I’m a proud evangelical Protestant who thought very highly of Pope Benedict. But I don’t like Pope Francis at all. In this post, I will link to two recent stories that explain two of my reasons, although I have many more beside these.

First one, reported in NewsMax:

Conservative Catholics have launched a barrage of challenges to Pope Francis before a big Vatican meeting, with five cardinals demanding clarifications on same-sex couples and other issues, and a women’s group saying only men should vote at the event.

The cardinals from Asia, Europe, Africa, the United States and Latin America said on Monday they had sent the pope a set of formal questions, known as “dubia” (“doubts” in Latin), about the gathering.

In an open letter to Catholics, they said they had announced their challenges “so that you may not be subject to confusion, error, and discouragement but rather may pray for the universal Church.”

The action was the latest latest clash between the pope and minority conservatives, who have accused him of undermining a number of traditional precepts.

And I thought this was very interesting:

Church leaders have been preparing for this week’s closed-door meeting – known as a bishops synod – for the past two years, asking Catholics around the world to share their vision for the future of the Church.

Topics will include the role of women, greater acceptance of LGBT Catholics, social justice and the effects of climate change on the poor.

Conservative Catholics are definitely unhappy:

Last week, the conservative U.S.-based Catholic women’s group Restore Tradition decried the fact that women were given a vote at the meeting equal to that of a cardinal or bishop, saying some of the women had advocated “heretical doctrines” against tradition.

“We wish to be represented only by bishops,” the group said, citing “divine law” that only men could receive sacramental ordination.

The international conservative group, “Tradition, Family and Property,” sent participants a 100-page booklet calling the gathering a dangerous “Pandora’s Box.” In the forward, Burke says he fears the synod will sow “confusion and error and division.”

As a Protestant, I know that when denominations move away from the text of the Bible, and cater to the feelings of the “don’t judge” compassion crowd, then doctrine gets watered down. That’s the way it is in mainline Protestant denominations, and that’s why their numbers are declining, while conservative evangelical Protestant churches are thriving.

While the Pope is very friendly to the secular left on social issues, conservative leaders in the Catholic church are getting punished.

Church Militant reports:

Pope Francis has removed a Texas bishop from his office, a move shocking many in the Church.

[…]Known by some as “America’s bishop,” Strickland is one of the few U.S. Catholic bishops to be vocal in his support for the Church.

He was the only U.S. bishop to attend the June 16 protest against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team’s support of the blasphemous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. It created something of an embarrassment for L.A. Abp. Jose Gómez and his auxiliary bishops.

Strickland was also outspoken against COVID mandates, which were promoted by Catholic leaders. (Where is that in the Bible?)

Strickland is not the only one:

Pope Francis does have a record of removing bishops who claim to be merely following the Catholic faith.

In March 2022, Pope Francis ousted Daniel Fernández Torres as bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, because he allegedly “had not been obedient to the pope, nor had [he] had sufficient communion with [his] brother bishops of Puerto Rico.”

Torres refused to sign a joint statement urging the moral obligation of COVID-19 vaccinations, a stance he defended as a conscientious objection recognized by the Church. The bishop noted, “I have opposed what I consider to be using episcopal ministry to advance political agendas.”

He was disobedient to the Pope, so he had to go!

I have some friends who are conservative Catholics, and I’m so curious to know how they see their commitment to that organization shaping up in light of these changes. As a Protestant, I pick the denomination that adheres most closely to the teachings of the Bible. But conservative Catholics seem to be stuck with this Pope. What will they do now?

I wrote a post previously explaining why I am not a Roman Catholic.