“The Big Bang does not contradict the creative intervention of God – it requires it” Pope Francis 1936 – 2025

It is likely that Pope Francis will be remembered as the Pope of the ‘culture wars,’ the ideological and political conflicts that have dominated Western societies during the time he has been Pontiff. Chosen for his role in 2013, he was in place for an oft-cited marker for the escalation in this strange battle between ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ – the election of Donald Trump as US President in 2016. 

For those passionate about social justice, which is so much part of the culture wars, he is perceived as one of the great popes. He has spoken out against war and poverty and in favour of action on climate change and welcoming refugees into the West.   Added to his unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and the fight against economic inequality he will be remembered for his perceived ascetism and eschewing some of the pomp and luxury of his post. Taken together, he is viewed by many as worthy of the namesake of the humble St Francis of Assisi, the much-loved 13th Century saint who famously rejected his father’s wealth and dedicated his life to poverty and service of the poor, and reputedly talked with animals. This is the saint from whom Bergoglio took his papal name.    

The Big Bang considered to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the creative intervention of God. On the contrary, it requires it.” — Pope Francis said, addressing a meeting of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, an independent body housed in the Vatican and financed largely by the Holy See.

Yet Pope Francis has been seen by many conservative Catholics as intolerably liberal and they have been unusually vocal in their criticism – so much so that some have been publicly disciplined some, such as Bishop Strickland, who was removed from his post in 2023.

His first encyclical – the written declarations on faith and practice that all popes publish - was an encouragement to evangelism and a focus on the gospel: Evangelii gaudium [English: The joy of the gospel]. However, his best-known publications have more of a political flavour, such as Laudate Si [Praise be to you] on care for the environment.  

However, one of Pope Francis’s seemingly inconsequential acts, but possibly most revolutionary was to encourage the “Synod on synodality” which could see the laity have more influence and power within the Catholic Church. So far, the teaching of the church has been protected by the authority of the cardinals and their conservatism – but that could change in the hands of the generally much more liberal laity. 

The fiercest criticism of the Pope from within the church has been due to his much more accommodating language towards people who are same-sex attracted. The Catholic Church teaches that all sexual behaviour outside of heterosexual marriage is sinful. So there was a particular outcry at a statement of Catholic doctrine that he signed in 2023, ‘Fiducia supplicans,’ [Supplicating trust] which was perceived by some as allowing the Catholic Church to bless homosexual relationships, and led to open condemnation by many Bishops around the world, especially in Africa.  

Yet some of his more conservative supporters argued that the statement was misunderstood. It did not approve of the blessing of same-sex unions, they say, but instead the individuals, marking an important milestone in ‘loving the sinner, but not the sin’. Some more liberal Catholic churches didn’t perceive this distinction, and went ahead blessing gay relationships almost immediately, and haven’t appeared to have been publicly disciplined.   

Perhaps the ambiguity and confusion of the document was deliberate, an attempt to build bridges over these tempestuous seas? He most upset the “trads” – the ultra-conservative wing of the Catholic church - with his order to restrict their beloved ‘Traditional Latin Mass’ – the old liturgy that was used before Vatican II. It has become increasingly popular in a younger generation that questions modernism and progressivism.  

Although his conservative critics have probably been the loudest, he could not be typecast as progressive. With strongly worded criticisms of “gender ideology” – the belief that people can choose whether they are a man or a woman – criticisms of Marxism, and reaffirming that women cannot be priests, there is no doubt that his image as a simply “leftie” Pope is deficient. As Peter D Williams, a Catholic apologist, said in an old Premier Unbelievable debate with ardent  critic of Catholicism James White, “this Pope isn’t the liberal that people imagine him to be.” 

This image was perhaps augmented by his background in the Jesuits – now widely seen as unorthodox and liberal – and his upbringing in Argentina, where the progressive ‘liberation theology’ is popular. Yet in his own country, he was known as a moderate who held on to orthodox positions. His holding on to traditional doctrine and theology led to a break with the Jesuits in his home country, where the Society’s direction was more left wing and non-orthodox. 

There are ways in which he broke away from tradition of the headship but through no choice of his own. Hailing from Argentina, Pope Francis was the first pontiff to have been born and raised outside Europe since the 8th Century, although his parents were Italian immigrants, fleeing fascism in their native country. He is the first pope to hail from the ‘Society of Jesus’, better known as the Jesuits. He was also the first Pope to take his name from St Francis of Assisi. His papacy was also unusual in that for its first years, the preceding Pope was still alive. Joseph Ratzinger, or Pope Benedict XVI, had surprised the Catholic community by his resignation due to poor health in 2013.  

Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, and famously having worked as a bouncer, Pope Francis felt drawn to the religious life after experiencing illness. In the Jesuits he served as a teacher but was quickly promoted through the ranks of the organisation. His elevation to Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and later to Cardinal in the region was a surprise, as the religious community does not approve of holding office in this way. However he held to the vows of poverty that he had made, and he is said to cook his own food and live a simple, almost austere life.  

Whatever his politics, surveys of the Catholic faithful show that he has been popular in most Catholic communities around the world, even if that support waned a little since the beginning of his rule. He was perceived as a change in direction for the church, rightly or wrongly.  

In another Premier Unbelievable discussion with the liberal reformer Hans Kung, Williams summarised impressions of Pope Francis a year into his papacy: “I think everyone agrees that Pope Francis is a very, very nice chap, and the style that he’s brought in is certainly somewhat new. It’s certainly been very friendly.  

“But at the same time, he has continually said, ‘I’m a loyal son of the church’. He’s always upheld Church teaching.  

“He’s spoken more than any other recent Pope about the devil, and I think that’s actually quite important, because we find we’re in an age where people have underplayed the role of the enemy in his attacks on the church and his attacks on individuals in the role of sin in our lives. Pope Francis is very strong on that, and that comes from the pastoral experience that he had whilst he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, having been an archbishop. I think that’s something new, relatively, because the last few popes that we had were very academic.”  

For some he is traditional, for others progressive, but he was certainly unique.