ROME – Pope Francis’s representative to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, who is made a cardinal today, Saturday, has said that American conservative papal critics “are very, very noisy, they are a network of blogs, and they all talk together, but in reality, they represent just a small group.”
“Who are they?” he asked.
Pierre, 77, is a French prelate who since April 2016 has served as apostolic nuncio to the US, serving as a papal representative in the wake of the contentious 2014 and 2015 synods of bishops on the family, and through what are now two tumultuous election cycles. He will receive his red hat and then stay in Rome to participate in the controversial Synod on Synodality.
At the time of his appointment Pierre stated that “The message [of the Pope] is the Gospel.” Over the past seven years, he has had to navigate resistance among American conservative Catholics, as well as the perception that the Argentine pontiff has a prejudice against the United States, driven in part by his criticism of global capitalism, and the fact that his most vocal critics are Americans.
“The Pope is not against the United States,” he insisted. “The Pope loves the Church in the United States, I know that.”
Currently the Vatican is conducting an apostolic visitation into Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, and while the exact reasons for the visitation have never been stated, it is widely believed the inquiry is related to his public criticism of Pope Francis.
Strickland has repeatedly used social media platforms to criticize the pope and the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, calling the synod “schismatic” and accusing the pope of “undermining the deposit of faith.”
Last month, American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a frequent papal critic, authored the foreword to a booklet published by the conservative American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), which also has repeatedly criticized Pope Francis.
In comments to Crux, Pierre said he believes Pope Francis’s frustration over the criticism is understandable and he urged Americans to be self-critical and to listen to the Pope, even if they disagree, but insisted that the American critics don’t speak for the majority.
“They are a bit noisy in the United States,” the nuncio said. “I think it’s because they are the United States, you know? But let me be honest: Why are the United States so offended when the Pope says something? Who are they?”
He went on: “If the Pope says something, listen to him, please. I think it’s important.” As soon as the Pope says something, ‘Ah! The pope says something against us!’ And why not? There is no dialogue without being frank with one another. So, if the pope tells you something, maybe the Pope is right, maybe the pope is wrong, so let’s examine ourselves and go ahead.”
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