Somehow, in the past forty years, the office of the papacy seems to have transformed into one of celebrity, where the pope caters to the paparazzi and mainstream media instead of providing faithful Catholics and the rest of the world with the moral clarity the Church has been known for the last 2,000 years.
As much as we all loved John Paul II and his evangelization around the globe, one must admit that this change began to take place during his pontificate. John Paul II traveled extensively, making 104 trips abroad and visiting 129 countries. He had habitually kissed the ground when he disembarked the plane. This became a photo op that everyone came to expect. John Paul II also drew huge crowds at the outdoor masses celebrated during his travels. According to the Chicago Catholic, his mass in Chicago at Grant Park in 1979 was said to have drawn 1.2 million people. It was the largest crowd ever assembled in Grant Park’s history.
As John Paul II’s popularity grew worldwide, the press followed his every move. This is the precise moment when the pope became nothing more than a celebrity – a person who was adored, admired, and most importantly, famous. At the time, we all thought the positive exposure and good press surrounding John Paul II would help the Church grow and flourish. Boy, were we wrong! Except for Africa, almost every other continent has seen a decrease in weekly Mass attendance, vocations, marriages, and baptisms. It seems that popularity alone does not inspire conversion.
We now expect the manufactured press releases and endless stream of photo ops from the Vatican. Pope Francis was a master of this, and his meetings with A-list celebrities were plastered all over social media during his pontificate. He met with the likes of: Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Eva Longoria, Leonardo DiCaprio, Antonio Banderas, Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg, Katy Perry, Sting, Bono, Jimmy Fallon, Lionel Messi, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Lauren Sanchez, and Jeff Bezos. To date, we have not heard that any of these people have converted, amended their lives, or donated any portions of their vast wealth to the poor as a result of their meeting with Francis. Many of them continue to campaign for progressive democratic candidates who support abortion, LGBTQ+ policies, and open borders. So much for papal influence.
We cannot forget some of Pope Francis’s other public relations stunts. In 2019, he was pictured in the Vatican gardens surrounded by Amazon natives dancing and bowing to the pagan Pachamama. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he limped into a darkened St. Peter’s Square in the rain to issue an Urbi et Orbi blessing and, in the process, damaged a 16th-century wooden crucifix. And in 2022, he met with a group of men pretending to be women (transgender people) who lived in Rome. These were all highly scripted and contrived events created to push a particular narrative, one that has been destroying the very foundations of the Church.
Now, Pope Leo is following in his mentor’s footsteps. He has already met with Al Pacino, Pharrell Williams (a singer), Jelly Roll (a rap singer), Graca Machel (Nelson Mandela’s wife), and King Charles. Of course, the obligatory photos and press releases accompany these high-profile meetings. Pope Leo was recently photographed receiving the gift of a beautiful white Arabian horse. It seems that the head of the Catholic Church is now one of the “cool kids,” and everybody loves him. But is this the way the papacy was intended to be?
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” John 15:18-19
Certainly, the world hated our first pope, Peter. It doesn’t seem likely that St. Peter was having friendly public relations meetings with Emperor Nero. St. Peter stood for what he believed, never backed down, and as a result, he was brutally crucified. This is true for all the martyrs of the faith. They were never in good standing with the celebrities of their time. St. Thomas More didn’t sit for a portrait with King Henry VIII; on the contrary, he was condemned and later executed.
We all long for a pope who will finally stand up to the powers that be—not fraternize with them or be photographed with them. We long for a man of God who is willing to lose his life to protect the faith and morals that were passed on more than 2,000 years ago. Perhaps someday God will send us a man such as this, but in the meantime, we can only pray.