The Beloved Pope Francis Did Have 'Many Critics'

Pope Francis was being remembered as a beloved leader of the Catholic Church following his death Monday at age 88, but the pontiff was not without his critics over the years since he was elected pope in 2013. A look at some of them:

• Conservative US Catholics: As the New York Times recounts, Francis was often in opposition to this faction, and was frequently critical of the Trump administration's policies. The extensive Times piece delves into the way Francis "galvanized" the American church, which he once criticized for allowing "ideologies" to replace faith.

• Traditionalists: Francis was the first Latin American pope, and in "detaching the church's identity from Europe," he made a number of enemies among the more traditional arm of the church, Slate reports. More focused on issues of poverty and war than previous popes had been, Francis was accused by some of foregoing the church's traditional worship methods. He was even accused of promoting paganism due to his acceptance of supernatural practices common in Latin America.
• The previous pope's allies: Pope Benedict XVI retired to make way for Francis, and was still alive until 2022. Some of the more "doctrine-minded" clergy who disagreed with Francis' reform agenda preferred Benedict's style, the AP reports. Benedict himself even seemed to be attempting to influence Francis when he co-wrote a book on priestly celibacy during a period when Francis was considering the possibility of ordaining married men. Benedict ultimately removed himself as co-author, but his longtime secretary later wrote a tell-all denouncing Francis.

• African bishops: The contingent once came together to oppose Francis' approval of blessings for same-sex couples, the AP reports.
• The "Dubia" cardinals: Francis was accused of heresy when he opened the door to allowing divorced Catholics to receive Communion, with four cardinals issuing "dubia," or questions, asking him to clarify his position. He did not reply.
• Vatican's former ambassador to the US: Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano accused Francis of covering up allegations that then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had sex with seminarians. Francis ultimately defrocked McCarrick, and in 2024, he excommunicated Vigano.

(More Pope Francis stories.)