It is important to reflect on the left and make a realistic and objective analysis, using dialectical materialism as a method. From this perspective, one cannot say that, during Francis’s papacy, the church ceased to be a reactionary institution and became a progressive one. Some left-wing organisations and individuals promoted this idea, creating confusion about a supposed change in church doctrine.

Nahuel Moreno stated that the church has great adaptability. It played its role in the time of the last Roman emperors, was a fundamental institution in feudalism, collecting taxes and strengthening its wealth. With the advent of capitalism, it suffered a great crisis and its rupture at the hands of the reformer Luther, was further weakened by the Enlightenment, but survived by adapting to the then new system. It also did so after the Russian revolution and coexisted with the workers’ states, helping capitalist restoration where it could. The Polish Pope Wojtyla (John Paul II) was crucial in the transition to capitalism in Poland.

Pope Francis (2013-2025) led the Catholic Church during a period marked by the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent waves of protest that emerged, such as the Arab revolutions, the feminist movement, the indignados mobilisations, the George Floyd protests and the June 2013 uprising in Brazil, among others. His papacy reflected a strategy of adaptation to this context of multidimensional crisis and the loss of faithful caused by sexual abuse scandals committed by members of the clergy.

In this context, Francis confronted the ultra-conservative wave that emerged later, but without altering the essence or fundamental doctrine of the Church. This is evident in his position against abortion, euthanasia, celibacy and the subordinate role of women, who are still denied access to the priesthood, despite some progress in their integration into Vatican structures. In other words, the Church preserved its traditional character, without substantial transformations in its doctrine.

It is no coincidence that Francis, despite his progressive positions, did not play a progressive and prominent geopolitical role in global conflicts. His most notable intervention was perhaps his visit to Cuba, which facilitated a change in US policy regarding the embargo during the Obama administration. Unlike previous popes, such as Wojtyla, who played a fundamental reactionary role in capitalist restoration and in the Falklands conflict, by encouraging Argentine demobilisation before surrender, Francis did not lead progressive actions of similar impact on the global stage.

It is not possible to be a social transformer from the top of the church. There were those who emerged from the church, such as Camilo Torres in Colombia, who led the guerrilla struggle without submitting to the church hierarchy. There are more Camilos in recent history, but social revolution, the only tool to save us from the crisis we are experiencing, involves the self-organisation of workers and the oppressed and the construction of an anti-capitalist and internationalist organisation.

Pedro Fuentes is a national leader of PSOL (Brazil) and the Socialist Left Movement.