Pope Francis — who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio — died on Monday. While most Catholics around the world mourned the pontiff in prayer and reflection on his legacy, SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly used her first episode after his death to attack the late bishop of Rome.
The Daily Beast reported Monday that Kelly — who was a Fox News commentator and NBC host before her pivot to podcasting — was particularly critical of Francis' progressive legacy when it came to immigration and poverty. She accused the pope of moving the Catholic Church "in a leftward direction" when it came to his compassion for immigrants. Just one day before he died, Francis used his Easter address to call out hostility toward immigrants. The address came just after Vice President JD Vance visited the Vatican on Easter Sunday.
“The church has been participating in getting immigrants here, and then finding them housing, and helping them stay here, irrespective of the fact that they’re here illegally,” said Kelly, who is a lifelong Catholic. “And Pope Francis didn’t have to deal with that.”
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"It’s caused a lot of us in the Catholic Church to wonder what exactly we’re donating toward on Sunday, it really does," she continued.
Kelly went on to say that conservative Catholics like her were caught in a "tug of war ... between the pope’s messaging and what he wanted us to believe were deep Catholic teachings, and what we understand as Americans who are watching our citizens murdered in the streets by these people to be true." She added that while Catholics should expect priests to put "flowers on the altar for Easter mass," they should push back on "funding illegals coming into the country," because "they’re not all upstanding Catholics."
Pope Francis was known for occasionally using his platform to speak out against President Donald Trump during his first administration, particularly in his calls for a massive wall between the United States and Mexico. Kelly took Trump's side against the late pontiff, saying Trump was "so devoted to getting rid of these people who Pope Francis just looked at as vulnerable and defenseless."
"You know who is vulnerable and defenseless?” Kelly said. “Laken Riley.”
Click here to read the Beast's report in full (subscription required).