sparked outrage among viewers after the programme was interrupted to report on the urgent news that had . Following the devastating announcement, the presenters gathered to discuss the Pontiff's leadership and question whether it "worked."

Speaking to Rachel Campos-Duffy, Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade asked: "One of the things that this Pope was supposed to do was bring people back to the church by being more open to the progressive views, did that work?" "No, it didn't," Rachel responded as she claimed: "We're starting to see a lot of conversion to Catholicism, but I would say it was in spite of Pope Francis' leadership of the Catholic Church and not because of it. He has been controversial on a lot of levels, he's a Jesuit and all of that means the sort of Liberal way of thinking and he focused a lot on social issues."

Rachel continued: "He focused on the climate, he was also about liberalisng the way Catholics look at divorce, he approved blessings on same-sex couples.

"A lot of Catholics were like 'I wish he was more focused on the moral teachings, I wish he was more focused on the persecutions of Christians,' so there's a lot of controversy around him."

This left many enraged, as one viewer who reposted the clip stated: "Was the Pope catholic? Not enough so for folks at Fox News apparently."

They added: "What with his 'focus on social issues, climate' and his churches following Covid restrictions trying to stop people dying (Spoiler alert) - they'll soon be bemoaning Trump isn't 'Trump' enough either."

A second wrote: "I thought she would suggest that Pope Francis was a communist at some point ..."

"What? A Christian leader focusing on social issues??? Whoever heard of such a thing?" added another.

As a fourth stated: "If you think you are more catholic than the pope, you are the problem; this is just blasphemy. He is the only one allowed to speak for the Christ."

The Pope's death came after he was admitted into the hospital for Pneumonia in February and spent five weeks undergoing treatment. After being discharged late last month and resuming his duties, his death was announced yesterday (April 21) by Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo.

He confirmed: "At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church."