The Freedom From Religion Foundation acknowledges the death of Pope Francis, a leader revered by many but whose tenure failed to bring meaningful change to a deeply flawed institution.
While a good number of the world’s Catholics will feel a void, we must also reckon with the harm perpetuated under his leadership and that of the institution he represented. We renew our call for secular governance, accountability and progress rooted not in dogma, but in reason and human rights.
The Catholic Church marketed Pope Francis’ ascent as a shift toward a more liberal, compassionate Church — but in reality, this amounted to little more than a cosmetic change. Many of his more liberal pronouncements seemed calculated to stringing along more progressive believers and keeping them in the Church. FFRF has repeatedly advised Catholics that quitting the Church en masse is the only ethical response to its seemingly endless record of harm and abuse.
In particular, perhaps Francis’ greatest failing was his refusal to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for clergy sex abuse. As report after report poured in, year after year from all over the globe, Church officials consistently ignored and covered up abuse. Many of these church officials remain in positions of power, and some may even be possible candidates for the papacy. FFRF applauds the work of survivors who have fought to expose these ties to abuse and to keep abusers out of positions of power in the Church.
Behind the Church’s lip service and public gestures, its core policies and priorities remained rigidly the same. Under Francis’ leadership, the Vatican continued its global campaign to restrict access to contraception and abortion, fought to block or reverse same-sex marriage laws, upheld its exclusion of women from the priesthood and even the diaconate, and maintained its opposition to death with dignity laws. While the tone may have softened, the Church’s agenda — to impose its doctrine on societies around the world — remained as aggressive and regressive as ever.
As a cardinal in 2010, Francis strongly opposed the push to legalize same-sex marriage in Argentina, warning that it would “seriously damage the family.” Throughout his papacy, Francis delivered mixed messages on LGBTQ-plus issues. In 2013, he famously asked, “Who am I to judge?” when referring to gay individuals seeking God — a comment that was widely interpreted as a shift toward a more compassionate tone. But his conciliatory statements over the years were not accompanied by formal changes to Vatican doctrine or Church policy, which continues to oppose same-sex marriage.
Other times, Francis’ remarks were openly hostile, such as when he stated that children need heterosexual parents and denounced gender-affirming care. He controversially compared transgender individuals to nuclear weapons, though in 2023 he acknowledged that, under certain conditions, transgender people may be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings. However, here, too, Church doctrine remained unchanged.
In 2015, Francis met privately with Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky. The pope reportedly praised her “courage” and presented her and her husband with “blessed” rosaries. While the Vatican adopted the term “LGBT” for the first time in 2018 under his tenure, and he condemned extreme homophobia by likening it to Nazi-era persecution, these symbolic gestures have not translated into structural reform or doctrinal shifts within the Church. His messaging has often been inconsistent, swinging back and forth between gestures of openness and reaffirmations of traditional dogma.
Pope Francis also continued the Church’s harmful opposition to autonomy for women, refusing to even consider letting women serve as clergy, calling surrogacy “deplorable,” and continuing the Church’s historic opposition to contraception and abortion. He even blamed the victims of the Church’s hostility toward contraception with his claim that it is “an irresponsibility” for couples to fail to regulate the births of their children, contending that “God gives you methods to be responsible.” He was referring to the rhythm system of avoiding pregnancy, but the old joke is that couples who practice the rhythm system are called “parents.”
Regarding abortion, just last year Francis compared physicians who perform abortions to “contract killers.” And here in the United States, the Conference of Catholic Bishops has led the way to ban abortions across the country.
Finally, Francis failed to change the Church’s callous opposition to medical aid in dying. While there is increasing bipartisan support and decades of the practice continue to show benefits far outweighing risks, the Catholic Church remains its primary opponent. This opposition directly leads to needless end-of-life suffering all over the country.
With a new incoming pope who may be less inclined to pay lip service to equality, defend reproductive autonomy, question dogma or stand up against clergy abuse, there is a real possibility that the Church may be in for a worse period.
“Catholics around the world should reflect on the Church’s long, dark history, and think on the direction a new pope will take it,” comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “A regression to more brutal, dogmatic and patriarchal policies seems likely.”
Pope Francis’ legacy underscores the urgent need for secular governance that prioritizes human rights over religious dogma. As the Catholic Church prepares to choose its next leader, FFRF urges empathetic Catholics worldwide to reflect deeply on the harm perpetuated in their name — and to consider leaving an institution that has proven itself unwilling to evolve.
There has never been a better time to quit the Catholic Church.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. FFRF has more than 42,000 members, including members in every state and the District of Columbia.
