In the American Church, the pope has critics among leaders and laity

Pope Francis’ relationship with the conservative wing of the American Catholic Church was already on shaky ground when reports emerged this week of his plan to evict one of his most prominent critics from a Vatican-subsidized apartment in Rome.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, who led dioceses in St. Louis and Wisconsin before moving to Rome, is a lion of the faith among conservative Catholics who see him as a defender of tradition and orthodoxy in a dangerously out-of-control church.

The move comes just weeks after Francis fired another outspoken critic, Bishop Joseph Strickland, who was removed from his post in Tyler, Texas, following a Vatican investigation into his leadership.

Both decisions sparked public outrage from conservative church leaders, making it clear that restoring unity to the divided American Church will take more than crushing a few high-profile clergymen. The Pope is becoming more and more open The opposition to theological and liturgical conservatives in the church has led to deep wariness of his leadership among conservatives in the church, who are found at all levels of Catholic life in America.

“The pattern of revenge and punishment seems to run counter to what he says about being an instrument of mercy and guidance,” said Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, a lay advocacy group based in Wisconsin that has focused on President Donald J. Trump’s reprisals. supported. elections in 2020.

Mr. Burch listed Francis’ manners offended conservative Catholics over the course of his pontificate, citing his 2015 comment that good Catholics do not need to procreate”like rabbits”, which was perceived as an insult by some large families, who were obedient to the Church’s teaching against contraception. (Francis later apologized for the comment.) More recently, Francis regretted seeing young priests in Rome buying clothes decorated with lace, a style favored by traditionalists.

Catholics make up just under 20 percent of the US population, and are a politically diverse cohort, with roughly equal numbers identifying as Republicans and Democrats. It is unclear whether there is a larger shift toward conservatism among Catholics, but Catholics who attended Mass more often were. They are more likely to vote for Mr. Trump in 2020 than those who attended less often, suggesting that those most committed to Catholic practices are also more conservative.

That signals deeper trouble ahead for the relationship between a more progressive Vatican and the American church, where a robust network of radio hosts, podcasters and journalists regularly scrutinize the pope’s missteps and question the direction in which he is steering the church pulls. (Bishop Strickland, deposed from his perch in Texas, launched a YouTube channel this week.)

In September, Francis complained about a “very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” opposing him in the American church. “I would like to remind these people that backwardness is useless,” he told a group of his fellow Jesuits at a gathering of young Catholics in Lisbon.

The bishops’ conference in the United States is also dominated by conservatives. At the annual meeting in November, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the current president, pushed back on a suggestion by the pope’s representative to the United States that traditionalists in the American church are insular and have failed to reach out and to evangelize. “Our churches are not yet empty,” Archbishop Broglio said wryly.

The ranks of Catholic priests in the United States have become increasingly conservative over time, foreshadowing deeper divisions among any future popes in the Francis model.

A recent analysis of a major survey among Catholic priests in the United States found that more than half of priests ordained since 2010 described themselves as “conservative/orthodox” or “very conservative/orthodox.” That marks a dramatic turnaround from the late 1960s, when more than 60 percent said they were “progressive” or “very progressive.”

Surprisingly, not a single priest surveyed who was ordained after 2020 described themselves as “very progressive.” The survey of 3,500 priests was conducted by the Catholic Project of the Catholic University of America.

About 82 percent of American Catholics say they view Pope Francis favorably. according to a 2021 Pew survey although the percentage of Catholics who view him unfavorably has increased over the past decade. That dissatisfaction is palpable in the pews.

“The pope likes to talk about how we should serve the unity of the church,” said Allison Accardo, director of religious education at a parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit. “That sounds very rich coming from him.”

She cited the pope’s discouragement of the traditional Latin Mass, an older form favored by traditionalists and which Cardinal Burke has championed.

“We feel so left out, like we’re always being scolded and we don’t have anyone to bind up our wounds,” says Lisa. Bergman, a conservative Catholic who runs a small Catholic publishing house in Chicago.

For Ms. Bergman and other “traditionally minded” Catholics, Cardinal Burke’s punishment is a sign that the current Vatican leadership views them as a problem rather than as fellow travelers.

“I can honestly say that I love Pope Francis,” she said, “but it is a deep wound that I don’t think he would ever say the same about me.”