Pope Francis Has Died at the Age of 88

Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at the age of 88. His passing was confirmed early Monday morning by Vatican camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell, marking the end of one of the most polarizing papacies in modern history.

While the Vatican praised him for his "service to the Lord and His Church," many faithful Catholics and observers around the world saw a Church increasingly tangled in leftist ideology, political ambiguity, and globalist sympathies under his leadership.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, led the Church during a time of major cultural upheaval and rather than holding firm to traditional values, he often leaned into the winds of secular progressivism. Whether it was his ambiguous stance on same-sex unions, his overt criticism of capitalism, or his enthusiastic embrace of global climate change rhetoric, Pope Francis repeatedly frustrated conservatives within the Church and beyond.

• In 2015, he became the first pope to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, where he avoided strong language on abortion and religious liberty but spoke extensively on climate and immigration.

• His 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti called for "universal fraternity" while subtly critiquing nationalism and border enforcement a stance that drew criticism from traditionalists who value national sovereignty.

• In a 2021 interview, Francis took aim at "rigid" Catholics, suggesting that holding firm to doctrine is a form of "ideological extremism."

Under his watch, the Vatican appeared more eager to comment on carbon emissions than on defending persecuted Christians in regions like the Middle East and Africa. And despite his calls for "A Church of the Poor," critics noted that his alliances with left-wing politicians and global NGOs often came at the expense of religious clarity.

To be sure, Pope Francis did have his supporters, especially among secular media and political elites, who admired his progressive stances on climate, migration, and economic redistribution. But for many ordinary believers, his legacy is one of confusion, inconsistency, and a retreat from the core moral teachings that once made the Church a cornerstone of Western civilization.

As the Vatican enters the sacred process of selecting the next pope, eyes will be on whether the Church reclaims its spiritual backbone or continues down the path of globalist appeasement and doctrinal dilution.

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