivori also had Italian roots.

After attending a Salesian school for part of his education, Jorge Mario then studied chemistry during his teenage years, earning qualifications as a chemical technician.

With this, he spent some years working with his degree until he discerned a vocation to the priesthood.

He then spent a few years training at the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto. But aged 21, he developed severe pneumonia and doctors found three cysts. Consequently, he underwent surgery to remove a large part of one lung as a result of the illness, and spent the rest of his life with just one full lung, a factor that was taken into consideration when assessing the seriousness of his conditions during hospital admissions in his latter years.

The young Bergoglio soon after left the diocesan seminary and joined the Jesuits as a novice in March 1958.

He finished his study of humanities in Chile and returned to his native Argentina in 1963, where he taught literature and psychology at Santa Fé’s Immaculate Conception College and at the Colegio del Salvatore in Buenos Aires, between 1964 and 1966.

Next, the young Jesuit studied theology at the Colegio of San José from 1967 – 1970.


Ordination and leadership roles in Jesuit order and universities

Bergoglio’s time as a Jesuit priest and later prelate is much less known about, at least in the English-speaking world, since any English-language reports on the man emerged chiefly at the time of his ascent to the Papal throne, and have focused on his years in Rome. Some, such as prominently heterodox English journalist Austen Ivereigh, have written biographies presenting accounts of Bergoglio’s pre-Vatican years, but are unsurprisingly laudatory. For a more nuanced account, one must turn to Spanish-language accounts.

Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio

After nine years in the Jesuits, Bergoglio was ordained a priest in December 1969 at the hands of Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He continued his training following ordination, serving also as novice master and theology professor at Villa Barilari, San Miguel; consultor to the Province of the Society of Jesus and also Rector of the Colegio Máximo of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology.

With such roles already under his belt, Bergoglio made his final profession as a Jesuit on April 22, 1973, aged 36 years old.

Weeks later, in July 1973, he was appointed as Jesuit provincial in Argentina and Uruguay, a position he held for six years. Many reports by non-Argentines published after his ascent to the Pontificate have denoted Bergoglio being personally austere, but Henry Sire recounts the testimony of locals who carefully argued that Bergoglio’s austere lifestyle was a carefully crafted move in the “pursuit of power.”

Sire further notes that during his time as provincial in Argentina Bergoglio did in fact resist the liberal Marxist school and liberation theology, but simply because “Bergoglio himself was a man of the people, and in Latin America ‘liberation theology’ was a movement of intellectuals from the higher classes.”

After this term of office concluded, he returned to the College of San José as rector between 1980 and 1986.

At this juncture, the priest was sent to Frankfurt, Germany to finish his doctoral thesis. However, only months later he returned to Argentina, reportedly without permission according to Sire. He then served as a confessor and spiritual director to the Jesuit community in Córdoba, Argentina. He remained here for another six year period, in what has been styled an “exile.”

This “exile” was in part due to Bergoglio being at the center of discord in the Jesuit community of Argentina. His style of governance and mixing of religion with politics earned him enemies, both on the left and the right, who had already begun to amass before he left San José seminary as rector.

Bergoglio was accused of not conforming with the widespread changes seen after Vatican II, described as even being too traditional.

This was acknowledged by Bergoglio when made Pope, stating in 2013 that his “authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative.”

While later, as Pope Francis, Bergoglio made it a point to visit Jesuit communities on his various international trips – with all the appearance of a vibrant and healthy relationship – he was not liked by Jesuits in his native South America during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Relationships deteriorated to the point that Bergoglio was accused of having an “insistence that only he knew the right way to do things.”

By 1990, Bergoglio was confined to a restricted public ministry, not allowed to say public Mass, nor to make phone calls without permission, and to concentrate on confessions. Citing a “senior Jesuit in Rome,” researcher Paul Vallely wrote that Bergoglio’s leadership style had alienated about two-thirds of Argentina’s Jesuits by 1990.


Raised from Jesuit disgrace to be bishop

During this time, Fr. Bergoglio caught the eye of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino of Buenos Aires, who wanted to have the Jesuit assisting him in the archdiocese. Consequently he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in May 1992 by Pope John Paul II.

But such a promotion is out of the ordinary for a Jesuit, and consequently a dispensation was needed from the Order, along with a report. Henry Sire writes that the report – sent to Quarracino by the Jesuit general – “represents the most damning character study of Jorge Bergoglio composed by anyone before his election as pope.”

Archbishop Bergoglio

While the report since disappeared from the public view – and even from the Jesuit archives in their Rome headquarters – Sire presented the summary of a priest who had seen the report. It allegedly accused Fr. Bergoglio of:

• Habitual use of vulgar language
  
• Disobedience concealed under a mask of humility
  
• Lack of psychological balance
  

Quarracino welcomed Bergoglio into the diocese, perhaps convinced of Bergoglio’s account that he was a victim of unjust reports from the Jesuits. In December 1993 he was made Vicar General of the archdiocese.

In June 1997, Bergoglio was then made Co-Adjutor bishop of the archdiocese, and, less than 9 months later succeeded Quarracino upon his death as Archbishop, Primate of Argentina and Ordinary for Eastern-rite faithful in Argentina.


Cardinal Bergoglio: The Peronist and liberal force

John Paul II made Archbishop Bergoglio a cardinal in the February 2001 consistory, along with 36 other prelates, many of whom have remained notable figures in the life of the Church in recent years, including:

• Theodore McCarrick – the notorious ex-cardinal, whose alleged abuse sent shockwaves through the entire Church, but especially in America.
  
• Giovani Battista Re – who presided over the 2013 election of Bergoglio to the papacy due to his role as senior voting cardinal, and was dean of the college of cardinals under Francis from 2020.
  
• Walter Kasper – notoriously outspoken and heterodox prelate, who received signal praise from Francis in the earliest days and first half of his pontificate.
  
• Oscar Maradiaga – who served as a long-time ally to Bergoglio and led his C9 Council of Cardinals from its inception in 2013 through 2023.
  
• Cormac Murphy-O’Connor – key member of the St. Gallen Mafia who lobbied to elect Bergoglio in 2013.
  

In fact, the St. Gallen Mafia – a group well documented and self-confessed in their activities to organize Bergoglio’s election to the papacy in 2013 – can trace much of its influence in the 2013 conclave to this same 2001 consistory. Of the known members of the infamous group – O’Connor, da Cruz Policarpo, Martini, Danneels, Husar, Kasper, Silvestrini, and Lehmann – only Silvestrini and Martini were not created cardinal at the 2001 consistory.

Pope John Paul II greets Cdl. Bergoglio at the 2001 consistory

As cardinal, Bergoglio demonstrated ever more his adherence to the Argentinian political style of Peronism – named after the controversial Argentinian president Juan Perón – a specific style of veering to the left or right, depending on what best suited his search for power. It was a style which later also characterized his pontificate. Even his more sycophantic admirers admitted to this, with Austen Ivereigh terming him “the most astutely political Argentine since Perón.”

READ: Pope Francis attacked and stonewalled sex abuse victims while archbishop of Buenos Aires

Drawing from Argentinian sources, Henry Sire wrote that Cardinal Bergoglio assumed “a simple, retiring person which was in fact cover for close psychological control.” He populated his inner circle with “mediocrities whom he could dominate,” Sire added.

The new cardinal was remarked at for his apparently simple lifestyle, travelling on public transport and eschewing the customary episcopal apartments next to the cathedral.

Cdl. Bergoglio on the metro in Argentina.

His rise to prominence in the wider sphere was partly due to accident: Cardinal Egan was due to be Relator General of the 2001 Synod of Bishops in Rome, but owing to the September 11 terror attacks, Bergoglio was called upon to take over.

His personal interventions and leadership of the event led fellow cardinals and Vatican observers to suggest that Bergoglio was being thought of as papabile. Writing in 2002, veteran Vaticanista Sandro Magister argued that the 2001 Synod meant Bergoglio “has leapt to the top of the list of the papabili, given the ever-increasing likelihood that the next pope could be Latin-American.”

Sire’s account includes the detail that Bergoglio’s much-lauded speech was in fact written by an Argentinian priest in the Secretariat of the Synod.

A 2005 report – which noted Bergoglio as the chief rival to Ratzinger in the 2005 conclave – declared that “his star shone in Rome” and left “a favorable impression as a man open to communion and dialogue.”

That same report recounted how “Bergoglio is not a theologian or an outstanding intellectual nor a polyglot (although he can cope with foreign languages), but he moves in all milieux securely and ably, especially in Rome.”

It was also during this time as cardinal that Bergoglio swung from being known for somewhat more conservative values, to being a staunch liberal. It is understood that following the 2001 Synod, Bergoglio renewed his acquaintance with Cardinal Carlo Martini SJ, the leader of the St. Gallen group and arguably the leader of the liberal wing inside the Church at the time. Vallely reported that in 2001, Bergoglio’s outlook changed and he “began to talk like a liberation theologian.”

According to Ivereigh’s biography of Pope Francis, Martini and Bergoglio became close, with Sire noting the Argentine cardinal portrayed himself “as the ally” of the St. Gallen mafia.

Bergoglio’s influence in Latin America also grew during this time. While he had turned down the position of president of the Latin American Bishops Conference in 2002 – ­serving instead as vice-president – in November 2005 he assumed the role of president. His prestige was thus that of the leading Catholic cleric in the country during those years.

But he also emerged as a surprise – at least to the wider public – close contender to Pope Benedict XVI in the 2005 conclave following John Paul II’s death.

Bergoglio was “seen as a highly attractive choice” by many of the cardinals, wrote Austen Ivereigh in 2013, especially after Cardinal Martini withdrew his name from consideration citing illness. He garnered 40 of the possible 117 votes during the second round of voting, thus coming second behind Ratzinger.

The now-widely attested account of Bergoglio’s near rise to the Papal throne in 2005 was largely forgotten about in the clamor surrounding the new Pope Benedict XVI, and in the lead up to the 2013 conclave most news reports were too focused on the details of a shock resignation to seriously recall the leading contenders from 2005.


Cardinal to Pope

At the time of Benedict XVI’s resignation in 2013, Cardinal Bergoglio was 76 years old and still in-situ as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Accounts suggest that in the years leading up to the 2013 conclave he was looking to retire and even mentioning his plans to move to a clergy retirement home.

Upon reaching 75 in December 2011, he submitted his mandatory notice of retirement as Archbishop but continued to lead the see due to Pope Benedict XVI not appointing a successor.

But upon Benedict’s resignation, everything changed for the Argentinian who had declared his intention to retire. Citing sources from Buenos Aires, Sire recounts how Bergoglio reacted to the shock news.

Bergoglio’s attitude, writes Sire, had become “exultant.” The telephone “never stopped ringing with international calls from Bergoglio’s allies and they were all calls of personal congratulations.” One of the cardinal’s friends who rang to ask about the news was reportedly told by Bergoglio: “You don’t know what this means.”

Emboldened by his near success in 2005 Bergoglio made his way to Rome for the conclave. His influence amongst the Latin American prelates was strong and his supporters in the St. Gallen group held considerable influence over European prelates.

READ: There are still many unsolved mysteries surrounding the 2013 election of Cdl. Bergoglio to the papacy

Much controversy has since surrounded the details of that 2013 conclave. Some have argued passionately that rules and procedures laid down by Pope John Paul II in Universi Dominici Gregis (UDG) were not followed, thus invalidating the procedure, and making Francis a non-pope. Others argue and present evidence to show that some form of pro-Bergoglio organizing was definitely in place prior to the conclave but was of a level that did not violate the Church’s law.

Certain reports are more credible and attested to by numerous sources, while other arguments remain less so.

Cdl. Bergoglio at the start of the 2013 conclave

Controversy aside, however, certain aspects are worth considering especially given that Sire describes the event as “probably the most political papal election since the fall of the Papal State.”

Writing just two days after Bergoglio ascended to the Papal throne on March 13, 2013, Ivereigh stated that the cardinal reportedly impressed his cardinal colleagues with a speech he gave.

Ivereigh wrote:

Before or after that address, he was approached by some over-80 cardinals who had voted for him on the first and second ballots in 2005, to ask him if he could be willing to be considered in 2013. Having received a favourable answer, the idea of Cardinal Bergoglio spread quickly among a number of different groups.

The afore-mentioned St. Gallen Mafia is argued to have been involved to some extent in the resignation of Benedict XVI, since it comprised of a number of key cardinals who schemed for years to elect a pope who would change the Church and attempt to make it more liberal. Journalists and researchers have highlighted links between Cardinal Bergoglio and members of the self-professed group.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, though too old to vote himself, was also described by various accounts as being highly influential in drumming up support for Bergoglio. Based on interviews with O’Connor and the former British ambassador to the Holy See, the former editor-in-chief for The Tablet Catherine Pepinster described O’Connor as “playing the most powerful non-voting role in the choosing of a pope I’ve ever known.”

This was acknowledged by The Guardian’s 2017 obituary of O’Connor, recounting a meeting between Francis and O’Connor shortly after the 2013 conclave, when “the pope pointed to his old friend and said, ‘You’re to blame!’”

Ex-cardinal McCarrick also attested to his role in the election. Some 6 months after the 2013 election, he declared that prior to the general conversations at the conclave he was approached by “a very interesting and influential Italian gentleman.” The “very brilliant man, very influential man in Rome” said, “What about Bergoglio? Does he have a chance?” McCarrick stated he was surprised at the question, and replied, “I don’t think so because no one’s mentioned his name.” The Italian man replied, referring to Bergoglio, “He could do it, you know, reform the church.”

Pope Francis greets then Cardinal McCarrick

Indeed, Ivereigh wrote that the St. Gallen group “first secured Bergoglio’s assent. Asked if he was willing, he said that he believed that at this time of crisis for the Church no cardinal could refuse if asked. Murphy-O’Connor knowingly warned him to ‘be careful,’ and that it was his turn now, and was told ‘capisco’ – ‘I understand.’”

This particular line of Ivereigh’s about the conclave was a cause of controversy even in itself, due to the claim that cardinals secured Bergoglio’s assent prior to the conclave, which would violate the laws of UDG. Holy See Press Office director Fr. Lombardi SJ issued a statement in December 2014, which attested that Cdls. O’Connor, Lehmann, Daneels and Kasper “explicitly denied this reporting, both concerning the request of approval from Cardinal Bergoglio, and concerning the conducting of a campaign to push his election.”

READ: Evidence Pope follows blueprint to change Church by dissident cardinal who led St. Gallen ‘mafia’

Ivereigh countered, arguing he “never meant to suggest” that the cardinals had “some kind of agreement” with Bergoglio, but that they believed “this time Cardinal Bergoglio would not resist his election.”

With such peculiar and political elements seemingly taking place and being widely reported in an unprecedented manner due to the nature of social media and internet news-sites, debate of varying degrees swirled around Francis’s election throughout his pontificate.

Finally, in August 2023, Archbishop Viganò made the striking claim that a cardinal who participated in the 2013 conclave told friends “that he has witnessed facts that render the election of Jorge Mario null and void.” The archbishop had in 2022 already expressed his doubts about the validity of the 2013 conclave and requested an “investigation.”

Viganò repeated but did not expand on the claim – a claim which progressed much further in its weight and impact than reports of political style machinations during the 2013 conclave. The claim went unanswered by the Vatican, and also by those cardinals who participated in the 2013 conclave.

Another peculiar aspect is about the existence of five votes on the second day of voting, which would violate UDG’s stipulation of only four votes per day. Henry Sire, Italian journalist Antonio Socci, and Austen Ivereigh all report details about the errant ballot, although Socci goes further than others in arguing that the ballot violated the entire election.

The first vote took place on March 12. The accounts state that on the second day of voting, the fourth vote of that day included a “blank voting-paper” which invalidated that particular count of votes. Ivereigh writes that there was found “one more ballot paper than there were cardinals,” meaning that the fifth vote of the conclave – fourth of the day – was “annulled” since “the rules were clear, and the cardinals had to vote all again.”

While UDG stipulates only four votes per day, a fifth one of the day – sixth of the conclave – then took place, in which Bergoglio received his majority of 95 votes of the total 115. Debate has since emerged as to whether that fifth vote of the second day was so irregular as to invalidate the election. With the details of a conclave bound by the Pontifical Secret, more precise accounts of the 2013 conclave are unlikely to be known, even though its end result is of course so widely documented in history, as Cardinal Bergoglio emerged onto the Vatican’s Loggia as Pope Francis – the first of that name.

With the death of Pope Francis, the Church thus sees the end of his pontificate: years marked by confusion, seeming attack on doctrine, along with tolerance of irreligious and non-Catholic values in the highest level of the hierarchy. Bergoglio, as priest, bishop, and cardinal proved to be a divisive figure.

As Pope, his supporters have argued that he was a radical figure of reform, opening the doors of the Church in order to let the touch of modern society influence an outdated reality. By his critics, he is described to have been one of the most destructive figures within the Catholic Church due to his statements, actions and lack of action.