April 25, 2025
“If necessary, use words.”
The original (Saint) Francis purportedly said this. Preach the gospel all the time, and—if necessary—use words. To this, we talkers want our chance to reply. First, we might point to when Paul asked, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” Second, we might point out that Francis communicated this gem using words. Third, we might argue whether Saint Francis of Assisi was even the source of these words.
Yet argue as we might, in the end, most of us appreciate the sentiment as it’s a clever if hyperbolic way of saying something biblical: “Faith without works is dead.” Saint Francis showed his faith in God by works of mercy to people, from renouncing his opulent inheritance to befriending lepers to sharing his own meager possessions with the poor.
And that’s where Pope Francis shone: acts of humble mercy. He washed and kissed the feet of Muslim and Hindu refugees.[1] He personally frequented homeless shelters.[2] Rather than the official papal residence, he chose to live in a Vatican guest house suite.[3] Some 1,000 years after the Great Schism, he met with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch and declared, “We are brothers.”[4]
In other words, the pope hadn’t drawn the saint’s name out of a zucchetto (the pope’s skullcap). In a 2013 homily in Saint Francis Square in Assisi, Italy, Pope Francis called out, “We turn to you, Francis, and we ask you: Teach us to be ‘instruments of peace,’ of that peace which has its source in God, the peace which Jesus has brought us.”[5]
“The pope hadn’t drawn the saint’s name out of a zucchetto.”
Yet, we might wonder, why such a likable, Francis-like pope is getting, amid many glowing tributes, quite a mixed reaction from:
- Catholics: “The Francis pontificate was inadequate to the real issues facing the Church.”[6]
- Protestants: “Pope Francis was thus my own worst Protestant nightmare: an authoritarian Roman pope driving a liberal Protestant agenda.”[7]
- Political conservatives: “He championed the poor while favoring ideas that keep them poor.”[8]
- Political liberals: “It was this same transformative vision that ultimately fueled the rise of an energized conservative Catholic resistance.”[9]
Pope Francis frustrated a lot of people. He would say things that sounded surprisingly progressive, but then a closer look would show he hadn’t meaningfully shifted doctrine. For example, when he said, “All religions are paths to God,” he was basically in line with Vatican II’s (1962-1965) recognition of strands both true and holy in other religions.[10]
His first year as pope, Pope Francis elated progressives when he said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”[11] A decade later, triumphant headlines proclaimed, “Pope Francis blesses same-sex couples!” Yet such statements proved misleading, as the pope himself explained on 60 Minutes:
“No, what I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person, yes. The blessing is for everyone. For everyone. To bless a homosexual-type union, however, goes against the given right, against the law of the Church. But to bless each person, why not? The blessing is for all. Some people were scandalized by this. But why? Everyone! Everyone!”[12]
“He would say things that sounded surprisingly progressive, but then a closer look would show he hadn’t meaningfully shifted doctrine.”
That same interview clarified that Pope Francis wasn’t even willing to tip over what is usually the first domino for Protestants: the issue of gender in church leadership. The narrator explained, “He told us he opposes allowing women to be ordained as priests or deacons.”[13]
Which side was Pope Francis on, exactly?
That’s not the best question to ask. Like it or not, a lot of us see in two main colors: blue and red. Even when we’re intentional—one hand clutching theology convictions to the center, the other fending our political opinions to the side—still we can confuse one hand with the other.
If we are Christians outside Catholicism, we wouldn’t look to a pope for theology, but we might well wonder what political sway he might wield. Again, when we’re seeing red and blue, we can’t help but judge whether he helps our political cause or not. As such, he tended to rile political conservatives, from saying Trump “is not Christian” in light of building the Mexico-U.S. wall[14] to championing the fight against climate change so adamantly that he is being called “the first climate pope.”[15] Yet progressives aren’t thrilled with his legacy either, as he contributed more vibes than substance to some of their core issues.
“Even when we’re intentional—one hand clutching theology convictions to the center, the other fending our political opinions to the side—still we can confuse one hand with the other.”
Yet, again, wondering which side he was on isn’t the best question. Yes, he weighed in on political matters, but he was not a politician. And, as pope’s do, he made theological statements, but he wasn’t primarily a theologian—and certainly not in the vein of his immediate predecessors. At core, Pope Francis wasn’t championing a side as much as he was being a pastor, a shepherd. We shouldn’t be surprised that he disappointed this or that group, as he wasn’t aiming for doctrinal modification or even clarification as much as pastorly presence.
It seems Pope Francis longed to shepherd those outside the church’s margins back into the fold—a noble aim. Yet at times, this desire veered into statements heavy on merciful optimism and light on biblical theology. During a Q&A with an audience of children, a boy, Emanuele, asked the pope if his deceased dad, an atheist but a good man, will be in heaven. In reply, the pope voiced his own question to the audience of children: Would God abandon a father like this, who was a good man? They all responded, “No!” “There, Emanuele. That is the answer,” said the pope.[16]
And therein lies the danger of being pastorly without being theological. We provide a merciful ambience into which the crowd provides the answers. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve switched from commenting on a few snapshots from one multifaceted papacy, and I’m looking directly at Protestant church leaders.
“Therein lies the danger of being pastorly without being theological. We provide a merciful ambience into which the crowd provides the answers.”
If necessary, use words?
It’s a good aim to live, like Saint Francis, such that your theology inspires actions which preach your theology. I’m pretty sure the pope washing the feet of Muslim and Hindu refugees made for better preaching than my latest 3-point sermon. Yet danger lurks when we go ahead and assume theology as a given—that our theology is anchored for us and clear to others. That our theology goes without saying. Our world is eager to coopt our actions for their meta-causes, and when church leaders are pastorly without being theological, it’s often an unspoken way of saying, “Sign me up.” In these times, well-chosen words are more necessary than ever.
[1] Junno Arocho Esteves, “Pope Francis Washes Feet of Muslim Refugees,” The Catholic Weekly, March 25, 2016, https://catholicweekly.com.au/pope-francis-washes-feet-of-muslim-refugees/.
[2] Agence France-Presse, “Pope Francis Visits Homeless Shelter on Last Day in Mongolia,” VOA News, September 4, 2023, https://www.voanews.com/a/pope-francis-visits-homeless-shelter-on-last-day-in-mongolia/7253236.html.
[3] Cindy Wooden, “Pope Francis to Live in Vatican Guesthouse, Not Papal Apartments,” National Catholic Reporter, March 26, 2013, https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-francis-live-vatican-guesthouse-not-papal-apartments.
[4] Joshua J. McElwee, “Francis Meets the Russian Patriarch, Declaring, ‘We Are Brothers,’” National Catholic Reporter, February 12, 2016, https://www.ncronline.org/francis-meets-russian-patriarch-declaring-we-are-brothers.
[5] Pope Francis, “Homily of Holy Father Francis: Saint Francis Square, Assisi,” Vatican, October 4, 2013, https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20131004_omelia-visita-assisi.html.
[6] Charles J. Chaput, “The Church after Francis,” First Things, April 21, 2025, https://firstthings.com/the-church-after-francis/.
[7] Carl R. Trueman, “Pope Francis, My Worst Protestant Nightmare,” First Things, April 22, 2025, https://firstthings.com/pope-francis-my-worst-protestant-nightmare/.
[8] The Editorial Board, “The Legacy of Pope Francis, 1936-2025,” Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2025, https://www.wsj.com/opinion/pope-francis-1936-2025-obituary-championed-the-poor-and-policies-that-kept-them-poor-cacdb76a?mod=Searchresults_pos13&page=1.
[9] Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham, “Pope Francis’ Legacy in the U.S.: A More Open, and Then Divided, Church,” New York Times, April 21, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/us/pope-francis-legacy-us.html?searchResultPosition=2.
[10] Thomas Banchoff, “Pope Francis on Paths to God,” Commonweal Magazine, September 26, 2024, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/pope-francis-paths-god.
[11] Nicole Winfield, “‘Who Am I to Judge?’ Pope Says of Gay Priests,” AP News, July 29, 2013, https://apnews.com/general-news-7b465b60945f40deb3a68b3de742f84a.
[12] Norah O’Donnell, “Pope Francis Tells 60 Minutes in Rare Interview: ‘The Globalization of Indifference Is a Very Ugly Disease,” CBS News, April 21, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-interview-60-minutes-transcript/.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Scott Detrow, “Pope Says Trump ‘Is Not Christian,’” NPR, February 18, 2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/02/18/467229313/pope-says-trump-is-not-christian.
[15] Chico Harlan, “Francis Was the First Climate Pope. Who Will Take Up His Mantle,” Washington Post, April 22, 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/04/22/pope-francis-climate-future/.
