by WorldTribune Staff, April 21, 2025 Real World News

Pope Francis has died. He was 88.

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Jesuit order, and the first to take the name Francis.

The pope’s death, announced by the Vatican, came after he spent weeks in the hospital earlier this year to treat a serious bout of pneumonia. His health remained fragile after he returned to his residence in the Vatican. / Video Image

Francis X. Rocca wrote for the Wall Street Journal: “Francis’ policy of playing down traditional church teachings on marriage and homosexuality — his most famous single remark was a rhetorical question about gay priests: ‘Who am I to judge?’ — cheered liberals while distressing conservative Catholics, including many bishops in the U.S.”

Conservative firebrand Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano was one of Francis’s leading critics. In a June 28, 2024 statement on social media, Vigano accused Francis of “heresy and schism” over the pope’s promotion of the Covid injections and his overseeing of the 2018 Vatican-China deal on the appointment of bishops.

Gen. Michael Flynn wrote in a post to Telegram: “The coming ‘conclave’ MUST move the Catholic Church back to its roots and away from those who support the ongoing globalist, transhumanist revolution. Yes, this is a spiritual war and it is as much internal for the Catholic faith as it is for the entire world. These coming days will be telling for generations to come.”

During his tenure, Francis passed over prominent conservative bishops installed by his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI in dioceses such as Los Angeles and Venice and appointed others from places such as Tonga and Laos. By the time of his death, the pope had named about two-thirds of the cardinal electors. A two-thirds majority of electors is required to select the next pope.

“Whether the next pope pursues or diverges from Francis’ agenda, the tensions and polarization that grew under his stewardship are likely to persist across the church,” Rocca wrote.

Francis was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013 as the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

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