Why Liberals Love Francis

To believe that Francis is now suddenly maneuvering the Church into acceptance of homosexual “marriage” requires believing that the man who a few years ago called it a work of “the Father of Lies” to “destroy God’s plan . . . and deceive the children of God” has since moving to Rome become an ally of the Father of lies, writes Paul Kengor in The American Spectator. And that’s not true, as he shows with several quotations, the latest from Francis’ address to the Humanum conference this past week.

Kengor, a Catholic who teaches history at Grove City College, asks why liberals, religious and secular, so love Francis. Giving the example of the gushing Elton John, he asks why so many people, some much better informed than the pop singer, think the pope is one of them.

His explanation is not flattering to liberals. “What they most love about Pope Francis is gay stuff,” he argues.

Specifically, it’s their overwhelming conviction that the new pope is not just pro-gay but soon will be recognizing gay marriage and (who knows) maybe even gay priests. For the modern liberal, with gaze fixed below the waist, there is literally nothing of higher importance for Francis and the life of the planet. Other than perhaps race, nothing transfixes the modern progressive mind quite like gay sex; it’s the new alpha and omega.

I think there is more to be said about and indeed for liberalism than this, but the general point seems to be true, as I noted a month or so ago in Homosexual Interests Trump the Poor’s. The desires of sexual minorities do seem to have precedence over all other concerns and they are eager to take any possible sign that the Church is giving in as if it were proof that she were. It is an extension of the philosopher Santayana’s remark of 100 or more years ago that (as relayed by Bill Buckley) the only thing modern liberalism wants to liberate is man from his marriage bond.

They’ve duped themselves, Kengor concludes, and he notes that they’re going to be very upset with Francis when they realize they’d been duped. They will, I’ll predict, blame Francis for misleading them.