By Auguste Meyrat, The Stream - Pope Francis went in the opposite direction (of Pope Benedict XVI), doing his utmost to convert the Church into a leftist NGO. He prioritized the same things as leftist secular governments, had the same soft spots for dictators and communist regimes, and treated moral controversies with unbelievable flippancy. As promised, he “made a mess” by promoting shameless cronies and demoting principled detractors, allowing chronic problems to fester, and stomping on the few instances of growth in the Church.