Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, died on Monday, April 21, at 7:35 a.m. of a stroke. He was 88 years old and had been ill for some time. His appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to deliver the Urbi et Orbi blessing (to Rome and to the world), which the Pope gives only twice a year (Easter and Christmas), caused a wave of admiration and emotion. The evangelical world was not exempt from this, and many messages of admiration and condolences have continually been offered on his regard.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936 to Italian immigrants, came to the papal throne on March 13, 2013. His papacy marked an era of transition and change for the Catholic Church and will long be remembered and analyzed for this change.
Right from the start, his choice of simple, inclusive, evangelical-like language aroused sympathy and admiration from the evangelical world. Now that he has passed, admiration is accompanied by new questions. As a Catholic, did he really ‘return to the house of the Father,’ as Cardinal Kevin Farrel claimed when he announced the Pope’s passing?
We acknowledge that the Lord alone knows the hearts of men, and that no one can arrogantly pass judgement on matters that belong to God and His sovereignty alone. We do not know what was going on in the heart of Francis during the last moments of his life. But we can, however, make some observations about what we do know, based on what was plainly observed during his papacy.
For example, in 2018 Pope Francis was visiting a parochial church in the suburbs of Rome and was fielding questions from children who were participating in their catechism. One child came to Francis, clearly distraught, and shared with the Pope that his father had recently died. He was an atheist and non-believer, but had his children baptized. “Where is my father now?” asked the child. “Is he in heaven?” Francis, addressing the entire audience, replied: “His father was not a believer, but he had his children baptized. He had, therefore, a good heart. And how does God, who is a father himself, view a man such as this boy’s father? Do you think that a father’s heart will abandon another father and cast him away? Do you believe that?” “No!” responded the crowd. He then assured the child that his father was in heaven and encouraged him to talk and pray to his father.
This episode is, and will remain, famous in the pontificate of Pope Francis because it was one of the episodes in which the spirituality and soteriology of Francis and the character of his papacy emerged most clearly.
The Pope’s response remained “Catholic” in the sense that it focused on the “goodness” of the human heart and the merits acquired by giving children access to the sacraments, such as baptism. It also focused on the dominant message of Francis’ papacy, which was expressed in his 2020 encyclical letter, “All Brothers.” In fact, the papacy of Francis, always deliberately vague concerning doctrinal issues, sought to shift the Catholic emphasis to universal brotherhood. It is not, however, a brotherhood and Christian unity based on a shared confession that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, but is a unity that affirms that all the world’s religions belong to the same extended family.
With Pope Francis, the Catholic Church saw certain traditional aspects of Roman Catholicism undergo a scaling back. The Pope, in fact, focused little on hierarchy, the sacramental system, and other markers that have often been seen as alienating to those outside the Church, choosing instead to embrace what he called “mission.” This refers to the ability to attract outsiders and make them feel included in the Church, even those who are non-practicing, non-believers, or belong to other denominations. On issues such as divorce, same-sex unions, and non-Christian lifestyles, his stance was similarly ambiguous. Largely avoiding doctrine, Francis never emphasized a call to repentance but instead appealed to inclusion and emphasized a non-judgmental attitude toward others. “Who am I to judge?” he famously said.
His Argentinian background, which was far removed from the doctrinal rigor of his predecessor Benedict XVI, together with his lack of interest in theological scholarship and his emphasis on social issues, garnered him some favor for using his influence to promote world peace and combat certain social injustices.
However, these tendencies also drew criticism from cardinals, theologians, and significant sectors of Roman Catholicism, particularly in the United States. The departure from traditional doctrines has, in fact, created a sense of unease and fear that the Catholic identity is becoming much less defined.
While his pontificate moved away from certain rigidities of Roman doctrine, the Pope never abandoned other aspects that are distinctly Catholic, but that lack biblical basis. He was a deeply Marian pope, frequently elevating Mary throughout his papacy. He did not hold back in proclaiming new saints and encouraging their veneration, and during his pontificate, two Holy Years were declared: an “extraordinary” one in 2016 and the ordinary, so-called Jubilee of 2025, which is still ongoing and whose conclusion he will not witness.
The so-called Jubilees are extraordinary years in which the Church grants plenary indulgences for the remission of sins to pilgrims.
Roman Catholicism, even today, is a form of Christianity practiced according to human traditions, with a sacramental and hierarchical system far removed from biblical Christianity.
Francis’ commitment was to reform the Catholic Church in a way that made it appear more inclusive, open, and closer to the people. Nothing, however, was done to bring the Church closer to the biblical gospel. Despite his seemingly evangelical language, Francis’ papacy has only moved the Church further away from the principles of the Reformation, which sought a return to the truths of the gospel.
The Christianity embodied in Bergoglio’s public role has been a Christianity rooted in universalism and far removed from the Reformation principles of Scripture alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, and to the glory of God alone.
While many Catholics mourn the loss of their leader and the so-called Vicar of Christ, evangelicals can show love and compassion for their Roman Catholic friends and family members by proclaiming the true gospel, which is anchored in the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a gospel that needs no other mediators, for Christ never leaves His throne at the right hand of the Father, from which He intercedes for us without the need for other vicars to administer His gifts of grace.
— Chiara Lamberti is an Italian evangelical journalist. She currently lives in Rome with her husband and their two children, and is a member of Breccia di Roma Prati, an evangelical church near Vatican City in Rome.