Donald Trump‘s long-serving political advisor Roger Stone, whom the President pardoned in 2020 after a jury convicted Stone on seven felony counts (obstruction, false statements, witness tampering) related to his alleged connections to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, shared his opinion on X of Pope Francis after his death at age 88 on Monday.
Stone, who was raised Catholic, objected to the Pope’s “abuse” of now-retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, who to his regret — see below — was not able on short notice to attend the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals which met quickly after the Pope’s death, early Tuesday morning at the Vatican.
Note: Zen, who was made a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, criticized Pope Francis’ guidance on the blessing of same-sex unions as “pastorally untenable.”
The day after the Pope died, Stone wrote on X: “Pope Francis essentially gave the CCP veto power over who the bishops of the Catholic Church could be in China. The Pope’s abuse of Cardinal Joseph Zen was outrageous and sinful. Because God’s judgment is perfect Pope Francis burns in hell for his accommodation with evil.”
Pope Francis essentially gave the CCP veto power over who the bishops of the Catholic Church could be in China. The Pope's abuse of Cardinal Joseph Zen was outrageous and sinful. Because God's judgment is perfect Pope Francis burns in hell for his accommodation with evil. https://t.co/5UOe0Fn3Eg
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) April 23, 2025
Note: As seen in the letter above which was sent from the Vatican to all Cardinals, all Cardinals over the age of 80 were invited to attend the General Congregations but attendance was not mandatory. There are currently 252 Roman Catholic cardinals, of whom 135 are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Those 80 and over are not eligible to vote.
One right-wing conservative replied to Stone’s post, “Pope Francis was installed by a Liberal wing of the Catholic Church in one of the most appalling and arrogant power grabs in the History of the Church. He was never my Pope and never will be for many Catholics. When Pope Benedict died there was no real Pope.”
Stone replied to the commenter: “True!”
While many in the comments shared Stone’s belief, President Trump, who is not Catholic, called Pope Francis a “good man” in remarks made this week and announced plans to attend the Pope’s funeral service. Trump also said the U.S. would fly flags at half-staff to honor the passing of the Pontiff.
US President Donald Trump praised Pope Francis as a ‘good man’ who ‘loved the world’ and ordered state and federal flags around the country to fly at half-staff https://t.co/W5HjdTwvRO pic.twitter.com/M1ExclHpW3
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2025
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