Every time I see the word "Lutheran" in these threads, I'm compelled to mention that I'm a member of the conservative, Bible-based Missouri Synod Lutheran church as opposed to the ELCA and other apostate synods who call themselves "Lutherans".
So, being a "closet Lutheran" or not, the present Pope wouldn't fit in at all with the Missouri Synod Lutherans, anyhow !
Leni
I grew up in what became an ELCA church and was dropped from their rolls a few years after it dawned on them I wasn't going to set foot in it again. My mother persevered, assuming (!) that the place would "correct its course" any day. She waited 20-odd years and finally realized that they were steering for the iceberg on purpose. She hopped over to the LCMS church in town and has never looked back.
Mr. niteowl77