Pope Francis’ Revolutionary Global Politics

By Ana Malamud

The Vatican, the Holy See, and the leader of the Catholic Church are global actors capable of shaping geopolitics. Under Pope Francis, the Church's foreign policy has caused both amazement and criticism. From his non-Eurocentric worldview to his stances on climate change, migration, and social inclusion, Francis has steered Vatican diplomacy into new waters.

The Pope of the Poor: An Unusual Leader from the Beginning

From the outset, it was clear that Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be an unconventional pope. Upon stepping onto the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, he chose a name loaded with meaning: "Francis," in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the saint of the poor. This simple act already signaled a break from his predecessors, who had chosen more conventional names, such as Benedict or John. 

Small yet profound choices throughout his papacy reflected this ethos. He opted to ride the bus rather than the papal limousine, and preferred to live in the modest Vatican guesthouse over the grand Apostolic Palace. These choices marked a sharp departure from the style of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who had emphasised an intellectual, high theology that felt increasingly detached from ordinary believers.

Even in planning his own final farewell, Pope Francis rejected the grandeur of centuries-old traditions. He instructed that his tomb be placed in a simple chapel once used to store candelabras and requested that his funeral rites refer to him modestly as “bishop of Rome” and “pastor,” dispensing with exalted titles like "Roman Pontiff."

This deep simplicity was not just a personal trait. It shaped his vision of the Church and its role in the world, laying the foundations for a foreign policy that some would come to call revolutionary.

Beyond Europe: A Global Vision

For centuries, the Catholic Church’s focus was firmly rooted in Europe, reflecting its historical and theological origins. Eurocentrism was, in a way, inevitable. Bergoglio, the first South American pontiff and the first non-European pope in modern times, broke this mould.

His own background shaped a different view of the world. Upon his election, he told the cardinals that the Church must "come out of herself and go to the peripheries, not only geographically, but also the existential peripheries." It was not enough for the Church to remain within the comfort of its historical centers; it needed to reach out to the forgotten, the marginalised, and the voiceless.

Francis's longest journey as pope — a 12-day trip through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore in 2024 — symbolised this outward turn. Upon his return, he insisted, “We are still too Eurocentric, or as they say, ‘Western.’ But in reality, the Church is much bigger — much bigger than Rome and Europe, much bigger!”

Institutional changes followed. The historically European-dominated College of Cardinals, the body responsible for electing the next pope, was profoundly diversified under Francis. Of the 133 cardinal electors today, 23 hail from Asia, 20 from North America, 18 each from South America and Africa, and 3 from Oceania. Remarkably, for the first time, there is a cardinal from China: Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-Yan of Hong Kong.

Francis’s appointments sometimes surprised the world. Why designate a cardinal where Catholics are only a tiny minority? Yet for Francis, the answer was clear. He prioritised the so-called "churches of the decimal point" — Catholic communities constituting a mere fraction of their populations. First-time cardinals were appointed in predominantly Muslim countries like Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan, and in predominantly Buddhist nations such as Mongolia, Myanmar, and Singapore.  

Embracing Social Causes: A Source of Controversy

Francis’s globalism extended beyond geography into the realm of social causes, where he became a vocal advocate for migration, environmental protection, and social justice, at times provoking heated criticism within the Church itself. Some conservative factions reacted with open resistance. Several cardinals submitted dubia — formal requests questioning his teachings — and even his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, co-authored a book subtly criticising some of Francis’s theological positions.

Among the issues that drew the most attention was migration. Francis’s first official trip as pope was to Lampedusa, a small Italian island where many migrants had perished at sea. There, he decried the "globalisation of indifference." His concern for migrants persisted throughout his pontificate. In 2024, Francis lamented that "the Mediterranean has become a cemetery" and denounced those who work systematically by every means to repel migrants, which constituted a “serious sin”. His critique extended across the Atlantic: before Donald Trump's 2016 election, Francis famously said, “A person who thinks only about building walls […] and not building bridges is not Christian.” More recently, the Pontiff condemned Trump's aggressive deportation plans in a letter to U.S. bishops, prompting a sharp response from the White House, which pointedly noted that "there’s a wall around the Vatican".

But the pope’s reformist momentum extended further. In his 2023 apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum, he issued one of the most urgent papal warnings on climate change, calling for an “ecological conversion” for the faithful. He framed “climate change as a moral scandal perpetrated upon the poor by the wealthy”. Furthermore, he also promoted the role of women within the Vatican’s governance structures and expressed greater openness toward LGBTQ+ Catholics, advocating a pastoral, non-judgmental approach.

Such positions inevitably drew hostility from the global far-right. Javier Milei, then a presidential candidate in Argentina, notoriously called his compatriot “the representative of the Devil on Earth” and an “imbecile” for supporting fiscal justice. In Europe, figures like Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini, and Viktor Orbán similarly clashed with the pope’s views. Even U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly criticised Francis in a 2020 essay, particularly over the Vatican’s diplomatic rapprochement with Beijing.

A Succession Open to Uncertainty

Now, the Church stands at a pivotal moment. With Francis’s death and the declaration of sede vacante, attention turns to the forthcoming conclave.

Of the 133 cardinals who will gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pope, 108 were appointed by Francis himself. This suggests a College of Cardinals more globally representative and, potentially, more sympathetic to Francis’s worldview. Yet history warns against assuming continuity. After all, Francis himself was elected by a College shaped by his conservative predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

As Vatican analyst Marco Politi noted, "When a pope dies or resigns, the cardinals are like children when the father is away — everyone suddenly feels free."

The broader context matters, too. When Francis was elected in 2013, the Church faced the twin crises of the 2008 financial collapse and the devastating revelations of clerical abuse. The political mood tilted left, with new populist movements such as Spain’s Podemos and Greece’s Syriza emerging. The Church needed renovation, and Francis answered that call.

Today, the landscape is starkly different. Far-right, anti-globalist movements dominate, and in the religious sphere, evangelical churches — often espousing socially conservative agendas — are expanding rapidly, particularly in Latin America, at Catholicism’s expense.

In this environment, the next pope could mark a significant departure from Francis’s foreign policy legacy. The direction of the new papacy will depend not only on the evolving global context, but also on forces within the Church that may yet resist or reimagine the course Francis set.

Sources: Bloomberg, BBC, El País, The Washington Post, Catholic Herald, Asia News, The Conversation, Onda Cero, The Guardian, CBC.

Written by Ana Malamud

Edited by Nina Gush & Sarah Valkenburg