Kevin LaRose, #VoteBlue2026<p>I have to say I was a fan of Pope Francis. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a huge upgrade from the previous couple of pontiffs, particularly Benedict. I spent over a decade in <a href="https://mindly.social/tags/Catholic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Catholic</span></a> schools, starting with middle school and ending in college. Both high school and college were <a href="https://mindly.social/tags/Jesuit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Jesuit</span></a> schools, and I’m forever thankful to the Jesuits for what they taught me, first and foremost the ability to think critically, a skill that seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. I never converted to Catholicism, as I’ve always had issues with the structure of the church itself. But I find it extremely distasteful that Francis is being called a <a href="https://mindly.social/tags/woke" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>woke</span></a> Pope and a <a href="https://mindly.social/tags/DEI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DEI</span></a> Pope by some. Actually, I don’t think those folks would have any issue with DEI so long as it was preceded by Opus. I would hope that the next Pontiff would focus on the same issues Francis did, the same issues I learned were the most important in my Jesuit education. I know that’s probably too much to ask. The Catholicism practiced by the likes of JD Vance and Damuel Alito is something I scarcely recognize.</p>