As Pope Francis’s efforts to steer the Roman Catholic Church in a more progressive direction become known in the wake of his death, everyone is wondering what direction the next pontiff will take, as the battle for his election has flared up in the corridors of the Vatican and beyond. Conservatives are rallying, knowing that Francis has made sure to appoint cardinals who make up the majority of the Conclave that will soon choose his successor. Although they do not have a numerical advantage, American conservative cardinals, with the support of President Trump, want to play a role. But German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a leading figure among Vatican conservatives and a fierce critic of the pontiff, warned in an interview with the Times of London that “the Catholic Church risks schism if another liberal Pope like Francis is elected.” Miller shares the same views as American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who hopes to influence the Conclave in favor of a choice that Donald Trump will also approve.
In the United States, Jesse Romero, who hosts a podcast on Catholic Church issues in Phoenix, Arizona, says the time has come for a “Trump-like Pope” who will restore traditional Christian values. “Those who tolerate abortion have Marxist positions, and those who are in favor of homosexuality we need to get rid of.” Romero is among a growing group of conservative Catholics in the United States who hope that Francis’ death will mark a decisive shift away from the reformism he represents, they believe, toward a more dogmatic, traditional approach to the faith.
Observers are aware that many Vatican news websites have been created in the US, many of which spread fake news that could influence the cardinals before the conclave begins, where they are isolated. In 2019, journalist Nicholas Sinise published a book titled “How America Wants to Change the Pope,” in which he described all the maneuvers of the Catholic Far Right in the US to guide a new conclave. He even mentioned the “Red Hat Report,” which had a large budget to compile dossiers on each cardinal elector over a two-year period, so that pressure could be exerted on some of them.
The mood in the hard-line camp is summed up by Roger Stone, an ally of President Donald Trump, who denounced the posthumous paeans to Francis on US network X as “disgusting.” “His papacy was never legitimate, and his teachings routinely violated both the Bible and church doctrine,” he wrote. “I think it’s probably hot where he is right now,” he adds, hinting at Hell.
Stone’s post reflects the intense hostility toward Francis among some American conservatives—a trend that emerged early in his papacy and has only grown stronger. That sentiment has energized conservatives who have been emboldened since Trump returned to the White House. Distrust of Francis was particularly widespread among the Catholic MAGA, or “Make America Great Again” movement, a group that combines support for Trump’s populist, nationalist agenda with a strengthening of the conservative wing of Catholicism and a deep suspicion of liberal tendencies in the Church.
Donald Trump has worked hard to align the MAGA movement with the Church. In February, he created a task force to “eliminate anti-Christian bias.” He also appointed Brian Burch, a Francis critic and the head of a group that mobilized Catholic voters for the Republicans last year, as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. But if anything, the movement is broader than Trump and Vance and is the result of long-term trends in a church in the United States that is increasingly turning conservative. It is no surprise, then, that Pope Francis has become a red flag for many American Catholics. Traditionalists were particularly angered by Amoris Laetitia, the 2016 apostolic exhortation that raised the possibility of allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments. They also denounced his decision in 2023 to approve blessings for same-sex couples, his support for action on climate change, and his welcoming approach to immigrants.
Francis has not taken the attacks of his American critics lightly. After conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke attacked him over Amoris Laetitia, Francis threatened to expel him from his Vatican apartment. He also dismissed Texan Bishop Joseph Strickland, another critic of his in the US Church.
The pontiff had made clear his distaste for the policies adopted by Trump during his second term, writing in a letter to US bishops in February that the deportations of immigrants violated the “dignity of many men and women and entire families.”
