Steve Bannon Has Declared War on Pope Francis

Cardinal Burke in the trappings of
pomp that Pope Francis has eschewed

Steve Bannon, who is not only a Catholic but a self-described "rad-trad" (radical traditionalist), is on record calling Pope Francis "a socialist/communist." Not only has Bannon gone after Pope Francis with language and an attitude that belongs to the depths of the Red-baiting witch-hunts of about 1955, but he's also allying himself with anti-Francis cardinals in the Vatican who are now intent on not just resisting the new pope's outreach to the poor and disenfranchised but also on reversing his more inclusive approach to the Church.

Jason Horowitz writes in depth about Bannon's burrowing himself into the anti-Francis faction of Catholic cardinals, particularly Bannon's partnership with Cardinal Raymond Burke, an arch-conservative whom Francis has demoted from various positions of power (the Wikipedia article on the cardinal details all the high-sounding Vatican offices Burke has been ushered out of).

Apparently, Bannon is carefully considering whom Donald Trump should appoint as ambassador to the Vatican, and you can bet it will be another "rad-trad" who'll resist Pope Francis at every turn.