'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis' recent comments on the conservatives of the U.S. Catholic church have garnered strong reactions from MAGA supporters. As per news outlet Associated Press, the 86-year-old spiritual leader has slammed the "backwardness" of some conservatives who have replaced faith with ideology.
Francis made the remarks at a private meeting with members of his Jesuit religious order at the Colégio de São João de Brito in Lisbon on August 5; a transcript of the discussion was released on August 28 by the Jesuit newspaper La Civilta Cattolica, which is reviewed by the Vatican secretariat of state.
As per the publication, the comments came after a Portuguese Jesuit told Pope Francis that he came across several Catholics and US bishops who condemned the Pope's 10-year reign and the Jesuits of today. Acknowledging the point, Pope Francis said that the situation in the US churches is "backward" because of “a very strong reactionary attitude,” which results in a "climate of closure."
“Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith. The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong. When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church.”
The pope reminded these people that "backwardness is useless" and that the Catholics and bishops of the US must "understand that there’s a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals.”
The Pope's comments sparked strong reactions online by some of the MAGA supporters, and one of them commented:
X users react to Pope Francis' recent remarks on US Catholic churches and bishops
After Pope Francis' remarks went viral, X users responded strongly. Several conservatives called out the Pope for his words with some of them labeling him "woke."
Some of the responses are:
During the same conversation, Pope Francis said that the effects of this "backwardness" are "devastating."
“The problems that moralists have to examine today are very serious, and to deal with them they have to take the risk of making changes, but in the direction I was saying."
During the talk, Pope Francis also provided Jesuits with vocation-related advice, including the advice to avoid worldliness. As per Catholic News Agency, he said:
"Spiritual worldliness is an often recurring pitfall. You have to learn to distinguish: It is one thing to prepare for dialogue with the world — as you do with dialogue with the worlds of art and culture — it is another thing to compromise yourself with the things of the world, with worldliness."
Francis has recognized that some Republicans in the U.S. have been critical of him. He once joked that it was an "honor" to be attacked by Americans.
Obsessed with Crosswords, Wordle, and other word games? Take our quick survey and let us get to know you better!
