Did Pope Francis Believe in Jesus as Lord?

May 5, 2025

By Kutosi Humphrey

Kitalo! I too am saddened by the death of Pope Francis. When someone dies, we always want to say nice things. No eulogy is ever negative. Even if the deceased was a thief or a murderer, they are lauded with praises for the great and selfless life they supposedly lived. We are most hypocritical at a burial. Such hypocrisy has no shred of support from Holy Scripture, not even for its most celebrated saints such as King David. And for deceivers, it reserves its sharpest rebukes. 

It’s no easy task to be the black sheep that interrupts the party and brings to the attention of everyone that “the Emperor is naked.” But for the sake of the millions, deceived by the so-called Successor of Peter, I have no kind words for Pope Francis. 

Last week we considered the question: Where is Pope Francis now? This is part two of the discussion, where we ask:

Did Pope Francis Believe in Jesus as Lord?

The Bible is very clear: for anyone to be saved, they must believe in Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9). The title Lord identifies Jesus as God—Yahweh—of the Old Testament (Compare Rom. 10:13 and Joel 2:32). It also carries with it His supreme divine authority over all creation (Phil. 2:9-11). 

At first glance, Francis proclaimed Jesus as Lord. One cannot go around plainly telling Catholics that Jesus is not Lord, and still expect them to listen. However, mere lip service is not what matters to the Lord. Jesus Himself warned, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I tell you” (Luke 6:46). He also taught us that false teachers often come in sheep’s clothing, with a veneer of what may look to be like Christianity, but deep inside, they are ravenous wolves. Even fake money bears some resemblance to the real thing—otherwise, no one would take it. 

For that reason, Jesus taught that false teachers can be discerned by their fruit—their lived submission to His Lordship. What then was the fruit of Pope Francis?

The Fruit of Pope Francis

I will focus on two areas that reveal where Francis’ heart lay on the Lordship of Christ: divorce and remarriage, and homosexuality.

Divorce and Remarriage

The Bible teaches that God hates divorce and upholds marriage as a lifelong union between a husband and a wife (Mal. 2:16; Matt. 19:4-6). Divorce is not permitted except for cases of sexual immorality, but even then, it is because of the hardness of men’s hearts. Remarriage after divorce, except in such cases is adultery (Mark 10:11-12). Christian couples in accordance with God’s desire and intention for marriage, often bind themselves even further, committing to stick together “for better or worse, till death do us part,” precluding divorce even for sexual immorality. This emulates the unbreakable union between Christ and His Church. For “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matt. 19:6). 

Even the Catholic Church rightly affirms this, maintaining that those who divorce and remarry are in an adulterous state and consequently cannot be admitted to communion or church office (CCC, 1650).

Yet Pope Francis weakened the Lord’s teaching. In an exhortation to the bishops, Francis encouraged them to be flexible in their approach to the divorced and remarried, suggesting that they could even be admitted back to communion (Amoris Laetitia, no. 291, 2016). He further declared: “No one can be condemned forever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel! Here I am not speaking only of the divorced and remarried, but of everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 297, 2016). 

This led many critics, including four cardinals to issue five dubia (formal questions), challenging Francis’ moral relativism (Burke et al., 2016). He never responded.

Homosexuallity 

Pope Francis’  stance on homosexuality upset many, including Catholics. The Catholic Church officially teaches that homosexual acts are grievous sins against God and are even “intrinsically disordered” (CCC, 2357). 

In 2013, while responding to a question about a homosexual priest, Francis remarked, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” His statement downplayed the sinfulness of homosexuality. This put many Catholics in the uncomfortable position of trying to defend the indefensible. 

Later, Francis openly supported civil marriages for homosexual couples saying, “Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered.” (BBC, 2020).

Yet the Apostle Paul is clear that those “…who practice homosexuality…will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Paul further teaches that anyone—like Pope Francis—who contradicts his writings opposes  “the command of the Lord” and is to be rejected (1 Cor. 14:37-38).

Conclusion

Christ Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Pope Francis, despite all his lip service to the Lordship of Christ, was an enemy of Christ. Like his predecessors, he opposed biblical teaching, promoted moral aberrations and deceived many, undermining the Lordship of Christ.

This serves as a sobering warning to all professing Christians: Do you truly seek to obey Christ in your life, or is “Christian” merely a label you wear without obedience to Him? 

To those who merely wear the label, Jesus delivers this chilling verdict: 

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:22-23). 

I plead with you—do not be one of them.

References

Catholic Church. (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2001). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Pope Francis. (2013, July 28). In-flight press conference from Rio de Janeiro to Rome. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130728_gmg-conferenza-stampa.html

Pope Francis. (2016). Amoris Laetitia: On love in the family. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html

Woods, T. (2020, October 21). Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same-sex couples, in shift from Vatican stance. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54627625