are likely to be disappointed, according to a number of experts in theology, amid ongoing tension between Rome and some of its U.S. affiliates.of some in the U.S. Catholic Church during a meeting in Portugal. It was reported by the Jesuit journalSince assuming the papacy in 2013, Francis has struck a noticeably more progressive tone than his two immediate predecessors, Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Pope Francis gestures as he departs the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on September 2, 2023. He has clashed with conservative American Catholics, labeling them backwards during a recent interview in Portugal.Such remarks have caused a backlash from elements within the American church, such as Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas.
Francis added:"In this way, the true tradition is lost, and you turn to ideologies for support. In other words, ideologies replace faith. Gibson said Catholicism's center of gravity is in the Southern Hemisphere now, with the U.S. church making up just 5 percent of its members.that nothing is guaranteed in terms of Francis's successor, but said:"I think it unlikely that you will get the pope-as-policeman that some on the American right seem to want. The church is becoming more global, and less centered on Rome as 'running' everything.