Pope Francis is dividing Catholic leaders after calling the American Catholic church “reactionary.”
In a visit to Portugal, the pope criticized Catholicism in the states, saying “there, one can lose the true tradition and turn to ideologies for support. In other words, ideology replaces faith.”
But not everyone agrees. Frank Pavone is a former priest and the National Director of anti-abortion group Priests for Life. He responded saying those remarks reveal that the pope “doesn’t understand America too well,” and that the debate over abortion and other political issues “distinguishes America.”
Pavone was removed from the clergy last year after expressing his conservative views on social media. He says this is a product of cancel culture seeping into the church.