“Christianity in America Is Just a Money Making Scheme”: Pope Slams American Catholics for Turning Faith into a Cash Cow and Ideological Circus

Amy LewisNov 21, 2023

Minute Read

Pope Francis has criticized certain conservative factions within the US Catholic Church, stating that they’ve replaced genuine faith with rigid ideology. He emphasized that a proper interpretation of Roman Catholic doctrine permits adaptation and change as time goes on.

Divisions Within the US Catholic Church

Pope Francis’ words highlighted the long-standing divisions within the US Catholic Church, which mainly consist of progressive and conservative factions fighting each other. Controversies have often centered around contentious issues like abortion and same-gender marriage.

An Emphasis on Social Justice Issues

Numerous conservatives have spoken out against Pope Francis’ emphasis on social justice issues. His willingness to reconsider traditional practices, such as his permitting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive sacraments, has been met with allegations of heresy from many right-wingers.

A Private Meeting in Lisbon

The pope shared his candid thoughts during a meeting with members of the Jesuit order in Portugal and a transcript of the conversation was subsequently published in the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, an outlet endorsed by the Vatican secretariat of state.

A Personal Challenge

During the dialogue, a Portuguese Jesuit recounted his personal challenges during a sabbatical year spent in the United States. He encountered numerous Catholics who criticized both Pope Francis’ decade-long papacy as well as today’s Jesuits.

The Essence of Authentic Faith

Pope Francis, who originates from Argentina, acknowledged the sentiment expressed by the Portuguese Jesuit. He pointed out the existence of a “very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” within the US church, which he described as “backward.” He cautioned that adhering to such a mindset fosters a closed-off atmosphere contrary to the essence of authentic faith. He said: “Doing this, you lose the true tradition, and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith.”

The Core Foundations of the Church

Addressing the misconception that doctrine must remain rigid and unchanging, Pope Francis argued that subscribing to such backward thinking detaches from the core foundations of the church. He stressed the necessity for those with conservative viewpoints to acknowledge the natural progression of faith and morals. He said: “The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong. When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church. I want to remind these people that backwardness is useless.”

The Pope’s Approach to Criticism

It’s worth noting that Pope Francis has historically taken a lighthearted approach toward responding to criticism from US conservative groups. In a playful manner, he once expressed that being the target of critique from Americans was, in fact, an “honor.”

The Right Co-Opted Jesus

The pope’s words were shared across the internet, and opinions were divided. One person wrote: “Jesus spent much of his life helping the poor and sick and, at times, was critical of the rich. You would think he would support public healthcare and taxing the rich in the modern day, but, unfortunately, the right wing in the US has co-opted Jesus. Nothing like the original Jesus in the Bible. Republicans take away healthcare from the poor and cut taxes for the rich. Kind of the opposite of Jesus’ teachings.”

A Money Making Scheme

Some commenters accused US churches of being nothing more than businesses. “Christianity in America is just a money-making scheme. I once had a person involved in a church explain to me that the easiest way to never work a day in your life is to get ten people to give you 10% of their income, which is exactly what many churches in America do.”

Susceptibility to Indoctrination

Editorial credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.

Others accused right-wing Christians of lacking sincere faith. “It is amazing to watch religious people distance themselves from their own beliefs for Trump and the GOP,” one person said. “It’s almost like these aren’t sincerely held religious beliefs. These people are just susceptible to being told what to think,” another replied.

Conservatives Weren’t Pleased

Conservative Christians felt personally attacked. “[Pope Francis] has no idea what a true Christian even is! He is a disgrace to the name of God,” one person wrote. “How is he in this position when he doesn’t even know the meaning of Christianity,” another said.

The New Pharisees

Some commenters claimed that if Jesus were here today, he wouldn’t recognize right-wing Americans as Christians. “Right-wing ‘Christians’ in the US are nothing that Jesus would recognize. Well, that’s not true at all. He would immediately recognize them as the new Pharisees, I suppose.”