Headline Roundup • April 21st, 2025
Reflections on Pope Francis' Legacy
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Pope Francis died early Monday. How will he be remembered?
From The Left: Voices on the left focused on the progressive change that Pope Francis brought to the Catholic Church, including his focus on the environment, gender inclusivity, and calling for mercy on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. The Washington Post (Lean Left) said the church grew (primarily in Africa) due to his inclusive style, and his humility and empathy reshaped the papacy. He was the first non-European Pope in almost 13 centuries.
From the Center: A Newsweek (Center bias) writer noted that although Pope Francis appointed women to positions only held by men in the past and championed other reforms to the church, one mark on his legacy will be his failure to root out sexual abuse in the church.
From the Right: The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (Lean Right) said that the Pope agreed with ideologies, like environmentalism, that kept people poor. “The irony is that this progressivism is most popular in places like Europe where the Sunday pews are empty... His papacy was marked by anti-Americanism,” the board said. “Francis was not nearly as progressive as his cheerleaders on the left wanted to believe he was,” said National Review (Right) writer Jim Geraghty (Lean Right), noting that many of his progressive comments were walked back by the Vatican.
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