Pope Francis was a very good man but we now "have to have a more conservative Pope who's going to return the church to its solid, traditional values, because I think that's where the American people are," says Fred Fleitz, Vice Chair for the America First Policy Institute Center for American Security, to Newsmax.
"I'm a conservative Catholic, and I'm very sad about the passing of Pope Francis. He was a good man who cared deeply about the poor and the dispossessed and the isolated, but he also was a liberal globalist, and I had differences with him politically on his views towards global affairs," Fleitz said Monday during an appearance on Newsmax's "American Agenda."
Still, "I just think it was beautiful that Vice President [J.D.] Vance, who also had disagreements with him, had such a wonderful meeting during the Pope's last day on Earth, and they both greeted each other cordially, because it's the human connection and the human condition, which is what we need to put ahead of politics.
"And we don't see that in Washington anymore. We don't see politicians talking to each other because they have political differences. Pope Francis could do that. I'm glad the vice president could do that. And we're going to have to have a debate now where the Catholic Church will be going in terms of where it is organized, its view towards global affairs. But the fact that some of us had differences with the Pope on global issues doesn't mean that we would ever dislike him or think that he was not a good man. He was a very good man," he added.
Young people are returning to the church because "they're looking for stability. They're looking for traditional morals," Fleitz told Newsmax.
"And Pope Francis really wasn't pushing that. It wasn't clear what he was pushing, whether he was trying to modernize the church, the people who wanted that weren't getting it, those who want traditional values, they weren't getting it either. But I agree, we have to have a more conservative pope who's going to return the church to its solid, traditional values, because I think that's where the American people are. I think that's where the people of the world are."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com