How Should Evangelicals Respond to Pope Francis?

Pope Francis is one of the most liked leaders in today’s world. In 2014 Time Magazine voted him ‘Man of the Year,’ and his popularity is on the increase, especially outside of the Catholic Church. Evangelicals are not immune to Francis’s charm and kindness: many are attracted by his seemingly biblical language (e.g. conversion, mission, personal relationship with Jesus) and his less formal type of spirituality. This is just one side of the coin, however. Other descriptions of Francis depict him as a “chess player” due to his Jesuit ability to maneuver in unpredictable ways after establishing a personal relationship with people. Others still consider him a “liberal” due to his apparently universalistic views of salvation for all people in spite of their religion or lack of it. Still others think he is an “anti-capitalist” due to his harsh comments on free-market economies. The overall picture is therefore one of complexity. In this talk, Leonardo De Chirico describes five essential traits for understanding Pope Francis and the Roman Catholic Church of which he is head.