With Pope Francis’s recent U.S. trip having come to a conclusion, most Americans are still swimming in heavy media coverage and discussion concerning the pontiff. Though this pope is more favorable than the last, he still draws criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

While many hail him as a progressive messiah for the Catholic Church, others accuse him of being everything from a heretic to a socialist. However, neither side seems to dive into what the pope is saying and what the church has been teaching since the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis is neither the upstanding hero of social liberty nor the liberal downfall of the religious order.

One of the most controversial issues touched on by Pope Francis — formerly known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio — is that of gay marriage and homosexuality in general. Francis began his papacy supporting gay men wishing to become priests with his infamous “Who am I to judge?” quote which struck a chord in the hearts of many and marked the end of the church’s discriminatory stance on homosexual individuals. While Francis is still regarded as a progressive leader to most homosexual Catholics, he has yet to make any more progressive comments on the issue.

The church’s stance on homosexuality can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, specifically verses 2357-2359. Within this section, homosexuality is described as being “intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to natural law.” Though the catechism condemns any sort of discrimination towards homosexuals, Pope Francis has aligned himself with people like Kim Davis, who is the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, by stating that refusing business to homosexuals was one’s “human right”.

Francis also refrained from commenting on the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage during his trip to the United States. Instead he focused on discussing the value of family and “fundamental relationships” in discussion with the U.S. bishops. He makes no mention of homosexuality, yet his speech mentions a new kind of threat to marriage. The most anyone can really say about the pontiff and homosexuality is that he’s more accepting than the last pope. Not much of a compliment.

Pope Francis seems to believe that this tolerance and acceptance of the homosexual community is a fashion. What the pope doesn’t seem to understand is that this equal rights movement will never go away.

So not only does the pope not possess the progressive views that the left praises him for, he also separates himself from the right by condemning consumerism and capitalism. This leftist view of economic policies has caused many right-wing fanatics to not only label him a socialist but something even more ridiculous: the antichrist. This theory is only perpetuated by the manner in which his predecessor left the papacy.

Others have a more logical problem with this new pope. This issue stems from comments made by Pope Francis after the Charlie Hebdo shootings at the beginning of the year. In an interview with the press shortly after the massacre, Pope Francis put blame on the cartoonist and other victims: “There is a limit. Every religion has his dignity. I cannot mock a religion that respects human life and the human purpose.”

Yet he did not leave the shooters untouched either. In in a another comment Pope Francis said, “One cannot offend, make war, kill in the name of [one’s own] religion, that is, in the name of God.”

While this seems fair, as it does not imply any necessity for violent responses by the offended religion, Pope Francis, in later interview, implied that very thing. “If [a close friend] says a swear word against my mother, he is going to get a punch in the nose. One cannot make provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith.”

It surprising that the leader of a church that has a long history of violence against non-believers or believers of other faiths would have such a world view. What the pope doesn’t seem to realize is that satire is the cornerstone of free speech. Without the ability to satirize religion and other beliefs the human race would have never ended the age of theocracies and superstition.

The pope seems to be an impressive politician but nothing more. He has managed to convince progressive believers that he is changing the church’s views while having the same beliefs as his predecessors. The only criticism he is really drawing is from radical theocrats when, in reality, he should be criticized for more than perceived progression.