On Wednesday, I had a pretty incredible experience. I went to the Vatican for an event at St. Peter&#8217;s Square that’s held every Wednesday when the Pope holds a general audience.
It’s an amazing event. There are tens of thousands of people — divided by country of origin — who gather in St. Peter&#8217;s Square from all over the world. It&#8217;s a reminder that godly, Biblical values are the guiding force for billions of people around the world. The world seems like a very dark place from time to time, but the reality is that if you stick to eternal values, it does make the world a brighter place.
The Pope came in his vehicle, drove around, greeted the entire audience, and then he came up in the center of St. Peter&#8217;s Square, right in front of the basilica, and gave an address about the Bible which was read out loud in a variety of different languages.
I got to sit up there near where the Pope was. What the Pope said was quite beautiful. He quoted from the Book of John, the story about the Pool of Bethesda, in which Jesus goes to the Pool of Bethesda, where there are people who are ill and people who are paralyzed. There&#8217;s a man there who&#8217;s been sick and infirm for 38 years. And Jesus goes to that man and he tells him that he ought to get up, take his mat with him, and walk.
And the Pope said we should all reflect on Jesus&#8217; statement. At that moment when we feel stuck and trapped in a dead end, instead of allowing that to become an excuse for others to take care of us, we should not allow this to become a justification to avoid making decisions about our lives. Instead, we should get away from fatalism and embrace personal responsibility.
It is these kinds of messages that are implicit in the Biblical narrative that the Pope is spreading, and that is a wonderful thing for our civilization.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2220-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
I&#8217;ve talked about this before — I&#8217;m an Orthodox Jew. Obviously. I don&#8217;t have a dog in the fight when it comes to internal battles over doctrine in Catholicism, except to the extent that the Catholic Church remains a lodestone for Western civilization, a great spreader of Biblical values to humanity.
In the same way, there are Protestant churches that do the same. People of God, people of the book, people of the Bible are spreading eternal values. It is worth acknowledging that and honoring that.
That&#8217;s actually what I said to the Pope when I had an opportunity to meet him. I handed him a letter asking for an interview and introduced myself. You&#8217;re supposed to bring the Pope a gift.
I explained who I was. (Obviously, he has a lot of things to do, so I doubt he&#8217;s a regular listener to my show.) At this point, I explained to him that I was there to pay honor to the fact that he was representative of biblical values in the world. Then I added, “I happen to have been a devout White Sox fan since the time I was a child.”
Of course, Pope Leo is a White Sox fan. He recently spoke at Comiskey Park via video to some 30,000 people.
I told him that while he is Catholic and I am Jewish, one of the miracles that we can agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series. I brought with me from my personal collection a 2005 World Series White Sox baseball signed by the entire team, and gave it to him.
He seemed a little bit surprised, not by the fact that I was giving a gift, but because it was a gift and not just me showing him something cool, I suppose. You could see him crack a bit of a smile as he received it. He was pretty delighted by it.
So it was really a terrific experience. Honestly, the entire event was amazing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It was an honor to meet His Holiness, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pontifex</a> in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). <a href="https://t.co/hxlhUnKU7F">pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1935350580458733762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My impression of him is that Pope Leo seems to be a man who has enmeshed himself in the office. And when you meet the Pope, you can see he’s a deeply humble man. You can tell that right away just from meeting him. And you could see the sheer joy that he had, I think, from getting the baseball, which is such a small thing for this man who has the weight of the spiritual fate of over a billion people on his shoulders.
I share that because there are a lot of moments in the political world that are not uplifting. There are a lot of moments that are fraught, that feel as though darkness is encroaching.
And so, there needs to be a meeting of the minds between all of us who believe in Biblical values, and that those Biblical values ought to be purveyed. It&#8217;s one of the reasons why I have encouraged people who are Catholic to go to church, people who are Protestant to go to church, and Jews to go to synagogue and relearn their traditions and engage with those traditions.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of the strengthening of the Catholic Church and the strengthening of Protestant churches all over the United States and the rest of the West.
I&#8217;m very much in favor of people reengaging with the values that made the West what it was in the first place.

Pope Leo XIV Arrives To Lead His Weekly General Audience At St Peter’s Square In The Vatican On June 18, 2025.

I Met The Pope. It Was Amazing.

Ben Shapiro

Bible

Catholic Church

Catholics

Italy

Major League Baseball

Opinion

Pope Leo

The Vatican

WASHINGTON—Democrat lawmakers are blocking the confirmation of Brian Burch, President Donald Trump&#8217;s nomination for Ambassador to the Vatican, ahead of Pope Leo XVI&#8217;s installation as pontiff this Sunday.
Ambassadors are typically confirmed in large groups in order to speed up the process, given that there are 194 ambassadorial roles to fill. Yet in recent weeks, there have been a number of &#8220;cloture votes&#8221; in the Senate on Trump&#8217;s nominees, procedural votes requiring a simple majority vote.
&#8220;Democrats have thrown up an unprecedented level of obstruction for nominees that are usually allowed to compress their time,&#8221; a senior White House official told The Daily Wire, arguing that this type of obstruction is an assault &#8220;on the president&#8217;s officials and the president&#8217;s ability to stand up his government.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s been an unprecedented number of cloture votes, even for noncontroversial nominees, of which Mr. Brian Burch is one of those individuals,&#8221; that official explained.
Burch is the president and co-founder of CatholicVote, an organization dedicated to inspiring and mobilizing Catholics toward traditional Catholic teaching. He&#8217;s considered well-qualified by the White House and is supported by a wide range of organizations, but his vocal adherence to the Catholic magisterium on issues like life, gender, and marriage are likely to have angered Democrats as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump&#8217;s pick for Ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, is a PATRIOT. 👏
&#8220;My father taught me that America is the greatest country in the world, and to never take for granted our freedom.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/q7R8xxOBLr">pic.twitter.com/q7R8xxOBLr</a>
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatholicVote/status/1909628874364797333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations advanced his nomination to the full Senate for official confirmation in May, but he has yet to be confirmed. That delay is significant given the recent death of Pope Francis and the subsequent election of Pope Leo XIV.
The hold up on Burch&#8217;s confirmation has drawn the ire of Republicans like Eric Schmitt, the senator for Missouri, who slammed such attempts publicly on Wednesday after he went on the Senate floor and asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to approve Burch&#8217;s nomination. Democrats stood up and objected, further delaying the process.
&#8220;I never thought I&#8217;d see a day that resistance would mean holding up the ambassador to the Holy See, to be there for the installation of the pope, but here is where we are, total brokenness from the other side,&#8221; Schmitt <a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1922413762960642161">said scathingly from the Senate floor</a>.
His remarks were an effort to &#8220;smoke out the Democrats in their extraordinarily obstructionist and radical approach&#8221; to the issue, a senior White House official said. Schmitt was executing a process that normally occurs in private in the Senate, but this time, required more publicity, the official suggested, praising the senator for putting pressure on Democrats.
And at this moment in history, they said, it is critical that the United States have an ambassador to the Holy See.
&#8220;We have a new pope, the American government needs to establish new relationships with Vatican City, obviously a critical faith leader for so many billions of people around the world,&#8221; the official reflected. &#8220;And Democrats, in order to attack the president and make a political point, are impeding the formation of this incredibly important relationship and insulting millions of American Catholics in the bargain. It&#8217;s a pretty critical situation.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1922457133267705922">social media video posted this week</a>, Schmitt argued that &#8220;Pope Francis passed away a couple weeks ago,&#8221; and that since Pope Leo is the first American pope (&#8220;a big deal&#8221;) being installed this weekend, &#8220;it would be nice to have the Ambassador to the Holy See, Senate-approved, to go to that in time for this weekend.&#8221;
&#8220;This is a next-level obstruction,&#8221; he argued. &#8220;Now, we&#8217;re going to get through this. We&#8217;re going to spend the time to grind these [confirmations] out. But I just think it speaks to how broken these Democrats are&#8230;they can&#8217;t find their bearings. They have not come to grips with the election loss in November. They&#8217;re swinging at every pitch, there&#8217;s no doubt about that. And they look foolish.&#8221;
This post has been updated to reflect the cloture vote process.

Eric Schmitt 3/27/25

‘Next Level Obstruction’: Democrats Block Ambassador To Vatican Ahead Of Pope’s Installation

Democrats

White House

The papal conclave begins today, with dozens of cardinals arriving from around the globe to lock themselves away in the Sistine Chapel and cast ballots in secret for Pope Francis&#8217; successor.
Amid the excitement, conservative Catholics in the United States are reflecting on Pope Francis, trying to make sense of a complicated papacy and wondering where the Catholic Church may be headed next.
The late pope was known for his love of the poor and his humble habits, but he also attracted controversy.
&#8220;Without a doubt he was inspirational to many people,&#8221; Austin Ruse, president of the Center for Family and Human Rights told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;There&#8217;s an outpouring of love toward him upon his passing and even conservatives can rejoice that he is now in the presence of his Maker. Even conservatives can recognize that he loved the Lord deeply,&#8221; Ruse said. &#8220;Having said that, I will also say that for many people, his pontificate was confusing.&#8221;
Both Francis&#8217; official statements and offhand remarks frequently caused confusion among the faithful and sparked vehement criticism, even from his own cardinals.
&#8220;I think it was a very conflictual legacy,&#8221; Fr. Robert Sirico, founder of the conservative Acton Institute told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;I think you had almost opposites in the same person because he would affirm clearly and sometimes in very blunt language the Church&#8217;s teaching on the controversial issues, but on the other hand he was sending messages that endeared him to the most progressive elements of the Church, and it&#8217;s not clear to me what his strategy was,&#8221; Sirico said.
The litany of Francis&#8217; controversial moves is long.
In 2023, Francis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-says-blessings-for-individuals-in-same-sex-relationships-cannot-resemble-marriage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that Catholic priests can give &#8220;spontaneous blessings&#8221; to same-sex couples, but cautioned that such a blessing does not sanction the union and cannot resemble a marriage ceremony. Nevertheless, media outlets and commentators <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesMartinSJ/status/1736752055362936938" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presented</a> that Vatican document as a major shift for the Catholic Church.
This came a decade after Francis famously responded, “who am I to judge?” when asked about gay clergy at a press conference shortly after he became pope in 2013.
Francis caused controversy again in 2015 when he <a href="https://wherepeteris.com/communion-for-the-divorced-and-remarried-a-defense-of-amoris-laetitia/#:~:text=In%20chapter%20eight%20of%20Amoris,in%20certain%20cases%2C%20receive%20Communion." target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> guidelines saying divorced and remarried Catholics may be able to receive communion in certain cases where there are mitigating factors, <a href="https://www.catholic.com/video/what-did-pope-francis-change-about-communion-for-divorced-catholics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">such</a> as duress, that make them not culpable for the mortal sin of adultery. Afterward, some cardinals <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/12/pope-francis-divorce-remarriage-communion-guidelines-letter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> on the pope to clarify his position.
Francis sparked questions in 2018 when he <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-08/pope-francis-cdf-ccc-death-penalty-revision-ladaria.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed</a> the Catechism of the Catholic Church to state that the death penalty is now &#8220;inadmissible.&#8221; Previously, the Church had said the death penalty was permissible in &#8220;very rare&#8221; cases if it was the only way to defend people from the aggressor.
Francis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vatican-clarifies-opposition-to-radical-gender-theory-says-it-threatens-a-persons-unique-dignity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemned</a> gender ideology in strong terms, saying sex change procedures threaten the “unique dignity” of a person. Meanwhile though, the Vatican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-who-got-transgender-surgery-can-be-baptized-and-be-godparents-under-certain-conditions-vatican-clarifies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a document in 2023 that, while it ultimately reiterated Catholic doctrine on baptism and godparents, caused confusion around same-sex couples and people who currently identify as transgender.
On abortion, Francis was not vague, <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/belgium-to-rome-in-flight-papal-presser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> abortions are homicides and calling doctors who perform them &#8220;hitmen.&#8221;
Francis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dntdUwbIaIA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> a humorously blunt answer — &#8220;no&#8221; — when 60 Minutes asked him last year whether the Church would ever allow women to become priests.
Several offhand comments, like the pope&#8217;s reference to large Catholic families having children “<a class="css-yywogo" title="" href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/january/documents/papa-francesco_20150119_srilanka-filippine-conferenza-stampa.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">like rabbits,</a>” and telling priests to stop wearing “grandma’s lace” during Mass, ruffled feathers among more traditional Catholics.
However, Francis then stunned those who saw him as a beacon of inclusivity when he <a href="https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/what-should-pope-francis-have-said" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> the Italian word frociaggine, often translated as “faggotry” twice within the span of a few weeks — with a Vatican apology in <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-francis-apologises-after-homophobic-slur-vatican-2024-05-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">between</a> — in the context of homosexual seminarians.
&#8220;There was this old kind of homophobic Argentinian operative inside this man who wanted to reach out to transgender and gay people and all that. This is part of the whole thing that needs to be sorted out,&#8221; Sirico said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s almost what you would call in an informal way, a kind of schizophrenia,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I mean, if I was dealing with this person in my real life, I&#8217;d sit him down and say, well, what is it? Is it A or B? And nobody did that with him.&#8221;
Sirico said he was &#8220;unsatisfied&#8221; with the theological accusations against Francis, but he was concerned with the pope&#8217;s disregard for Canon law, such as ignoring the procedure for replacing bishops.
&#8220;If he wanted to change it, he could have, but he didn&#8217;t. He just violated it,&#8221; Sirico said.
He gave the example of Fr. Marko Rupnik, a Jesuit priest who was excommunicated after allegations surfaced of decades of sexual and psychological abuse from dozens of nuns, including that he had sex with nuns and then absolved them in confession. Later, Rupnik <a href="https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/is-the-tide-turning-on-the-rupnik" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended</a> up in a diocese in his native Slovenia.
&#8220;So the excommunication had been lifted, but by whom? The only one who could have done it was the pope, but nobody owned that. This is the stuff I&#8217;m saying that I hope will come out,&#8221; Sirico said.
Some critics, such as Fr. Gerald Murray, pastor of Saint Joseph’s Church in New York City, level weightier charges against Francis.
&#8220;Pope Francis’ principal legacy will be that of a Pope who sought to change Catholic doctrine and practice regarding divorce and remarriage, by allowing Holy Communion to be given to Catholics in invalid second marriages, and regarding homosexuality, by authorizing priests to bless same-sex couples,&#8221; Murray told The Daily Wire.
Murray also said that Francis&#8217; &#8220;secret agreement with the Chinese Communist government, giving the regime a major role in the naming of Catholic bishops in China, is something unimaginable during the reigns of the two previous popes.&#8221;
The Vatican renewed that agreement last year <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259997/vatican-renews-china-bishop-appointment-deal-for-four-more-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">despite</a> reports of China abusing it, detaining bishops and naming new bishops for new dioceses not recognized by the Vatican. The details of the agreement have not been made public.
Ruse said that another &#8220;unfortunate move&#8221; was Francis &#8220;going to great lengths to stamp out the Traditional Latin Mass, which has been extremely painful to many people in the Church.&#8221;
In 2021, Francis <a href="https://www.ewtnvatican.com/articles/vatican-publishes-new-guidelines-on-the-traditional-latin-mass-552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> severe restrictions on the Latin Mass, requiring priests to get permission from their local bishop if they wanted to say it. In 2023, he clarified that bishops must obtain approval from the Vatican itself if they wanted the Latin Mass in their diocese, and newly ordained priests would need special permission.
Pope Benedict XVI had <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">given</a> priests broad permission to say the Latin Mass in 2007.
&#8220;It speaks to divisions that we have had in the Church for quite a long time. Even before the Second Vatican Council these types of divisions existed in the Church,&#8221; Ruse said. &#8220;I think in some ways they were exacerbated in recent years.&#8221;
However, Ruse added that one of the &#8220;very good things&#8221; about Francis&#8217; papacy was that he cured the &#8220;papolatry,&#8221; or idolizing of the pope by some right-of-center Catholics.
During his papacy, Francis <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/financial-markets-first-do-no-harm#:~:text=%22It%20is%20increasingly%20intolerable%20that,food%20prices%20%22a%20scandal%20which" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> capitalism and was known for calling on countries to care for migrants, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/10/04/920053203/pope-francis-laments-failures-of-market-capitalism-in-blueprint-for-post-covid-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> &#8220;racism is a virus.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think he was a Marxist,&#8221; Sirico said. &#8220;He certainly wasn&#8217;t a free market kind of guy the way [Pope John Paul II] was, but on the other hand, I think he profoundly misunderstood the United States on a very visceral level, and I think that is owing to his Argentinian background and what happened in his lifetime in Argentina.&#8221;
During Francis&#8217; youth, Argentina&#8217;s government had powerful socialist elements, and the country saw several government overthrows.
Ruse agreed: &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe that he had a real understanding of the dynamics of the Church in the United States, and I think he was relying on partisans who were advising him,&#8221; he said.
Early on in his pontificate, Francis <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27720/pope-to-youth-shake-things-up-bring-church-to-the-streets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> a group of young people from Argentina to &#8220;make a mess&#8221; in the Church.
&#8220;And he did,&#8221; Sirico said. &#8220;He&#8217;s made a mess, and I think the next Pope is going to have to do something about that &#8230; I think he&#8217;s left the church divided.&#8221;
Sirico spent a month in Rome before Pope Francis died, and was set to be in Rome during the conclave as well.
At the Vatican, there was a sense of &#8220;people staying in the foxhole, looking out very cautiously to see what was going to happen,&#8221; Sirico said of his conversations with numerous bishops, cardinals, and members of the Vatican bureaucracy around the time of the pope&#8217;s death.
The atmosphere of the Vatican during this last papacy was &#8220;very personal, at times very petty,&#8221; he said.
Sirico said he doesn&#8217;t view the search for the next pope through the lens of &#8220;liberal or conservative.&#8221;
&#8220;I think people across the spectrum are going to just want a little more clarity and calm,&#8221; he said, adding that the next pope will likely want to &#8220;let the dust settle on this pontificate.&#8221;
&#8220;This pope is going to be a hard act to follow if they want to follow in those footsteps. I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s going to be a Francis 2.0,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think it will be a much more traditional pontificate than that of Francis, but that&#8217;s a low bar. He&#8217;s a revolutionary in a lot of ways, stylistically, not doctrinally. At the end of the day, the Church&#8217;s doctrine remains the same.&#8221;
On that note, Ruse cautioned the faithful not to get too deeply involved in the &#8220;sturm und drang and controversies in the Church.&#8221;
&#8220;What I have done in recent years is to try to view myself as a 13th-century peasant, who may know the name of the pope, probably knows the name of his bishop, doesn&#8217;t know the names of any other bishops, says his rosary and goes to Mass,&#8221; he said.
As for the future of the Catholic Church, Ruse has a simple prayer.
&#8220;Where do we go from here? Well there&#8217;s going to be a new pope in a handful of weeks, and we&#8217;re all praying that it will be a good and holy man,&#8221; he said.

Pope Francis Visits Portugal For World Youth Day

As Conclave Begins, Conservative Catholics Try To Make Sense Of Pope Francis

As Conclave Begins, Conservative Catholics Make Sense Of Pope Francis

Catholic

Catholicism

Pope Francis

Vatican

G.K. Chesterton <a href="https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/43811/stfrancisproblem.htm">wrote</a> of St. Francis of Assisi, “But after all, this man was a man and not half a dozen men. What seems inconsistency to you did not seem inconsistency to him.”
We should keep this same principle in mind today as we continue to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’s soul — and assess what we can learn from his legacy, both good and bad.
Much like the great saint whom he chose as his namesake and clearly intended to emulate, Pope Francis confounded caricature and was often misunderstood. In his life, and especially over the course of his pontificate, this quality often led to confusion for the faithful. No doubt, that pattern of confusion will be one hallmark of Francis’s papacy.
If we hope to learn from the life of Pope Francis, however, we must start by rejecting the mainstream media’s depiction of him as a “liberal” pope. Since his death, the New York Times has been filled with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/opinion/pope-francis-gay-muddle.html'" target="_blank" rel="noopener">headlines</a> regarding his perspective on “LGBTQ people,” women deacons, or the Church’s teaching on birth control. But while these may be important issues to the opinion writers of the New York Times, they were not central to Pope Francis’s work.
A much better place to begin is, well, the beginning: those early years of the pontificate when an energetic and vigorous Pope Francis set out to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and put an emphasis on serving the poor and taking care of the sick.
<div id="attachment_913279" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913279" class="size-large wp-image-913279" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg" alt="VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 31: Pope Francis embraces a boy prior to his first 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica during Easter Mass on March 31, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis delivered his message to the gathered faithful from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in St. Peter's Square after his first Holy week as Pontiff. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-165118482.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Franco Origlia/Getty Images</div>
I will never forget when the Pope, in 2013, reached down and kissed a man suffering from neurofibromatosis, a rare disease which had left him disfigured with boils all over his head. And this was far from the only example. In his first year in the seat of St. Peter, Pope Francis made a point of <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26889/pope-francis-to-offer-hope-by-washing-young-inmates-feet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">washing the feet</a> of 12 young people at a juvenile detention center, <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27588/pope-francis-invites-homeless-to-dine-at-vatican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inviting</a> 200 homeless people to dine at the Vatican, and living in a modest guest house rather than the Apostolic Palace.
With this radical humility, Pope Francis — the first Pope from the global South, where the Church continues to grow — reminded the decadent old continent that the cultural inheritance of Christendom is not in attending U.N. Conferences, but the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor.
Yet as much as Pope Francis loved the poor, he was not a humble Franciscan friar but a savvy Jesuit political operator whose initial attention to the corporal works of mercy — though never entirely lost — soon gave way to practical considerations about what would secure his power over the Church. And unfortunately, as he aged and became more entangled in the politics of the Vatican, Pope Francis became vulnerable to manipulation by his advisers as well as the media and indeed made many missteps that confused and divided his flock.
Examples abound. One week he would promote the blessing of “unions of persons of the same sex.” The next he would say that marriage will always be the union of one man and one woman. On one occasion, he declared that abortion was akin to “hiring a hitman,” while nevertheless appointing a pro-abortion economist to the Pontifical Academy for Life.
And because of his excessive reliance on the likes of Cardinal Blase Cupich — the radical progressive archbishop of Chicago whom he appropriately dubbed “the little woman” — Pope Francis was especially misguided in his approach to more conservative segments of the Church. He imposed serious restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, which is growing rapidly in the United States. And despite his frequent denunciation of “clericalism,” he upended, for no apparent reason, the constitution of Opus Dei, a prelature distinguished for promoting the role of the laity in the Church’s mission.
In short, rather than working with the young, vibrant, and faithful segments of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis attacked them, choosing instead to champion progressive prelates and priests like Father James Martin, a Jesuit who pushes the Catholic church to abandon the traditional definition of marriage.
<div id="attachment_720181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-720181" class="size-large wp-image-720181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg" alt="MALMO, SWEDEN - OCTOBER 31: Pope Francis gives a speech during the 'Together in Hope' event at Malmo Arena on October 31, 2016 in Malmo, Sweden. The Pope is on 2 days visit attending Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration in Lund and Malmo. (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-619464578.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Michael Campanella/Getty Images</div>
In spite of his own opposition to these groups, however, Pope Francis’s pontificate witnessed a surge of conservative young people converting to Catholicism, in America and around the world. This Easter, dioceses across the United States <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/news/easter-converts-2024-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> 30%, 40%, 50%, and even 70% increases in the number of converts coming into the Church on Easter Vigil. Young people seeking stability and rootedness account for most of these conversions, and the same phenomenon is happening in <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263349/france-sees-record-10384-adult-baptisms-in-2025-45-percent-increase-as-young-catholics-lead-revival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a> and <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263329/surge-in-adults-entering-church-in-england-this-easter-prompted-by-internet-tradition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">England</a>, where a <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggestshttps:/www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263239/catholics-now-outnumber-anglicans-among-gen-z-in-the-uk-study-suggests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> shows that Gen Z Catholics now outnumber Anglicans two to one.
Amid this renewed interest in the Catholic Church, one of the great tragedies of Pope Francis’s papacy is that his misguided opposition to traditional religious communities and conservative political policies may have given many of these young Catholics the impression that a focus on serving the poor, feeding the hungry, and carrying out the other corporal works of mercy is somehow at odds with tradition and orthodoxy.
Let me be clear: this is not and never has been the case.
Christ tells his disciples in Matthew 25, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” The corporal works of mercy are essential for all Christians, regardless of denomination or political party. And beyond informing our personal faith, they also must guide our efforts to reclaim our institutions and restore our country.
Moreover, Pope Francis’s liberal posturing on things like the environment may obscure his urgent message to modernity. Consider the late Pope’s 2015 “global warming” encyclical, Laudato Si. While it did include entire sections on “pollution and climate change” which the liberal media fawned over and promoted, its deeper argument — that we have failed to “safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic human ecology” — was profoundly conservative and largely ignored.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis beautifully lays out how a “technocratic paradigm” has led us to accept “every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings.” And in pursuit of this “unlimited human power,” he argues, we have undermined the various conditions that help us flourish: destroyed God’s majestic creation, contracepted our God-given gift to create life, and dishonored God’s plan for men and women to be different.
This message — not misguided one-off statements on airplane interviews or liberal media headlines about hot button political issues — is what we should take away from Pope Francis’s papacy.
Modernity, despite all its advances, has robbed us of many of the most basic spiritual and moral resources we need to flourish and be truly happy. To recover them, we don’t need complex coding or advanced AI, but rather, as Pope Francis sought to remind us, simply to follow the lessons Jesus taught us about serving our fellow man.
Much like the early parts of his pontificate, Pope Francis’s final days reflected this message.
On Sunday, the Pope’s last day on Earth, he met with Vice President JD Vance, squashing their public spat. He used his Easter message to make an appeal for peace in the world&#8217;s most war-torn regions. And finally, he made one last loop through St. Peter’s square, stopping several times to bless babies brought up to him and wish all his “brothers and sisters” a “Happy Easter.”
May he rest in peace, mixed legacy and all — and may his brother cardinals be inspired to choose a successor capable of combining Pope Francis’s initial emphasis on the corporal works with a steadfast commitment to tradition, both of which were sorely lacking in the final years of the Holy Father’s life.
* * *
Kevin Roberts is the President of The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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President Donald Trump has arrived in Rome, where he will attend Pope Francis&#8217; funeral Saturday morning in Vatican City, marking the first foreign trip of his second term.
The funeral comes six days after Francis passed away, the day after Easter, dying at age 88 of a stroke and heart failure after a battle with pneumonia. Since then, tens of thousands of people have come to pay their respects to the late pope as he lay in state at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.
The president and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Rome late Friday night. They will depart early Saturday afternoon after attending the funeral.
Previous Papal Funerals
Trump is only the second sitting president to attend a papal funeral. The first was George W. Bush, who attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. President Joe Biden did not attend the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2023, despite <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/photo/2011/06/vice-president-biden-pope" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> the former pope as vice president years earlier. Benedict died nine years after resigning as pope in 2013, an unusual move for a modern pope. He was succeeded by Francis.
Photos from that visit show three presidents, Bush, his father, President George H.W. Bush, and President Bill Clinton kneeling in the first pew behind Pope John Paul II&#8217;s body lying in state. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady Laura Bush kneel near them.
<div id="attachment_912385" style="width: 446px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912385" class=" wp-image-912385" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-52596002-300x181.jpg" alt="" width="436" height="263" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-52596002-300x181.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-52596002-953x576.jpg 953w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-52596002-768x464.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-52596002.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px" />(TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Who Else Will Be There?
Trump met with Pope Francis at the Vatican during his first term in 2017.
Biden met Francis twice: first as vice president in 2016, and during his presidency in 2021. Biden and former first lady Jill Biden will also travel to the Vatican to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3389950/trump-biden-pope-francis-funeral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attend</a> Francis&#8217; funeral.
<div id="attachment_912389" style="width: 408px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912389" class=" wp-image-912389" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2156863278-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="398" height="265" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2156863278-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2156863278-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2156863278-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2156863278.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px" />(TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
<div id="attachment_912391" style="width: 406px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912391" class=" wp-image-912391" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-480808665-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="264" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-480808665-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-480808665-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-480808665-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-480808665.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px" />(Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Neither former President Barack Obama nor former President George W. Bush will attend Pope Francis&#8217; funeral. Obama hosted Francis at the White House in 2015, marking the first papal visit to the United States since Pope Benedict in 2008. Francis was only the third pope ever to visit the White House.
Other world leaders who will attend the pope&#8217;s funeral include Javier Milei, president of Francis&#8217; birthplace, Argentina; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William; French President Emmanuel Macron; and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
As many as 200,000 people are expected to attend the funeral, the Italian government said.
How The Funeral Will Go
The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday morning local time, which is 4 a.m. Eastern time in the United States.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will preside over the funeral Mass and deliver the homily, the Vatican said. He is the dean of the College of Cardinals, which will form a conclave next month to install the next pope.
On Friday night, Francis&#8217; coffin was <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-coffin-rite-sealing-funeral-mass-novemdiales.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> to be sealed in a ceremony and closed to the public.
On Saturday morning, the funeral will begin with a procession in St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica, where the coffin will then be brought and set down. The funeral Mass will follow.
The cardinals who attend will be recognizable by their purple liturgical garments, the Vatican <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/the-funeral-celebration-of-pope-francis-on-saturday.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
After Mass, the funeral procession will slowly make its way to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, a little over two miles away, where Francis frequently went to pray before an icon of Mary. Francis is the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in over a century. Many popes are buried in the underground crypt beneath St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.
&#8220;The coffin will be welcomed by &#8216;the last ones,&#8217; a group of poor and marginalized people who always had a special place in Pope Francis&#8217; heart,&#8221; the Vatican said. &#8220;They will be the ones to give the final tribute before the coffin is carried to the altar of Saint Mary Major.&#8221;
The burial will be private and is expected to end around 2:00 p.m. local time or 8:00 a.m. Eastern time.
The last funeral for a sitting pope, John Paul II, was three hours long. Francis&#8217; funeral looks like it will be even longer, around four hours.
The faithful may begin visiting Francis&#8217; tomb on Sunday, the day after the funeral, the Vatican said.
The funeral kicks off nine days of mourning for the late pope, with Mass each day before the cardinals begin their work to select a new occupant of the Chair of Peter.
How Is Francis&#8217; Funeral Different?
Francis&#8217; funeral will look different from his predecessors. That&#8217;s because he himself changed the rules for papal funerals.
Francis will be buried in just one wooden coffin lined with zinc rather than the three coffins some other popes were buried in, which were made of cypress, lead, and oak.
The late pontiff will also be <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/nx-s1-5374984/pope-francis-funeral-how-to-watch">buried</a> at the Basilica of St. Mary Major instead of St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica, the first pope in more than 350 years to be buried there since Clement IX.
Francis said in his autobiography published last year that a pope should be buried &#8220;with dignity, but like any Christian, because the bishop of Rome is a pastor and a disciple, not a powerful man of this world.&#8221; He also asked that his tomb be &#8220;in the ground; simple, without particular decoration, and with the sole inscription: Franciscus.&#8221;
Where To Watch
The Vatican News&#8217; YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@VaticanNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">channel</a> will livestream the funeral and procession to the burial place.
A number of other news outlets and streaming services also plan to livestream the funeral.

U.S. President Donald Trump in Vatican

Trump Lands In Rome For Pope Francis’ Funeral. Here’s What To Expect.

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Critics of JD Vance falsely accused the vice president of committing a faux pas while visiting the Vatican, claiming that Vance&#8217;s team did not have permission to take photos in the Sistine Chapel.
But a source familiar with Vance&#8217;s travel team told The Daily Wire that the Vatican gave the vice president&#8217;s official photographer permission to take pictures in the Chapel, where visitors are typically forbidden to take photos of Michelangelo&#8217;s frescoes — including The Creation of Adam&#8221; — considered some of the most important pieces of Renaissance art.
<div id="attachment_911267" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-falsely-accuse-vance-of-embarrassing-gaffe-in-the-sistine-chapel/v20250419eh-1461-1" rel="attachment wp-att-911267"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911267" class="wp-image-911267 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-864x576.jpg" alt="Official White House photo by Emily Higgins. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/V20250419EH-1461-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>The Vance family tours the Pauline Chapel, or the &#8220;Cappella Paolina,&#8221; in Vatican City. (Official White House photo by Emily Higgins).</div>
Vigilant guards in the Sistine Chapel may take tourists&#8217; phones or cameras and delete photos if an unlucky photographer is caught snapping photos.
Critics of the vice president were quick to assume that his team did not have permission to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel.
&#8220;JD Vance Ripped for Embarrassing Gaffe During Vatican Visit,&#8221; The Daily Beast <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/jd-vance-ripped-for-embarrassing-gaffe-during-vatican-visit/">headlined</a> their story on the topic, calling the incident a &#8220;cardinal sin,&#8221; and adding the subhead: &#8220;A White House publicity stunt revealed the vice president’s glaring faux pas.&#8221;
Several tabloids chimed in on the topic as well. People Magazine <a href="https://people.com/jd-vance-sistine-chapel-picture-sparks-backlash-did-he-break-vatican-protocol-11719301">questioned</a>, &#8220;Photo of J.D. Vance Inside Sistine Chapel Sparks Backlash. Did He Break Vatican Protocol?&#8221; And the Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14635931/JD-Vance-fury-breaking-Vatican-protocol.html">posted</a>: &#8220;JD Vance sparks fury by breaking Vatican protocol.&#8221;
The offending photo depicts Vance gazing up at the renowned frescoes as he holds his young son.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk <a href="https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1914071098410586379">shared</a> the image on Easter Sunday, calling it &#8220;An epic shot of Vice President JD Vance and his son inside the Sistine Chapel.&#8221; The image quickly went viral, drawing the attention of those familiar with the Sistine Chapel&#8217;s rules for tourists.
<div id="attachment_911229" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-falsely-accuse-vance-of-embarrassing-gaffe-in-the-sistine-chapel/unnamed-26" rel="attachment wp-att-911229"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911229" class="wp-image-911229 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/unnamed-1-864x576.jpg" alt="Vice President Vance and his son tour the Sistine Chapel. Official White House photo by Emily Higgins. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/unnamed-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/unnamed-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/unnamed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/unnamed-1.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Vice President Vance and his son tour the Sistine Chapel. Official White House photo by Emily Higgins.</div>
Kirk&#8217;s spokesman, Andrew Kolvet, <a href="https://x.com/AndrewKsway/status/1914794708343410843">noted</a> that former First Lady Michelle Obama&#8217;s visit to the Vatican was also photographed, hitting back at commenters on &#8220;X&#8221; who claimed that the photos were not allowed.
&#8220;Not only did the Vatican explicitly grant permission for the VP’s team to photograph their visit, the Vatican itself released video of their tour,&#8221; Kolvet wrote. &#8220;They did the same for other official state visits including Michelle Obama&#8217;s visit in 2009.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_911239" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-falsely-accuse-vance-of-embarrassing-gaffe-in-the-sistine-chapel/us-first-lady-michelle-obama-visits-the-sistine-chapel-at-the-vatican" rel="attachment wp-att-911239"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911239" class="wp-image-911239 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-955371908-384x576.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-955371908-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-955371908-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-955371908.jpg 683w" sizes="(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" /></a>Michelle Obama in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. (Photo by MAURIX/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)</div>
Bill and Hillary Clinton also visited the Sistine Chapel and were photographed admiring the frescoes, as did former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
<div id="attachment_911265" style="width: 393px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-falsely-accuse-vance-of-embarrassing-gaffe-in-the-sistine-chapel/president-and-hillary-clinton-in-the-sistine-chapel" rel="attachment wp-att-911265"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911265" class="wp-image-911265 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-576837746-383x576.jpg" alt="" width="383" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-576837746-383x576.jpg 383w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-576837746-199x300.jpg 199w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-576837746.jpg 680w" sizes="(max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px" /></a>President and Hillary Clinton in the Sistine Chapel (Photo by © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)</div>
<div id="attachment_911273" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/critics-falsely-accuse-vance-of-embarrassing-gaffe-in-the-sistine-chapel/u-s-secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-visits-vatican" rel="attachment wp-att-911273"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911273" class="wp-image-911273 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1325911231-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1325911231-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1325911231-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1325911231-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1325911231.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>VATICAN CITY, VATICAN &#8211; JUNE 28: U.S. Secretary Of State Antony Blinken Visits the Sala Regia and the Sistine Chapel at the Apostolic Palace, on June 28, 2021 in Vatican City, Vatican. (Photo by Vatican Pool &#8211; Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)</div>
Vance&#8217;s visit to the Vatican came during his three-day Holy Week visit to Italy, during which he attended a Good Friday Service at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica and Easter Sunday mass at the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as Pope Francis and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The pope died the day after his meeting with the vice president.
&#8220;When I saw him, I didn&#8217;t know that he had less than 24 hours still on this earth,&#8221; Vance told reporters in Agra, India, on Wednesday morning. &#8220;I think it was a great blessing.&#8221;

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Critics Falsely Accuse Vance Of ‘Embarrassing Gaffe’ In The Sistine Chapel

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As we lay to rest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pope-francis">Pope Francis</a>, a man entrusted with the astonishing task of leading <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262883/worldwide-catholic-population-hits-14-billion#:~:text=Concretely%2C%20there%20has%20been%20a,to%20281%20million%20in%202023." target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.4 billion</a> Catholics worldwide, we must acknowledge that he was a pope who inspired devotion and yet also disillusionment.
The first non-European pope in over a millennium, the first Jesuit to hold the Chair of Peter, and the first to take the name Francis — after the saint of humility and radical poverty — he came to the papacy with the power of symbolism already at his side. But symbols alone do not make a legacy. His pontificate has been marked by deep paradoxes, extraordinary global events, and the unrelenting scrutiny of a digital age that magnifies every gesture, every silence, and every word into global significance.
Pope Francis led the Catholic Church at a time when questions of identity, history, and moral authority were being fiercely renegotiated across every sphere of public life. From the rise of “woke” ideology and the deconstruction of long-standing societal structures, to the counter currents of cultural revivalism and nationalist pushback, the world around the Church was changing — faster and more fundamentally than ever.
To that world, he showed incredible, compelling pastoral sensibility by embracing the very sick, the downtrodden, before the eyes of the world, making him a beloved figure among so many.
No moment captured the spiritual loneliness and universal leadership of Francis more than the evening of March 27, 2020. As the world reeled from the shock of a global pandemic, Francis <a href="https://catholicvote.org/when-pope-francis-became-a-solitary-beacon-of-hope-during-the-worst-days-of-the-covid-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stood utterly alone</a> in the rain-drenched emptiness of St. Peter’s Square. His solitary figure, small under the weight of a sodden white cassock, illuminated by the flickering torches before the Eucharist, became an icon of global grief — and hope. He did not thunder. He prayed. He did not offer a solution. He stood there in the silence of that unforgettable moment.
<div id="attachment_911243" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-911243" class="size-large wp-image-911243" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-1024x576.jpg" alt="Pope Francis gives an extraordianry urbi et orbi blessing in St. Peter's Square, March 27, 2020. | Credit: Vatican Media" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-23-Apr-2025-11-10-AM-5561-2048x1153.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Vatican Media</div>
Yet while he insisted Church doctrine could not and would not be changed, many weary Catholics saw how he loosened the uniquely stalwart position of the Catholic church on issues related to marriage and family. 
On one hand, he condemned abortion, equating it to <a href="https://catholicvote.org/throughout-his-pontificate-a-look-at-pope-francis-statements-on-abortion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;hiring a hitman&#8221;</a> and <a href="https://catholicvote.org/pope-francis-strongly-warned-against-ideological-colonization-gender/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denounced gender ideology</a>; but more than once he gave a <a href="https://catholicvote.org/pope-francis-writes-preface-fr-james-martins-book-about-lazarus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disturbing nod</a> to ministries aimed at changing Church doctrine over gay &#8220;marriage&#8221; and transgenderism, including his brief <a href="https://outreach.faith/2022/05/pope-francis-speaks-to-lgbtq-catholics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exchange</a> with Father James Martin, the founder of the LGBT Catholic ministry, Outreach.
Pope Francis’ handling of clerical sex abuse was also marked by troubling contradictions. On one hand, he <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/pope-issues-updated-vos-estis-text-handling-abuse-cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established clearer procedures</a> for investigating abuse and holding bishops accountable and publicly condemned the culture of cover-ups that protected abusers. On the other hand, his actions in high-profile cases like those of <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/father-marko-rupnik-accused-of-abuse-and-returned-to-ministry-a-timeline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fr. Marko Rupnik</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/04/argentine-catholic-bishop-gustavo-zanchetta-sentenced-sexual-abuse-pope-francis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta</a> raise serious questions about consistency and impartiality.
Perhaps more than any other pontiff before him, Pope Francis lived his entire papacy inside the glass house of modern social media. Every homily, every off-the-cuff remark, and even every carefully crafted document was instantly dissected by millions across ideological, religious, and national divides, though it was often his informality in communication that blurred clarity, allowing ideologues across the spectrum to weaponize his words.
In the echo chambers of the internet, he was often cast simultaneously as a reformer and a betrayer, a prophet and a populist, a revolutionary and a regressive. The speed with which opinions formed around his leadership was unprecedented — and sometimes uncharitable.
In his many interviews and press conferences that often required follow-ups or clarifications, it is clear that he perceived himself as a pope who stood at the crossroads of history amidst the noise of clashing narratives.
In many ways, his legacy will be as divided as his papacy. To his supporters, he will be the “Pope of the Peripheries,” to his critics, the Pope of Ambiguity, leaving behind a trail of confusion and even division that his successor in the papacy will have to deal with.
Francis reminded us that the Pope is both a man and a sign — fragile, flawed, and beloved. We now pray not only for his soul but for the Church he leaves behind: wounded in places and always in need of shepherds who speak with both his tenderness but also with the clarity of truth.
* * *
Kelsey Reinhardt is Director of Media and Evangelization for CatholicVote.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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The Pope Of The Peripheries And Of Paradox

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The first photos of Pope Francis in his casket were released on Tuesday, as the Vatican announced the pontiff&#8217;s funeral for Saturday.
The images released by the Vatican show the pontiff lying in a wooden casket wearing traditional red vestments and his bishop&#8217;s miter, with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/first-photos-released-pope-francis-his-casket-funeral-set-saturday">praying</a> over his body.
Francis was placed in the casket Monday night in the chapel of the Vatican&#8217;s Casa Santa Marta by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, operating as the acting head of the church until a new pope is selected.
<div id="attachment_910751" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-910751" class="wp-image-910751 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211383735-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images</div>
Catholics can <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/04/22/250422a.html">begin</a> paying their respects starting Wednesday, when the casket is brought into St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.
Cardinals met on Tuesday to establish the next steps, <a href="https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/04/22/250422b.html">setting</a> the funeral for 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Peter&#8217;s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. President Trump said he plans to attend the funeral with the first lady, as dozens of other world leaders have also confirmed their attendance.
Francis, who was 88, died Monday morning of a cerebral stroke followed by a coma and ultimately “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse,” according to the Vatican.
The pope had been in and out of the hospital for two months prior to his death, battling various respiratory illnesses necessitating a constant flow of supplemental oxygen and at least one emergency blood transfusion, per the New York Post.
<div id="attachment_910757" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-910757" class="size-large wp-image-910757" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2211382949-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images</div>
In his final will, Francis wished to be buried at St. Mary Major Basilica, located outside the Vatican, breaking with the tradition of papal burials at St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.
Pope Francis was the first pontiff from the Americas and the first Jesuit pope in the Church&#8217;s history, serving during a period of significant challenges for the Catholic Church.
His death marks the end of a controversial era and sets the stage for what many religious conservatives hope will be a return to more traditional Catholic leadership.
A conclave to elect the next pope must begin between 15 and 20 days after Francis&#8217;s death, according to Church law.
During this period, Cardinal Farrell will oversee the Vatican&#8217;s administration and the conclave of 135 cardinals under the age of 80 who are eligible to vote in the secretive process of selecting the 267th pontiff.
&#8220;He gave himself to the end,&#8221; said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops&#8217; conference and a possible candidate to be the next pope. &#8220;To go out to meet everyone, speak to everyone, teach us to speak to everyone, to bless everyone.&#8221;

Pope Francis Dies At Easter

Vatican Releases First Photos Of Pope Francis In Casket

World

Pope Francis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-francis-dies-at-the-age-of-88" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died on Easter Monday</a> at the age of 88, after a long battle with respiratory illness — during which he was hospitalized for 38 days and nearly died twice — and a number of absolute ghouls on X have spent the morning attempting to blame Vice President JD Vance for the pontiff&#8217;s passing.
Vance, who was an atheist prior to his conversion to Catholicism, spent the holiday weekend with his family at the Vatican — and shared photos on Easter Sunday of his brief meeting with Pope Francis. Just hours later, however, the vice president shared his condolences after learning that the pope had passed.
&#8220;I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. 
I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days…
&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1914239114406191255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It was not long before Vance&#8217;s critics took to X to suggest that he&#8217;d had something to do with the pope&#8217;s passing, despite the Catholic leader&#8217;s very public — and very lengthy — battle with respiratory illness. The New York Times even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/world/europe/even-after-a-lengthy-illness-francis-death-came-as-a-surprise.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Pope Francis had been given a stern warning upon finally leaving the hospital, as doctors told him that he&#8217;d effectively been granted miraculous healing and should remain isolated to aid in his recovery.
Despite that warning, the pontiff made several public appearances — greeting visitors to St. Peter&#8217;s Square on Palm Sunday, visiting with dozens of inmates at a prison on Thursday, and making a surprise appearance on Saturday in St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica — in the days prior to his death. The X critics only seized on Vance&#8217;s visit, however.
Keith Olbermann posted, &#8220;BREAKING: Man, I would NOT want to be Jayvee Vance just now &#8230; Or ever, for that matter. But still &#8230;&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Or ever, for that matter. But still&#8230;
&mdash; Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1914257146063053068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The vice president killed the pope,&#8221; another said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The vice president killed the pope <a href="https://t.co/y02OM4tlxD">https://t.co/y02OM4tlxD</a>
&mdash; Jay Asliken 🕋☪️✈️ (@assliken) <a href="https://twitter.com/assliken/status/1914322096634859918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The Pope meets with Vance *immediately dies of cringe*,&#8221; another post read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Pope meets with Vance *immediately dies of cringe* <a href="https://t.co/fJOoRt90XM">pic.twitter.com/fJOoRt90XM</a>
&mdash; sean (@_sn_n) <a href="https://twitter.com/_sn_n/status/1914228667674251314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Others posted things like:
<ul>
<li>&#8220;not him passing away 4 hours after this. jd vance is the anti-christ confirmed.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;If we were on 1600s, they would&#8217;ve accused him of witchcraft and burned him in public. I think we should bring that back.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Imagine being so bad at Catholicism that you killed the pope.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Every crime show I&#8217;ve ever watched tells me that the last person to see someone alive is usually a prime suspect.&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;And now he&#8217;s dead?? Wtf??&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;I would die too if i had to meet jd vance.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
A number referenced another similar situation from several years earlier, when former British Prime Minister Liz Truss met with the late Queen Elizabeth II shortly before her death.
&#8220;Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced. His last official visitor was US Vice President JD Vance. Will remind of Liz Truss visiting Queen Elizabeth II shortly before the monarch&#8217;s death,&#8221; one posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced.
His last official visitor was US Vice President JD Vance. 
Will remind of Liz Truss visiting Queen Elizabeth II shortly before the monarch&#39;s death. <a href="https://t.co/0PS1ueCrcv">pic.twitter.com/0PS1ueCrcv</a>
&mdash; Latika M Bourke (@latikambourke) <a href="https://twitter.com/latikambourke/status/1914229611824636199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Liz Truss: &#8216;i killed the Queen&#8217; JD Vance: &#8216;hold my lettuce,'&#8221; another said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Liz Truss: &#39;i killed the Queen&#39;
JD Vance: &#39;hold my lettuce&#39; <a href="https://t.co/TdtrwiDgjl">pic.twitter.com/TdtrwiDgjl</a>
&mdash; HENRY MORRIS (@mrhenrymorris) <a href="https://twitter.com/mrhenrymorris/status/1914242403390697756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Liz Truss meets The Queen then [dies]. JD Vance meets the Pope then [dies]. Interesting&#8230;&#8230;. Can they meet with Putin next?&#8221; another asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Liz Truss meets The Queen then ☠️ JD Vance meets the Pope then ☠️ Interesting&#8230;&#8230;. Can they meet with Putin next? <a href="https://t.co/rJ7PV9QKEM">pic.twitter.com/rJ7PV9QKEM</a>
&mdash; Chris Kubecka 🇵🇷🇨🇿🇳🇱 🇺🇦 secevangelism bsky (@SecEvangelism) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecEvangelism/status/1914347999813132669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

U.S. Vice President Vance Visits Italy And India

Absolute Ghouls Flood X With Claims JD Vance Killed Pope Francis

Global Politics

Politics

Pope Francis has died at 88, and speculation is already swirling around who will become the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church.
Francis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-francis-dies-at-the-age-of-88?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Pope+Francis+Dies+At+The+Age+Of+88">died in the early hours</a> of April 21, the day after Easter. He had been hospitalized in Rome recently and was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs, but in recent days he had appeared in public. Francis was elected pope in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI made the unexpected decision to step down from the chair of Saint Peter, becoming the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.
Francis&#8217; papacy often adopted a progressive tone, with the pope recently <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-francis-vance-clash-over-ordo-amoris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">making</a> headlines for criticizing Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, and the Trump administration&#8217;s “program of mass deportations.”
However, Francis also upheld Catholic doctrine on <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/pope-doubles-down-on-abortion-in-new-years-day-message-calls-for-commitment-to-protect-life#:~:text=ROME%20(AP)%20—%20Pope%20Francis,from%20conception%20to%20natural%20death." target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pope-says-blessings-for-individuals-in-same-sex-relationships-cannot-resemble-marriage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gay marriage</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vatican-clarifies-opposition-to-radical-gender-theory-says-it-threatens-a-persons-unique-dignity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender ideology</a>, although critics have complained that his wording in statements on these issues is sometimes confusing. Last year, Francis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dntdUwbIaIA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> firm with an interviewer that women would not be ordained priests.
Several cardinals are considered potential successors to Francis — here are just a few.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, 76, is one of the few potential successors from the United States.
From Wisconsin, Burke has been outspoken in his criticism of the Church&#8217;s more liberal language under Francis, and he has strongly supported the Latin Mass, the older form of the Mass that is popular with many conservative Catholics. Burke has also said that Catholic politicians who support legal abortion, like former President Joe Biden, should not receive the Eucharist.
WATCH: MICHAEL KNOWLES EXPLAINS HOW THE NEXT POPE WILL BE CHOSEN
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uwdJ2UEtFtk?si=pNa9iZBRxKHHUYZb" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70, has served as the Vatican&#8217;s Secretary of State for nearly all of Francis&#8217; papacy. The Italian cardinal has been in the Holy See&#8217;s diplomatic service since 1986, when he was in his early 30s.
Considered a political moderate, Parolin has played a role in many political issues, including moderating 2014 talks between Cuban and American officials, asking the United States to find an &#8220;adequate humanitarian solution&#8221; for Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and urging countries to implement the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has made headlines for his conservative stances. His papacy would be considered a referendum on Francis&#8217; more progressive one.
However, Besungu also <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/papabili-the-cardinals-who-have-seen-their-prospects-in-the-next-conclave-harmed-and-improved-by-recent-news-events/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought</a> critics and supporters of Francis together when he led African bishops in rejecting Francis&#8217; document explaining that people in same-sex relationships can be blessed, but did so with Francis&#8217; explicit blessing, which he got during an emergency trip to Rome.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, has been <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151124125431/http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/01/15/manila-cardinal-luis-tagle-the-asian-pope-francis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the &#8220;Asian Pope Francis&#8221; and would likely continue Francis&#8217; more left-leaning stances.
He has defended the Church&#8217;s teachings on abortion and contraception, but he has also criticized the Church for using &#8220;harsh words&#8221; for LGBT people and divorced and remarried Catholics.
Cardinal Wim Eijk, 71, is also considered a conservative potential successor.
The former medical doctor from the Netherlands has been a sharp critic of Francis. He is one of the authors of a 2015 document opposing the pope&#8217;s approval of civil remarriages among people who have not received an annulment, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/18/world-news/who-are-the-frontrunners-to-be-elected-next-pontiff-after-pope-francis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling</a> them “a form of structured and institutionalized adultery.”
Eijk also <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/cardinal-eijk-pope-francis-needed-to-give-clarity-on-intercommunion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Francis for giving what he called a “completely incomprehensible” response to a German Bishops&#8217; Conference proposal on allowing Protestants to receive the Eucharist.
Cardinal Peter Erdö, 72, is a Hungarian cardinal who is a devout Marian as well as a former president of the Council of Bishops Conferences of Europe.
He has expressed conservative views, including staunchly opposing allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion. In 2015 during the European migrant crisis, he said the Church would not <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/05/us-europe-migrants-hungary-divide-idUSKCN0R50F120150905/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">take</a> in refugees because it would be akin to human trafficking.

Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience

Who Could Become Pontiff After Pope Francis?

WASHINGTON—Vice President JD Vance will spend Holy Week in Vatican City before heading to India, the vice president’s office shared with The Daily Wire.
Vance will attend Good Friday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, his office shared with The Daily Wire. While in Rome, Vance is also slated to meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on Thursday.
“Vice President Vance looks forward to meeting with Prime Minister Meloni and Church officials while in Italy and is grateful for the opportunity to visit some of Rome’s amazing cultural and religious sites with his family during Holy Week,” the vice president’s press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, told The Daily Wire.
Pope Francis, who was recently released from the hospital following a prolonged health scare, <a href="https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/despite-improved-health-pope-picks-cardinals-lead-holy-week-liturgies">announced</a> that he will not preside over the Vatican&#8217;s Holy Week masses. The Pope tapped Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, to lead Good Friday mass in his stead.
Vance, a Catholic convert, caught flack from Pope Francis earlier this year for the Trump administration&#8217;s stance on immigration. Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hours-before-zelensky-meeting-vance-praises-trump-for-pursuing-a-path-of-peace">acknowledged</a> that scuffle at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in February, calling himself a “Baby Catholic” and noting that “sometimes, the bishops get mad at me.”
“If you ever hear me pontificating about the Catholic faith, please recognize it comes from a place of deep belief, but it also comes from a place of not always knowing everything all the time,” he said at the time.
Vance&#8217;s visit comes a week of Easter festivities at the White House, including prayer services and dinners with religious leaders. Trump released a &#8220;Presidential Message on Holy Week&#8221; on Palm Sunday, in which he reaffirmed his administration&#8217;s &#8220;promise to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government.&#8221;
&#8220;We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square,&#8221; Trump wrote.
Last year, President Joe Biden and his administration came under fire when Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-declares-easter-sunday-transgender-day-of-visibility">declared</a> Easter Sunday &#8220;Transgender Day of Visibility.&#8221;
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Italy also noted in a release that Vance and his family will be traveling between April 18 and April 24, stating that Vance will “discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country.”
While in India, Vance will visit New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra, hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and participate in “engagements at cultural sites.”

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 1

EXCLUSIVE: JD Vance And Family To Attend Good Friday Mass In Vatican City

President-elect Donald Trump appointed Brian Burch, the president of one of the country&#8217;s largest Catholic advocacy groups, as Ambassador to the Holy See on Friday.
&#8220;Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113686399756514655" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> Friday on Truth Social.
&#8220;He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History! Brian loves his Church and the United States — He will make us all proud. Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!&#8221; Trump said.
Burch responded in a statement expressing his gratitude.
&#8220;I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See,&#8221; Burch wrote in a statement posted to X. &#8220;Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination, most especially my wife Sara, my 9 beautiful children, my CV team, and all those who supported me in this journey. I am especially grateful to my father, who passed to eternal life this past June, who taught me to love the Church and the blessings and responsibilities of being a citizen of the U.S.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See. Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination, most especially my wife Sara&#8230;
&mdash; Brian Burch (@BrianBurchCV) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianBurchCV/status/1870168683387003282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Burch emphasized the importance of the Catholic Church&#8217;s role in the world and promised to &#8220;promote the dignity of all people.&#8221;
&#8220;The role of Ambassador is to represent the government of the United States in its relations with the Holy See. The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance,&#8221; Burch said.
&#8220;I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the new Administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good. I look forward to the confirmation process and the opportunity to continue to serve my country and the Church. To God be the glory,&#8221; he said.
Burch&#8217;s conservative lobbying group, CatholicVote, says its mission is to &#8220;inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.&#8221;
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CatholicVote&#8217;s political action committee <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/catholicvote-org/C00494021/summary/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent</a> more than a million dollars this election cycle and <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholicvote-organization-endorses-trump-presidential-primary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> Trump in January during the primaries.
&#8220;I know many Catholics are divided over whether Trump is the best candidate to defeat Biden. But that&#8217;s also what primaries are for,&#8221; Burch <a href="https://catholicvote.org/catholicvote-endorses-donald-trump-for-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time.
Trump thanked CatholicVote for endorsing him the same day during a speech in New Hampshire, where he also spoke about the FBI&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/catholic-leaders-slam-fbi-over-illegitimate-targeting-of-catholics-as-bureau-defends-its-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">targeting</a> of Catholics.
“I don’t know what it is with Catholics but the FBI is going after Catholics,” Trump <a href="https://catholicvote.org/catholicvote-endorses-donald-trump-for-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Why would any Catholic vote for a Democrat?”
The embassy to the Holy See was first established in 1984 between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.

Vatican Pool Images 2023

Trump Appoints CatholicVote President Holy See Ambassador

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