Pope Francis' Progressive Playbook

A change agent at work

In the wake of his death, much has been said about the life of Pope Francis and what happens next. Others have focused on the error of the papacy itself, including my colleague Dr. Brad Harrub (here).

While I’m not a member of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and vehemently disagree with much of what they stand for, I acknowledge that the office of the Pope holds tremendous sway over the religious and even political world. Though I oppose all of them, some do a better job than others. To that end, I believe Francis was truly terrible at the job. That being the case…

I want to focus on what Francis did give us—and that’s the value of a bad example.

There’s an old term for subversives that’s seemingly fallen out of favor, but perfectly describes what Francis was to the RCC and global religion: change agent. From day one he seemed bent on correcting everyone who came before him and fundamentally shifting the tenor of the RCC.

But rarely do change agents announce themselves as such. Instead, they have subtle tactics we must train ourselves to spot.

They side with the world against the church

To hear Francis tell it, it turned out the progressive world is right about economics, immigration, climate change, homosexuality, racism, egalitarianism, and just about every other major cultural issue. The Catholics and the rest of the Christian world needed to be lectured about why they weren’t in line with the world on all these issues.

Yes, the world is as degenerate as could be and has no fear of God. But they’re right about all of this, and every Christian before 1990 was wrong, the change agent in chief seemed to believe.

Most progressive Christians use this tactic in some way. For example, one 2021 RELEVANT article argued that churches that stayed open during Covid were in the wrong because non-Christians viewed it as dangerous. Some insisted we must shut up and listen to the Critical Race Theorists because they were talking about racism in ways the church had failed to do.

We derive our truths from God’s Word. If effectively no believer in God’s Word ever held a belief for 2,000 years but “enlightened” 21st century people decide to concede the belief to the world, you can be certain the Bible is an afterthought in their equation.

They will rarely be clear about their true beliefs

One of the hallmarks of Francis’ tenure was his tendency to make statements that seemingly contradicted Biblical values or long-held RCC teachings, only to be followed by a Vatican spokesman appointed to explain how the Pope didn’t actually mean what it seemed like he said. (As parodied by Lutheran Satire here.)

For example, an NBC News headline declares, “Pope Francis created a 'seismic shift' toward acceptance, LGBTQ Catholics say.” And yet, Francis did still call it a sin. Depending on the article you read, he was both pro- and anti-gay.

These are the kinds of baby steps progressives make. Either they want to overturn the traditional teaching yet know it can’t happen all at once so they hide their cards… or they don’t want to overturn the whole thing, but they compromise enough to pave the way for future generations to overturn it.

Truth be told, the world may never really know Francis’ full beliefs about issues like homosexuality or even what it takes to be saved. This is a textbook move for change agents, so pay attention for this kind of ambiguity. An inability to answer yes or no, or to say “I believe ______” is a tell. For example, Tim Mackie of the Bible Project is a wizard at this. It’s hard to know what he believes about many key doctrines, so, it’s hard to even argue back against him. This is by design.

“Whaaaat? What are you so mad about?? I didn’t say that!”

Taking firm stands draws flack. It makes you have to defend a belief. Biblical faithfulness requires us to put our cards on the table. Anybody who plays coy with their beliefs or seems hard to nail down should raise a red flag so big it would make the Soviets blush.

They hide behind niceness

One of the first responses I’m sure I’ll hear is that he was a kind man. He washed feet. He cared for the poor. He was humble. I’ve already gotten one such response to my post in Substack Notes.

One interesting thing about Francis and these churches that align with him on this issue is that everybody seems to know how charitable they are. This creates the impression that progressives care about people and conservatives don’t. Could it be that charitable conservatives are following Matthew 6:2-4?

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

The progressive might care about helping people, but they also seem pretty determined to let everybody know it.

Further, a stated concern for the poor doesn’t mean a practical concern for them. Judas sure sounded worried for “the marginalized” in John 12:4-6, but that didn’t mean he was. Francis’ endorsement of a universal basic income sounds caring, but economically it would obviously be disastrous. “Be warmed and filled,” in other words (James 2:16). Still, he gets “caring points” for saying it—even if it doesn’t help anybody.

This is one of the most essential pages of the progressive playbook. Every argument they make carries moral heft because everyone takes it as obvious fact that they are the more caring side. They put heart over head, while Biblical conservatives put head over heart, most seem to believe. Don’t buy the propaganda. Look at the fruits.

Much more could be said, for there is much more to Francis’ complicated legacy. I am not here to dance on anyone’s grave, but like Ananias and Sapphira, Achan, and many others, we would be wise to glean all the wisdom we can any time we see a cautionary tale in real time.

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