Pope Francis rebukes nationalist Catholic identity politics ahead of Paris visit

Pope Francis publicly condemned nationalist and identity-based interpretations of faith as incompatible with Christian teachings, directly challenging far-right Catholic factions in France. The statement comes amid a prayer event featuring traditionalist priest Matthieu Raffray and a Le Monde op-ed by collective P.A.I.X. urging the Church to counter far-right normalization. This marks a notable papal intervention in French domestic political-religious tensions, though its immediate political impact remains uncertain.