Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Pope Francis was a disappointing Pope

First of all, can I just say to all Catholics, condolences, obviously, over the passing of the Pope. 

It's a big moment for the Catholic Church. 

I enjoyed this Pope. 

He seemed a little bit more fun than his predecessors, didn't he? He loved football, he loved saying things that got him in trouble, carried his own luggage. 

Seems like a normal guy, right? A normal guy who became the Pope. 

But if I'm honest with myself, setting that all to one side, I think he was ultimately quite disappointing as the Pope, wasn't he? 

Because he said a lot of stuff about wanting to be more liberal and be more inclusive, but he actually didn't do anything, did he? 

He didn't change anything about the way that the Catholic Church regards gay people. 

He didn't change anything about the way that the Catholic Church treats divorced people. 

He didn't change anything about the fact that women are completely excluded from serving as clergy in the Catholic Church. 

Now obviously, a generous explanation of this is that he tried but couldn't, because the Catholic Church is massive. 

I mean, there are 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, spanning a huge number of countries, completely different views, and changing something that big and that diverse and actually really fundamentally that conservative, takes a really long time. 

And so he did what he could, what he did was enough. 

It was enough to kind of set people, set the wheels in motion, if you like, get people talking about being a bit more kind to gay people and divorced people in particular, and that in time, he's planted the seeds that will then come to fruition in years and decades and Lord, maybe even centuries from here. 

And maybe that's right. 

Maybe that's exactly what he's done. 

But then, you know, he was chosen as pope by 3/4 of cardinals, which means that 3/4 of those dudes knew that they were choosing a liberal guy, and they were ready for a liberal guy. 

So I look at that, I think that he had a little bit more latitude than he actually used, even for just one change, in just one of those areas, maybe he could have done it. 

Also, while I love the fact that he was humble, he lived in a hostel and not a palace, he drove around in a cruddy car and not a flash limousine. He carried his own luggage, washed people's feet in public. 

I have to be honest with myself as well about that. 

That was performative, and he surely understood what he was doing. 

He did those things to be seen. 

But did he actually do anything to change the fact that the Catholic Church hoards all of its wealth and lives in opulence of upper levels? 

Did he actually do anything beyond this performance? 

Now, some commentators reckon that the real test of his legacy is going to be whether the next Pope, the next one that's chosen, is as liberal as he is and can actually push the church just a little bit more in that liberal direction. 

And if that does happen, then maybe Francis can be credited with having started some real change within the Catholic Church. 

And so, as in most cases, time will really be the judge of his legacy. 

But I'll tell you what, right here, if you had told me in 2013 when he was appointed Pope that he would die with nothing changed in the church, I wouldn't have believed it. 

So I'm disappointed. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right, So the Pope. First of all, can I just
say to all Catholics condolences obviously over the passing of
the Pope. It's a big moment for the Catholic Church.
I enjoyed this pope. He seemed a little bit more
fun than his predecessors, didn't He loved football, he loved
saying things that got him in trouble. He carried his
own luggage. It seems like a normal guy, right, a
normal guy who became the Pope. But if I'm honest

(00:21):
with myself, setting that all to one side, I think
he was ultimately quite disappointing as the Pope, wasn't he
Because he said a lot of stuff about wanting to
be more liberal and be more inclusive, but he actually
didn't do anything did He didn't change anything about the
way that the Catholic Church regards gay people. He didn't
change anything about the way that the Catholic Church treats
divorced people. He didn't change anything about the fact that

(00:41):
women are completely excluded from serving as clergy in the
Catholic Church. Now, obviously a generous explanation of this is
that he tried but couldn't because the Catholic Church is massive.
I mean, there are one point four billion Catholics worldwide,
spanning a huge number of countries, completely different views, and
changing some thing that big and that diverse and actually

(01:02):
really fundamentally that conservative takes a really long time. And
so he did what he could. He what he did
was enough. It was enough to kind of set people,
set the wheels in motion, if you like, get people
talking about being a bit more kind to gay people
and divorced people in particular, and that in time, he's
planted the seeds that will then come to fruition in

(01:22):
years and decades and maybe even centuries from here. And
maybe that's right, Maybe that's exactly what he's done. But
then you know, he was chosen as pope by three
quarters of cardinals, which means that three quarters of those
dudes knew knew that they were choosing a liberal guy,
and they were ready for a liberal guy. So I
look at that, I think that he had a little
bit more latitude than he actually used, even for just

(01:43):
one change in just one of those areas, maybe he
could have done it. Also, while I love the fact
that he was humble, he lived in a hostel and
not a palace, he drove around in a cruddy car
and not a flash limousine. He carried his own luggage,
washed people's feet in public. I have to be honest
with myself as well about that. That was performing, and
he surely understood what he was doing. He did those
things to be seen. But did he actually do anything

(02:05):
to change the fact that the Catholic Church hoardes all
of its wealth and lives in opulence of upper levels.
Did he actually do anything beyond this performance? Now, some
commentators reckon that the real test of his legacy is
going to be whether the next pope, the next one
that's chosen, is as liberal as he is and can
actually church push the church just a little bit more
in that liberal direction. And if that does happen, then

(02:26):
maybe Francis can be credited with having started some real
change within the Catholic Church. And so as in most cases,
time will really be the judge of his legacy. But
I'll tell you what right here, if you had told
me in twenty thirteen when he was appointed pope that
he would die with nothing changed in the church, I
wouldn't have believed it. So I'm disappointed. For more from

(02:49):
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