You’ve probably seen the screenshots. Maybe it was a blurry image of the Pontiff with a hammer and sickle photoshopped onto his ferula, or a caption on iFunny screaming that the Vatican has finally gone full "red." It’s one of those internet rabbit holes that starts with a joke and ends with people actually wondering if the leader of the Catholic Church is reading Das Kapital in his spare time.
The pope francis was a marxist ifunny trend didn't just appear out of thin air. It’s a weird collision of high-level Catholic theology and the chaotic, unfiltered world of meme culture. Honestly, if you spend ten minutes on iFunny, you’ll find everything from deep-fried surrealism to aggressive political takes, so it was only a matter of time before the Pope got caught in the crosshairs.
But where did this actually come from?
Why Everyone Is Calling the Pope a Marxist on iFunny
It basically started with Evangelii Gaudium. In 2013, Pope Francis released this apostolic exhortation, and he didn't hold back. He called "trickle-down" economics "crude and naïve." He basically said that waiting for the glass to overflow so the poor can have a drink is a fantasy, because every time the glass gets full, it magically gets bigger.
Conservative pundits in the U.S. lost it. Rush Limbaugh, a massive voice at the time, went on air and called the Pope's words "pure Marxism."
Naturally, the internet took that ball and ran with it. On iFunny, the "Marxist Pope" became a shorthand for any time Francis said something that didn't align with traditional Western capitalist values. You’ve seen the memes: "Comrade Francis" or "The People's Pope." Some people post them because they actually think he's a radical leftist, while others just like the aesthetic of a revolutionary Pope.
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The meme grew legs because Francis is different from his predecessors. He doesn't wear the fancy red shoes. He lives in a guesthouse instead of the papal palace. He drives a Ford Focus. To a certain segment of the internet, that "man of the people" vibe looks a lot like socialism.
What Francis Actually Said About Marxism
The funny thing is, the Pope actually addressed this. He’s on the record saying, "The ideology of Marxism is wrong." He’s a Jesuit from Argentina; he’s seen what happens when political ideologies tear a country apart.
However, he added a line that fueled the fire: "But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended."
That’s the "kinda-sorta" nuance that doesn't translate well to a 400x400 pixel meme. To a theologian, he’s just following Catholic Social Teaching, which has been critical of "unfettered capitalism" since the 1800s. To an iFunny user, he’s basically confirming the conspiracy.
The iFunny Pipeline: From Critique to Meme
Memes on iFunny tend to be "edgy." There’s no other way to put it. When the pope francis was a marxist ifunny tag started trending, it wasn't because users were reading 84-page Vatican documents. It was because the contrast between the world's most powerful religious figure and radical leftist imagery is hilarious.
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- The "Based" Factor: Some users call him "based" for critiquing the rich.
- The Conspiracy Factor: Others use the meme to claim the Church has been "infiltrated."
- The Pure Chaos Factor: Half the people posting just want to see the comments section explode.
The irony here is deep. While iFunny users were busy photoshopped ushankas onto the Pope, the Vatican was actually trying to distance itself from Liberation Theology—a movement that actually did try to mix Marxism and Christianity in Latin America back in the 70s. Francis has always been a bit skeptical of the "Marxist contamination" of that movement. He prefers "Theology of the People," which is more about popular piety than class struggle.
But "Theology of the People" doesn't make for a catchy caption. "Marxist Pope" does.
Real Examples of the "Marxist" Label in Action
It isn't just a meme. Real-world events keep feeding the iFunny machine. Take the "Economy of Francesco" event. Francis invited young economists to Italy to talk about a "new economy" that’s sustainable and helps the poor.
Immediately, the headlines in conservative media outlets read: Pope Francis Calls for Global Redistribution of Wealth. Then, the iFunny users get to work. They take those headlines, add a picture of the Pope looking disappointed at a gold bar, and suddenly you have a meme with 50,000 "smiles" (the iFunny version of likes).
Honestly, the Pope's stance on the environment—Laudato si'—didn't help his case with the "anti-woke" crowd on the app. When he started talking about the "cry of the earth" and the "cry of the poor" being the same thing, people started calling him a "Watermelon Pope"—green on the outside, red on the inside.
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Why the Label Sticks
People love simple boxes.
If you criticize the market, you must be a Marxist.
If you care about the climate, you must be a globalist.
Francis defies these boxes, which is why the memes are so persistent. He’s pro-life and traditional on many Church doctrines, which confuses the people who want him to be a total leftist. But he’s vocal about migrants and poverty, which enrages the people who want him to be a total conservative.
On iFunny, this tension is just fuel for the fire. The app thrives on "calling out" public figures, and a Pope who speaks in riddles about the "magic" of the market is an easy target.
Actionable Insights for Navigating the Hype
If you see the pope francis was a marxist ifunny meme floating around, here is how to actually look at it without getting swept up in the nonsense:
- Check the Source: Most of the "Marxist" quotes attributed to the Pope are either taken out of context or are actually just standard Catholic doctrine that’s been around since Pope Leo XIII in 1891.
- Understand the "Third Way": The Catholic Church doesn't like capitalism or communism. They propose a "third way" called Distributism or Subsidiarity. It’s neither red nor blue.
- Don't Take iFunny Too Seriously: It’s an app built on irony. Half the people calling him a Marxist are doing it because they know it gets a reaction from the "TradCath" (Traditionalist Catholic) community on the platform.
- Read the Source Material: If you’re actually curious, skim Evangelii Gaudium. It’s way more nuanced than a meme. He talks about the "idolatry of money," which isn't a communist idea—it’s a biblical one.
The reality is that Pope Francis is a 2,000-year-old institution’s leader trying to navigate a 21st-century economy. He’s going to say things that sound radical because the Gospel itself is pretty radical. Whether he’s a "Marxist" or just a guy who thinks we should be nicer to poor people is up for debate, but the memes aren't going anywhere.
Next time you see a "Comrade Francis" post on your feed, remember it's usually more about the person posting it than the man in the white hat. They’re looking for a reaction, and in the world of internet politics, "Marxist" is the ultimate trigger word.
To stay informed, you should compare the actual text of Papal Encyclicals with the specific claims made in trending memes. This helps distinguish between religious social teaching and political ideology. Focusing on the history of "Distributism" will give you a much clearer picture of the Vatican's actual economic stance than any social media thread ever could.