Francis' Popularity is At the Expense of the Church

On Friday, the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera asked two writers about Pope Francis, his liberal biographer Austen Ivereigh and Matthew Schmitz of First Things.

Ivereigh believes that Francis “has the overwhelming support of the world’s bishops” and is "increasingly reflecting the style, temperament, attitudes of the majority of the Catholics.”

Schmitz who first celebrated Francis' election is realising that “Francis is building his programme of supposed reform at the expense not only of the Church, but also at the expense of its most vulnerable members – the children who have been orphaned by the culture of divorce and remarriage".

The users on Al Jazeera's Twitter account are critical of Francis. User “Stephen B” states: “Should it not be the Pope setting the standard rather than following the (poorly catechised) crowd?”

Picture: Al Jazeera, #newsTqwyeajldu