--- title: The Powerful Legacy of the First Latin American Pope description: Francis, who died on Easter Monday, transformed the Catholic Church. He will be a tough act to follow, writes Omar G. Encarnación. canonical: https://time.com/7275022/pope-francis-death-latin-american-legacy/ author: Omar G. Encarnación article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-04-22T09:19:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:51:46.595Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Powerful Legacy of the First Latin American Pope og:description: Francis, who died on Easter Monday, transformed the Catholic Church. He will be a tough act to follow, writes Omar G. Encarnación. og:url: https://time.com/7275022/pope-francis-death-latin-american-legacy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c5e4071fee986e/6998c5f01f670941dff564ff/pope-francis-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Pope Francis og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Powerful Legacy of the First Latin American Pope twitter:description: Francis, who died on Easter Monday, transformed the Catholic Church. He will be a tough act to follow, writes Omar G. Encarnación. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7c5e4071fee986e/6998c5f01f670941dff564ff/pope-francis-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Powerful Legacy of the First Latin American Pope > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=14efe8ae-4c2e-41ba-a695-79b98c95dfba&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Pope Francis’ Greatest Achievement Was Emphasizing Mercy [Watch (HLS stream): Pope Francis’ Greatest Achievement Was Emphasizing Mercy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/V0uEvr1Q.m3u8) (6:26)  _Published 2025-04-21. Austen Ivereigh is a British writer and journalist known for his two biographies of Pope Francis, as well a bestselling book written in collaboration with him: Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future._ by [Omar G. Encarnación](https://time.com/author/omar-g-encarnacion/) ## Omar G. Encarnación Contributor Omar G. Encarnación is a professor at Bard College. His new book is Framing Equality: The Politics of Gay Marriage Wars. Apr 22, 2025 9:19 AM UTC Austen Ivereigh is a British writer and journalist known for his two biographies of Pope Francis, as well a bestselling book written in collaboration with him: Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future. by [Omar G. Encarnación](https://time.com/author/omar-g-encarnacion/) ## Omar G. Encarnación Contributor Omar G. Encarnación is a professor at Bard College. His new book is Framing Equality: The Politics of Gay Marriage Wars. Apr 22, 2025 9:19 AM UTC With the [passing of Pope Francis](https://time.com/5762436/pope-francis-dies-obituary/) on Easter Monday, his legacy has taken center stage. Undoubtedly, some attention will go to the Argentine’s failure to reverse the [sharp decline](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/religion/2025/04/pope-franciss-illusions) of Catholicism in Latin America, home to roughly half the world’s Catholics. After all, that was the hope behind his selection to lead the Vatican in 2013\. But his legacy nonetheless remains profound as the first Pope to hail from Latin America and the Global South. Most notably, Francis brought to the Church the ideas of [Liberation Theology](https://www.thenation.com/article/world/pope-francis-liberation-theology/), a progressive philosophy that married Marxist critiques of capitalism with traditional Catholic concerns for the poor and marginalized. Its origins date to the [1968 Medellin Conference of Bishops](https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/08/21/how-latin-america-influenced-entire-catholic-church). At that gathering, Latin American bishops agreed to prioritize liberating people from inequality, poverty, and political oppression, even at the expense of spreading the gospel. It led some Latin American churches to openly confront military regimes for their human rights abuses. This, in turn, exposed many clergy to political persecution, including [Óscar Romero](https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/archbishop-oscar-romero-becomes-a-saint-but-his-death-still-haunts-el-salvador), the Salvadoran priest murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1980\. **Read More:** [_Pope Francis’ Greatest Achievement Was Emphasizing Mercy_](https://time.com/7267008/pope-francis-greatest-achievement-mercy/) Francis was an improbable and imperfect ambassador for Liberation Theology. During the 1970s and 1980s, when clergy affiliated with the movement were threatened with excommunication, and, worst yet, enforced disappearance by the military during Argentina’s infamous “Dirty War,” Francis was [mostly silent](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/14/pope-francis-argentina-military-junta). He favored the more conventional “Theology of the People,” which prioritizes the poor but without the Marxist critique. But by the time he arrived in Rome, Liberation Theology was mainstream in Latin American Catholic thought. Francis himself had already embraced many of the movement’s leaders, including the [late Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2zn7xl2g2o), widely regarded as the father of Liberation Theology. Although Francis never publicly acknowledged his intellectual debt to Liberation Theology, the movement’s influence over his papacy is undeniable. In his [first papal pronouncement](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/26/pope-church-decentralise-tackle-poverty), _Evangelii Gaudium_, or “The Joy of the Gospel,” he [denounced](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/21/pope-francis-remembrance-life/bddaf82c-1ecd-11f0-b141-90a412b995ee%5Fstory.html) the twin evils of poverty and inequality. He also called on the rich to share their wealth with those less fortunate. Pointedly echoing Liberation Theology, Francis cited the “idolatry of money” and criticized “unfettered capitalism as a new tyranny.” He also exhorted politicians “to guarantee all citizens dignified work, education, and healthcare.” Unsurprisingly, these comments raised the ire of conservatives, especially in the U.S., where they were seen not only as an attack on capitalism but a veiled criticism of Washington_._ A second legacy with close ties to Latin America, which also helped make Francis a polarizing figure on the right, is the environment. Francis [unambiguously aligned](https://time.com/7278986/pope-francis-environment-climate-legacy/) the Vatican with the [fight against climate change](https://time.com/6263212/pope-francis-climate-change-action/). In _Laudato Si_, or “Praise be to you, my Lord,” he laid out the case for human-caused climate change, noting that human activities are dramatically affecting the climate to the detriment of the world’s poorest people. By singling out humans as a primary cause of climate change, Francis was making a radical shift in the Vatican’s stance on the environment. Historically, the Catholic Church’s stand on climate change has veered toward silence and denialism. Much of Francis’ concern for the environment reflected his understanding of how deforestation, pollution, and wild swings in weather disproportionately affect the poorest communities in Latin America. Calling attention to this was the purpose of a [three-week Vatican synod held in 2019](https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-a-synod-that-could-make-history/a-51010663) that focused on the Amazon, the so-called “lungs of the world.” It brought together hundreds of bishops, Indigenous leaders, and environmental activists from nine South American countries. The third and final legacy is the most surprising: the struggle for LGBTQ rights. Francis’ pontificate coincided with the Vatican’s sharp departure from its fierce opposition to homosexuality. That opposition was prominently displayed by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, who once wrote that homosexuality is “[an intrinsic moral evil](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/16/pope-benedict-xvi-own-words).” To be sure, Francis’ record on LGBTQ issues is [far from perfect](https://time.com/7267052/pope-francis-impact-on-the-lgbtq-community/), as a reported [fondness for gay slurs](https://time.com/6987705/pope-francis-homophobic-slur-lgbtq-pride/) makes clear. But throughout his papacy, he sought common ground with the gay community. In 2013, when asked about homosexuals in the Catholic clergy, Francis [replied](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23489702): “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” A 2020 documentary on Francis’ papacy revealed that he was a [supporter of same-sex civil unions](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/21/pope-francis-backs-same-sex-civil-unions). This was followed by statements that priests would be allowed to [bless same-sex couples](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67751600) and that [transgender people can be baptized](https://www.npr.org/2023/11/10/1212319566/the-vatican-says-priests-can-baptize-transgender-people), become official godparents, and act as witness for Catholic weddings. It is worth remembering that Francis arrived in Rome fresh from the epic culture war over same-sex marriage in Argentina, the [first country in Latin America to legalize gay marriage](https://www.npr.org/2010/07/15/128536587/argentina-legalizes-same-sex-marriages), in July 2010\. Ironically, Francis’ opposition to gay marriage in Argentina gave hope to many that his pontificate would strengthen the Vatican’s historic opposition to LGBTQ rights. As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis declared gay marriage “the Devil’s work” and mobilized Catholics against it, prompting a backlash from President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. She characterized Francis’ words as “reminiscent of the Dark Ages and the Inquisition.” The divisiveness of Argentina’s gay marriage campaign pushed Francis in the direction of conciliatory stances toward the gay community. Above all, the framing of the campaign, which stressed the humanity and morality of gay and lesbian couples, left a deep impression on Francis. After the gay marriage law was enacted, he reportedly met with gay rights activists to explain that while he opposed gay marriage, he supported their struggle for dignity and respect. Pope Francis may not have saved Catholicism in Latin America. But he certainly transformed Catholicism in the image of Latin America. In the process, he made the Church more progressive at a time when the far-right is ascendant around the globe. Whether that direction continues will be up to the [next Pontiff](https://time.com/7278963/new-pope-election-process-conclave-cardinals-candidates-francis-death-successor/). But one thing is certain: Francis will be a tough act to follow. ## Transcript [00:00] I think at the end of the Francis pontificate, [00:02] we have a church that is much better able to show forth who God is [00:08] and how God is a church that is better able [00:11] to walk with people in the complex circumstances of their lives, [00:14] never compromising on the truth, [00:16] but understanding that we are all sinners, [00:19] but we are all also welcome in the church, [00:22] that there is room for all of us, [00:23] and somehow we'll all find our way through it. [00:27] My name is Austin Avery. [00:28] I'm British and I'm a biographer of Pope Francis and a collaborator with him. [00:33] We wrote a book together in 2020. [00:36] Francis, I think, set out from the very beginning to to change the culture of the church, [00:42] not to change its doctrine, [00:43] not to change its laws, [00:45] but to change the way the culture with which it operates. [00:48] He was the first Latin American pope, [00:51] the first pope to come from outside Europe, [00:55] and the first Jesuit as well. [00:58] So all these things are big firsts. [01:00] In many ways, I think you can argue that he's [01:03] the first pope of a new global age for the church. [01:07] And I've said from the beginning of the pontificate that [01:10] the basic direction that he has put [01:12] the church in is the direction that the church will follow, [01:14] I think, for the next generation. [01:16] I think at the heart of Francis's achievements have been [01:18] a whole series of of reforms in Rome, [01:22] and which there was a clear mandate from the cardinals to [01:25] do in finance in the way that the above all [01:29] that the Vatican interacts with the rest of the church and bishops will [01:32] now tell you that they're received in a whole different way now. [01:36] In Rome, there's this new culture, [01:38] if you like, of service. [01:40] I think there's a the humility with which Francis always operated. [01:44] He's left that mark on the church. [01:46] There's there's there's no question the church is a humbler place. [01:48] Talking about his teachings and his documents, we have, of course, [01:51] the great example of Laudato Si, [01:53] his teaching on care for creation. [01:55] Fratelli tutti, he's called to fraternity. [01:58] But also we have a morality which was the fruit of [02:01] two synods on the family the joy of love, [02:03] which is all about helping people to enter into relationships of commitment. [02:08] You know, it's about marriage, [02:10] but it's about not just about saying the church believes that marriage should be forever, [02:14] but also helping people to live that commitment in a society where, [02:19] of course, that's become harder and harder. [02:21] He's opened up a whole new pastoral space for [02:23] the church in walking with the divorced and remarried, [02:27] and indeed those in what are sometimes called irregular relationships, [02:30] relationships which don't conform to church's doctrine of marriage. [02:33] And the same is true, I think, really, [02:34] of people in same sex relationships or indeed other kinds of relationships. [02:37] Francis broke important and significant new ground [02:41] in the church's relationship with LGBT people. [02:44] I think most of them would say that most of them would. [02:47] Also, many of them would say, [02:48] well, you know, he could have gone further. [02:50] One of the most famous lines early on in the pontificate was the question. [02:55] He said in reply to a journalist on the plane back from Rio de Janeiro, [02:59] who asked not about homosexuality, [03:02] but about a particular Vatican official who had [03:05] had some gay scandal attached to them early on in their lives. [03:10] And Francis said, who am I to judge? [03:11] And Conservatives kind of went into uproar about this, [03:14] saying, you know, he's the Pope. [03:15] Of course he should judge. And homosexuality is church doctrine. [03:18] He wasn't questioning church doctrine on homosexuality. [03:21] He was simply saying what Jesus said, [03:23] which is that we have no right to judge people. [03:26] But it was a very, very important message that he gave also because he used the word gay. [03:32] I think the first time the Pope has ever used the word gay, [03:35] and that's really been his approach to to gay people. [03:37] There's a critique of Francis that comes from, [03:41] from more conservative sectors who think that he has [03:43] undermined the church's commitment to [03:46] the defence of doctrine faced with a skeptical liberal society. [03:51] I think what they fail to understand is that Francis [03:54] isn't interested in waging cultural battles. [03:57] You know, he doesn't believe that the church should be a cultural warrior. [03:59] And so I think a lot of the misunderstandings of [04:02] him come from seeing him through this very, [04:04] uh, particularly, I think, [04:05] in the case of the United States, [04:07] through the lens of the culture wars. [04:09] And it just doesn't apply to him. [04:10] You know, he's neither kind of left nor right in that sense. [04:13] I think from the left, [04:14] he's he's often been criticized for sort of not going far enough. [04:19] You know, he talked he talks a good talk but ultimately doesn't deliver. [04:23] But I think the misconception there is to believe that he is in some way a [04:27] liberal or a progressive who was setting [04:29] out from the beginning to change church doctrine. [04:31] That was never Francis, [04:34] as I argued from the beginning. [04:36] I think Pope Francis's greatest legacy will be [04:38] the transformation of the internal culture of the Catholic Church, [04:42] that it is no longer enough to hand down doctrines and expect people to follow them, [04:49] but rather a church that walks with people that [04:53] understands them and their lives and the difficulties that they face. [04:59] Evangelium, which means preach the gospel, [05:00] is the name of the Constitution that he promulgated in Rome in 2022, [05:06] which is the fruit of a many, [05:07] many years of consultation which enshrines this culture of service, [05:12] this idea that the the Vatican exists to serve the Pope, [05:16] yes, but also to serve the local churches. [05:19] And at the heart of the way that the Vatican needs to operate is, in fact, Synodality. [05:25] Is this listening deeply to the other? [05:28] And he called together this remarkable three year process, [05:31] the biggest ever consultation in human history, [05:33] uh, to instill this new culture in the church across the world. [05:37] And I think this will be his great legacy. [05:39] I think in the future, [05:41] the church will become more synodal, [05:43] more missionary, more pastoral, more merciful. [05:47] So a church that is shows forth the mercy of God and particularly God's style, [05:53] Jesus's own style of opening up spaces in which people can grow, [05:58] and discernment to understand that actually the church [06:01] sometimes needs to navigate difficult, [06:04] complex situations and that, [06:07] you know there isn't always a one size fits all answer to things. [06:10] I think that will be his great legacy, [06:12] will be the transformation of the culture of the church. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7275022/pope-francis-death-latin-american-legacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7275022/pope-francis-death-latin-american-legacy/"},"headline":"The Powerful Legacy of the First Latin American Pope","datePublished":"2025-04-22T09:19:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:51:46.595Z","description":"Francis, who died on Easter Monday, transformed the Catholic Church. 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