By Ryan Hiles–
First and foremost, Pope Francis is not Bernie Sanders. I say this, because based on the way his recent visit to the United States is being covered and discussed, it would certainly be easy to conflate the two. There seems to be this narrative around the Pontiff that paints him as some kind of liberal champion. A Bernie Sanders for the Catholic world. That narrative, while convenient and refreshing, and even possibly uplifting, is demonstrably false.
Now, that’s not to say that there’s nothing fresh about this new Pope. He’s expressed concern about the opulence of the church while so many are without the basic means of survival.