Whether the new pope wears the mask of a reformer or a traditionalist, the real issue for evangelicals is this — the Roman Catholic Church still needs to be reformed by the Word of God.
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TheRomanCatholicChurchhasanewpope—andforthefirsttimeinhistory,he’sanAmerican.RobertFrancisPrevost,nowPopeLeoXIV,hassteppedontotheworldstage.Butbeforewegettoocaughtupinheadlinesandpageantry,let’sbeclear:whetherthepopewearsthemaskofareformeroratraditionalist,therealissueisthis—theRomanCatholicChurchstillneedstobereformedbytheWordofGod.
PopeLeoXIVhasalreadybeenbrandedbysomeasthe‘SocialJusticePope.’BorninChicago,seasonedinthejunglesofPeru,andnowsittingonthethroneofSt.PeterinRome,heseemspoisedtocarryontheprogressivethemesofhispredecessor,PopeFrancis.HischosenpapalnamenodstoLeoXIII,thepopebehindRerumNovarum,theencyclicalthataddressedworkers’rightsandsocialjusticeissues.That’snotsubtle.It’sastrongsignal.
Withinevangelicalism,wehaveseenleaderswhotrytomarrysocialjusticecauseswiththegospel.Butformanyofus,thisraisesaredfl
