Progressive Pope?

Pope Francis has died. He was often at the center of controversy for pushing the Catholic Church's limit with progressive policies and pronouncements. He stretched out his hand as the leader of the Church to the LGBT community. He also democratized church decision making, appointed cardinals from the global south, and emphasized the plight of the poor while preaching against inequality.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he took the name "Francis" in honor of Francis of Assisi who gave up a rich inheritance to live an underprivileged life and cared deeply for nature and the poor. Since he was born into a working-class catholic family in Argentina economic inequality always animated him. As Pope he criticized Israel's assault on the Palestinians and supported a Palestinian state. He was himself the first Latin American pontiff, explaining in part his dedication to opening the Church up to the global south.

However, his progressive record is not without blemish. Despite extending an olive branch to the LGBT community he maintained that homosexuality is a sin and made pronouncements against "gender theory". Unlike other Argentine Church officials during the murderous right-wing military dictatorship in the country he did basically nothing to resist the regime. He claims he didn't know the extent of the atrocities committed at the time, though critics find this doubtful.

One can reasonably ask whether there can be a "progressive Pope" in anything, but a relative sense. The Catholic Church has been described by anthropologist Herold Barclay as a theocracy. It was one of the main institutions which carried out the global genocide of indigenous peoples that paved the way for the existence of the modern "Western" political, economic, and ideological order. A monumental source of religious authority like the Catholic Church exists to use belief in ethereal authority to give doctrinal authorities social power over rank-and-file believers. It thereby constrains millions of human beings in how they act within the material realm to achieve self-determination and meet their needs. This constraint becomes problematic in light of the historically proven need and capacity for human beings to solve human problems by expanding our agency in the material realm.

Sources
https://theconversation.com/francis-a-pope-who-cared-deeply-for-the-poor-and-opened-up-the-catholic-church-164362
https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2025/4/21/the-take-whats-next-for-the-catholic-church-after-pope-francis
Barclay, The State
Churchill, Indigenous Peoples and Colonialism