Pope Francis: Difference between revisions

{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Pope

| consecrated_by = [[Antonio Quarracino]]

| cardinal = 21 February 2001

| birth_name = Jorge Mario Bergoglio

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1936|12|17|df=y}}

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Following the [[resignation of Pope Benedict XVI]] on 28 February 2013, [[2013 papal conclave|a papal conclave]] elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his [[papal name]] in honour of [[Saint Francis of Assisi]]. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to [[Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue of Pope Francis|interreligious dialogue]]. He is credited with having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors, for instance choosing to reside in the [[Domus Sanctae Marthae]] guesthouse rather than in the [[papal apartments]] of the [[Apostolic Palace]] used by previous popes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pope Francis to live in Vatican guesthouse, not papal apartments {{!}} National Catholic Reporter |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-francis-live-vatican-guesthouse-not-papal-apartments,%20https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-francis-live-vatican-guesthouse-not-papal-apartments |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=www.ncronline.org |language=en}}</ref>

 

 

In international diplomacy, Francis has criticized the rise of [[right-wing populism]], called for the [[decriminalization of homosexuality]],<ref name="Staff-2023">{{Cite web |date=25 January 2023 |title=The AP Interview: Pope Francis: Homosexuality not a crime |url=https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-gay-rights-ap-interview-1359756ae22f27f87c1d4d6b9c8ce212 |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[Associated Press|AP News]] |language=en |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125071151/https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-gay-rights-ap-interview-1359756ae22f27f87c1d4d6b9c8ce212 |url-status=live }}</ref> helped to restore [[Cuban thaw|full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba]], negotiated a [[China–Holy See relations#2018 Holy See–China agreement|deal with China]] to define how much influence the [[Chinese Communist Party|Communist Party]] has in appointing [[Catholic Church in China|Chinese bishops]], and has [[Theology of Pope Francis#Refugees and migrants|supported the cause of refugees]] during the [[European migrant crisis|European]] and [[Central American migrant caravans|Central American migrant]] crises, calling on the Western World to significantly increase immigration levels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rocca |first=Francis X. |date=22 September 2023 |title=Pope Francis Calls Protection of Migrants a Duty of Civilization |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/pope-faces-down-growing-backlash-against-migrants-in-europe-390ad042 |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=WSJ |language=en-US |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930183750/https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/pope-faces-down-growing-backlash-against-migrants-in-europe-390ad042 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lauter-2016">{{cite news |last1=Lauter |first1=David |last2=Bierman |first2=Noah |date=18 February 2016 |title=Trump and Pope Francis clash over immigration, another extraordinary campaign twist |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-pope-on-trump-wall-20160218-story.html |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620153341/http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-pope-on-trump-wall-20160218-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, [[Visit by Pope Francis to Canada|he apologized]] for [[Catholic Church in Canada|the Church]]'s role in the "[[cultural genocide]]" of the [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Canadian indigenous peoples]].<ref name="Horowitz-2022">{{Cite news |last=Horowitz |first=Jason |date=30 July 2022 |title=Francis Calls Abuse of Indigenous People in Canada a 'Genocide' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/world/americas/pope-francis-canada-genocide.html |access-date=7 October 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107101356/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/world/americas/pope-francis-canada-genocide.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 4 October 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of the [[Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|Synod on Synodality]], described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the [[Second Vatican Council]].<ref name="Faiola-2023" /><ref name="Horowitz-2023">{{Cite news |last1=Horowitz |first1=Jason |last2=Povoledo |first2=Elisabetta |date=2 October 2023 |title=What Is a Synod in the Catholic Church? And Why Does This One Matter? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/world/europe/what-is-a-synod-pope-church.html |access-date=7 October 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113215348/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/world/europe/what-is-a-synod-pope-church.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Horowitz-2023a">{{Cite news |last=Horowitz |first=Jason |date=2 October 2023 |title=Vatican Assembly Puts the Church's Most Sensitive Issues on the Table |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/world/europe/pope-francis-synod.html |access-date=7 October 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=7 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007051525/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/world/europe/pope-francis-synod.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17 December 1936<ref name="directory">{{cite web|title=Direttorju Ekklezjastiku 2016|url=http://ms.maltadiocese.org/WEBSITE/2016/DIRETTORJU2016.pdf|date=30 June 2016|publisher=The Church in Malta|language=mt, en|pages=1–2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122212612/http://ms.maltadiocese.org/WEBSITE/2016/DIRETTORJU2016.pdf|archive-date=22 November 2016}}</ref> in [[Flores, Buenos Aires|Flores]],<ref name=Remeseira /> a [[Subdivisions of Buenos Aires|neighbourhood]] of [[Buenos Aires]].<ref name="directory" /> He was the eldest<ref name=Garrido /> of five children of Mario José Bergoglio (1908–1959) and Regina María Sívori (1911–1981). Mario Bergoglio was an [[Italian Argentine|Italian immigrant]] accountant<ref name=biografia /> born in [[Portacomaro]] ([[Province of Asti]]) in Italy's [[Piedmont]] region. Regina Sívori<ref name=Sivori /> was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of [[northern Italian]] (Piedmontese-Genoese) origin.<ref name="guardian" /><ref name=Donovan /><ref name=Henderson /> Mario José's family left Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule of [[Benito Mussolini]].{{sfn|Rosales|Olivera|2013|p=5}} According to María Elena Bergoglio (born 1948), the pope's only living sibling, they did not emigrate for economic reasons.<ref name=fascism /> His other siblings were Oscar Adrián (1938–deceased), Marta Regina (1940–2007), and Alberto Horacio (1942–2010).<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1563022-los-bergoglio-la-familia-mas-sorprendida|title= Los Bergoglio, la familia más sorprendida|trans-title= The Bergoglio, the most surprised family|language= es|date= 14 March 2013|newspaper= La Nación|access-date= 22 April 2015|archive-date= 10 January 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160110202837/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1563022-los-bergoglio-la-familia-mas-sorprendida|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDekDwAAQBAJ&q=Oscar+Adrian+Bergoglio+1938&pg=PA12|title=People's Pope|last=Holanda|first=Helládio|date=24 May 2019|publisher=Clube de Autores (managed)|language=pt-PT|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310114925/https://books.google.com/books?id=uDekDwAAQBAJ&q=Oscar+Adrian+Bergoglio+1938&pg=PA12#v=snippet&q=Oscar%20Adrian%20Bergoglio%201938&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Two great-nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic collision.<ref name=Tribune /><ref name=nephews /> His niece, [[Cristina Bergoglio]], is a painter based in [[Madrid]], Spain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/loc/2015/03/29/55159452e2704e25158b457b.html|title=La sobrina 'artista' del Papa presenta su obra en Madrid|work=El Mundo|date=3 March 2015|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308040430/https://www.elmundo.es/loc/2015/03/29/55159452e2704e25158b457b.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.antena3.com/se-estrena/noticias/escribir-pincel-documental-obra-pictorica-cristina-bergoglio-sobrina-papa-francisco_201906245d14ce060cf2ee729a41cf22.html|title='Escribir con el pincel', el documental sobre la obra pictórica de Cristina Bergoglio, la sobrina del Papa Francisco|publisher=Se Estrena, [[Antena 3 (Spanish TV channel)|Antena 3]]|date=27 June 2019|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308095718/https://www.antena3.com/se-estrena/noticias/escribir-pincel-documental-obra-pictorica-cristina-bergoglio-sobrina-papa-francisco_201906245d14ce060cf2ee729a41cf22.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

When he was 21 years old, after life-threatening [[pneumonia]] and three [[cysts]], Bergoglio had part of a lung excised.<ref name=techniciandegree /><ref name="reuters" />

 

Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood while he was on his way to celebrate the [[Spring Day (Argentina)|Spring Day]]. He passed by a church to go to [[Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation (Catholic Church)|confession]], and was inspired by the priest.<ref>Sergio Rubin; Francesca Ambrogetti, Pope Francis – Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio. pp. 45–46</ref> Bergoglio studied at the archdiocesan [[seminary]], [[Inmaculada Concepción Seminary]], in [[Villa Devoto]], Buenos Aires, and, after three years, entered the Society of Jesus as a novice on 11 March 1958.<ref name=aicabio /> Bergoglio has said that, as a young seminarian, he had a crush on a girl he met and briefly doubted about continuing the religious career.<ref name="celibacy">{{cite news|date=20 March 2013|title=Pope Francis Spoke of Being 'Dazzled' by Girl, Possible Change of Celibacy Rule|work=Balitang America|publisher=[[NBC News]]|url=https://balitangamerica.tv/pope-francis-spoke-of-being-dazzled-by-girl-possible-change-of-celibacy-rule/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308004414/https://balitangamerica.tv/pope-francis-spoke-of-being-dazzled-by-girl-possible-change-of-celibacy-rule/|archive-date=8 March 2019}}</ref> As a Jesuit novice he studied humanities in [[Santiago]], Chile.<ref>{{cite news|title=En 1958, Bergoglio hizo su noviciado en Chile|language=es|url=http://www.lasegunda.com/Noticias/Nacional/2013/03/829934/En-1958-Bergoglio-hizo-su-noviciado-en-Chile|access-date=19 March 2013|newspaper=La Segunda|date=13 March 2013|archive-date=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318032737/http://www.lasegunda.com/Noticias/Nacional/2013/03/829934/En-1958-Bergoglio-hizo-su-noviciado-en-Chile|url-status=live}}</ref> After his novitiate in the Society of Jesus, Bergoglio officially became a Jesuit on 12 March 1960, when he made the religious profession of the initial, perpetual vows of [[poverty, chastity and obedience]] of a member of the order.<ref>Lanser, p. 96</ref><ref name="RO42">Rosales & Olivera, p. 42</ref>

 

In 1960, Bergoglio obtained a [[Licentiate (degree)|licentiate]] in philosophy from the [[Colegio Máximo de San José]] in [[San Miguel, Buenos Aires|San Miguel]], Buenos Aires Province. He taught literature and [[psychology]] at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, a high school in [[Santa Fe, Argentina|Santa Fe]], from 1964 to 1965. In 1966, he taught the same courses at the [[Colegio del Salvador (Argentina)|Colegio del Salvador]] in Buenos Aires.<ref name="directory" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio.html|title=Biography of the Holy Father Francis|publisher=The Holy See|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=15 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315031550/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

Bergoglio completed his final stage of spiritual training as a Jesuit, [[tertianship]], at [[Alcalá de Henares]], Spain, and took final, solemn vows as a Jesuit, including the [[fourth vow]] of obedience to missioning by the pope, on 22 April 1973.<ref name="RO42" /> He was named [[provincial superior]] of the Society of Jesus in Argentina that July, for a six-year term which ended in 1979.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="sjvows">{{cite web|url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-b.htm#Bergoglio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318051517/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-b.htm |archive-date=18 March 2014 |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church&nbsp;– Biographies&nbsp;– A |publisher=Florida International University |access-date=19 March 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1973, shortly after being named provincial superior, he had made a [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] to Jerusalem but his stay was shortened by the outbreak of the [[Yom Kippur War]].<ref name="travel">{{cite web|url= http://www.lastampa.it/2014/03/29/esteri/vatican-insider/en/why-bergoglio-travels-so-little-NbBzQ8c3DvALud1JCTH5HP/pagina.html|title= Why Bergoglio travels so little|date= 29 March 2014|publisher= Vatican Insider|access-date= 6 May 2014|archive-date= 6 October 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082919/http://www.lastampa.it/2014/03/29/esteri/vatican-insider/en/why-bergoglio-travels-so-little-NbBzQ8c3DvALud1JCTH5HP/pagina.html|url-status= dead}}</ref> After the completion of his term of office, in 1980 he was named the [[Rector (academic)|rector]] of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel where he had studied.<ref>The Vatican Today, 13 March 2013, [http://www.news.va/en/news/biography-who-is-jorge-mario-bergoglio Biography: who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018141414/http://www.news.va/en/news/biography-who-is-jorge-mario-bergoglio |date=18 October 2017 }}. Retrieved 6 April 2013</ref> Before taking up this new appointment, he spent the first three months of 1980 in Ireland to learn English, staying at the Jesuit Centre at the [[Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy]], Dublin.<ref>''The Irish Independent'', 30 March 2013, [http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/the-year-pope-francis-came-to-live-in-dublin-29163804.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110130508/http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/the-year-pope-francis-came-to-live-in-dublin-29163804.html|date=10 November 2013}}. Retrieved 10 November 2013</ref> He served at San Miguel for six years until 1986<ref name="directory" /> when, at the discretion of Jesuit superior-general [[Peter Hans Kolvenbach]], he was replaced by someone more in tune with the worldwide trend in the Society of Jesus toward emphasizing social justice, rather than his emphasis on popular religiosity and direct pastoral work.<ref name="Austen Ivereigh">Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, Henry Holt 2014</ref>

Bergoglio was asked in 1992 by Jesuit authorities not to reside in Jesuit houses, because of continued tensions with Jesuit leaders and scholars, a sense of Bergoglio's "dissent", views of his Catholic orthodoxy and his opposition to [[Liberation theology|theology of liberation]], and his work as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires.<ref name="ncronline.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/understand-pope-francis-look-jesuits|title=To understand Pope Francis, look to the Jesuits|date=12 March 2014|work=ncronline.org|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=28 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828172510/https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/understand-pope-francis-look-jesuits|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2015/01/07/4158763.htm|title=Setting the Record Straight on Pope Francis: A Reply to Frank Brennan|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=7 January 2015|access-date=21 July 2015|archive-date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524004542/http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2015/01/07/4158763.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Vallely |first1=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JQQoAAAAQBAJ&q=pope+francis+hans+kolvenbach&pg=PA60 |title=Pope Francis: Untying the knots |publisher=C Black |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4729-0372-3 |language=en |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310114849/https://books.google.com/books?id=JQQoAAAAQBAJ&q=pope+francis+hans+kolvenbach&pg=PA60#v=snippet&q=pope%20francis%20hans%20kolvenbach&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> As a bishop he was no longer subject to his Jesuit superior.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 March 2013|title=Is Pope Francis still a Jesuit?|url=https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-francis-still-jesuit|access-date=6 September 2020|website=National Catholic Reporter|language=en|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000851/https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-francis-still-jesuit|url-status=live}}</ref> From then on, he did not visit Jesuit houses and was in "virtual estrangement from the Jesuits" until after his election as pope.<ref name="Austen Ivereigh" /><ref name="ncronline.org" />

 

Bergoglio was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and [[Episcopal ordination|consecrated]] on 27 June 1992 as [[Auca (titular diocese)|titular bishop of Auca]],<ref name="directory" /><ref>The [[titular see]] of Auca, established in 1969, is seated at [[Villafranca Montes de Oca]], Spain: [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0229.htm Titular See of Auca, Spain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222184219/http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0229.htm |date=22 December 2017 }}.</ref> with Cardinal [[Antonio Quarracino]], archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving as principal consecrator.<ref name="aica">{{cite web|title=Bergoglio, Jorge Mario|url=http://www.aica.org/guia-s-T2Jpc3Bvcw==-91|language=es|work=Breve biografía de obispos|publisher=La Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina|access-date=15 March 2013|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312140844/http://aica.org/guia-s-t2jpc3bvcw==-91|url-status=dead}}</ref> He chose as his episcopal motto ''Miserando atque eligendo''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-14/francis-toughened-by-argentine-politics-ready-for-papal-test.html|title=Francis Toughened by Argentine Politics Ready for Papal Test|publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]|access-date=15 March 2013|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316192345/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-14/francis-toughened-by-argentine-politics-ready-for-papal-test.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is drawn from [[Saint Bede]]'s homily on Matthew 9:9–13: "because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him".<ref name="Catholic News Service">{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301207.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317181215/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301207.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 March 2013 |title=Pope's episcopal motto comes from homily by English doctor of church |last1=Glatz |first1=Carol |date=15 March 2013 |publisher=Catholic News Service |access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref>

 

In 2000, Bergoglio was the only church official to reconcile with [[Jerónimo Podestá]], a former bishop who had been suspended as a priest after opposing the [[Argentine Revolution]] military dictatorship in 1972. He defended Podestá's wife from Vatican attacks on their marriage.<ref>{{cite news|last=Magister|first=Sandro|title=Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Profession: Servant of the Servants of God|url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1335696?eng=y|access-date=16 March 2013|magazine=[[L'espresso]]|publisher=Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso|location=Rome, Italy|date=2 December 2002|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316052340/http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1335696?eng=y|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Margaret|last=Hebblethwaite|title=The Pope Francis I know|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/14/the-pope-francis-i-know|access-date=16 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=14 March 2013|location=London, England|quote=Luro talked to me at length about her friend, of whom she has the highest opinion, and told me how she would write to him almost weekly, and he would always reply by ringing her up and having a short chat. When Podesta was dying, Bergoglio was the only Catholic cleric who went to visit him in hospital, and, when he died, the only one who showed public recognition of his great contribution to the Argentinian church.|archive-date=26 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926235557/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/14/the-pope-francis-i-know|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Stella|last=Calloni|title=Acusado de tener vínculos con la dictadura; la derecha lo defiende|language=es|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/03/14/politica/004n1pol|newspaper=[[La Jornada]]|publisher=Desarrollo de Medios S.A. de C.V|location=Mexico City, Mexico|date=13 March 2013|access-date=27 October 2018|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316234306/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/03/14/politica/004n1pol|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, Bergoglio said the Argentine Catholic Church needed "to put on garments of public penance for the sins committed during the years of the dictatorship" in the 1970s, during the [[Dirty War]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Magister|first=Sandro|title=Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Profession: Servant of the Servants of God|url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1335696?eng=y|magazine=[[L'espresso]]|publisher=Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso|location=Rome, Italy|date=2 December 2002|access-date=16 March 2013|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316052340/http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1335696?eng=y|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

On 8 November 2005, Bergoglio was elected president of the [[Argentine Episcopal Conference]] for a three-year term (2005–08).<ref>{{cite news|title=Elige Sus Nuevas Autoridades La Conferencia Episcopal|url=http://www.mercedesya.com.ar/noticias/30008397-elige-sus-nuevas-autoridades-la-conferencia-episcopal.htm|access-date=21 March 2013|publisher=Mercedes Ya|date=7 November 2005|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193258/http://www.mercedesya.com.ar/noticias/30008397-elige-sus-nuevas-autoridades-la-conferencia-episcopal.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> He was reelected to another three-year term on 11 November 2008.<ref>{{cite news|title=El cardenal Bergoglio fue reelegido frente a la Conferencia Episcopal|url=http://www.derf.com.ar/noticias.asp?cod_des=232534&ID_Seccion=33&fecemi=11/11/2008&|access-date=21 March 2013|publisher=DERF|date=11 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522051308/http://www.derf.com.ar/noticias.asp?cod_des=232534&ID_Seccion=33&fecemi=11%2F11%2F2008&|archive-date=22 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> He remained a member of that commission's permanent governing body, president of its committee for the [[Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina]], and a member of its liturgy committee for the care of shrines.<ref name=aica /> While head of the Argentine Catholic bishops' conference, Bergoglio issued a collective apology for his church's failure to protect people from the Junta during the Dirty War.<ref>{{cite news|last=Speciale|first=Alessandro|title=Vatican defends Pope Francis' actions during Argentina's 'Dirty War'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/vatican-defends-pope-francis-actions-during-argentinasdirty-war/2013/03/15/070f5324-8db5-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html|access-date=16 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=15 March 2013|archive-date=17 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317070611/http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/vatican-defends-pope-francis-actions-during-argentinasdirty-war/2013/03/15/070f5324-8db5-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> When he turned 75 in December 2011, Bergoglio submitted his resignation as archbishop of Buenos Aires to Pope Benedict XVI as required by [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]].<ref name="travel" /> Still, as he had no coadjutor archbishop, he stayed in office, waiting for an eventual replacement appointed by the Vatican.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bergoglio presenta su renuncia como arzobispo de Buenos Aires, aunque seguirá en el cargo|url=http://noticias.terra.com.ar/politica/bergoglio-presenta-su-renuncia-como-arzobispo-de-buenos-aires-aunque-seguira-en-el-cargo,148ef548c2444310VgnVCM20000099f154d0RCRD.html|access-date=22 March 2013|publisher=Terra Noticias|date=15 December 2011|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701073209/http://noticias.terra.com.ar/politica/bergoglio-presenta-su-renuncia-como-arzobispo-de-buenos-aires-aunque-seguira-en-el-cargo,148ef548c2444310VgnVCM20000099f154d0RCRD.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

[[File:Catéchèse 18 juin 2008 par le cardinal Bergoglio -2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|right|Bergoglio on 18 June 2008 giving a [[catechesis]]]]

At the [[Papal consistory|consistory]] of 21 February 2001, Archbishop Bergoglio was created a [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] by [[Pope John Paul II]] with the [[titular church|title]] of [[cardinal priest]] of [[San Roberto Bellarmino (church)|San Roberto Bellarmino]], a church served by Jesuits and named for one; he was formally installed in that church the following 14 October. When he travelled to Rome for the ceremony, he and his sister María Elena visited the village in northern Italy where their father was born.<ref name="fascism">{{cite news|title=Jorge is against regimes. It is because of fascism that our father emigrated|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2013/03/17/esteri/vatican-insider/en/translate-to-english-jorge-e-contro-i-regimi-colpa-del-fascismo-se-nostro-padre-emigro-dsLa2d3qBmg6w2j0djj5qK/pagina.html|access-date=18 March 2013|newspaper=La Stampa|date=17 March 2013|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110202838/http://www.lastampa.it/2013/03/17/esteri/vatican-insider/en/translate-to-english-jorge-e-contro-i-regimi-colpa-del-fascismo-se-nostro-padre-emigro-dsLa2d3qBmg6w2j0djj5qK/pagina.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As cardinal, Bergoglio was appointed to five administrative positions in the [[Roman Curia]]. He was a member of the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]], the [[Congregation for the Clergy]], the [[Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life]], the [[Pontifical Council for the Family]] and the [[Pontifical Commission for Latin America|Commission for Latin America]]. Later that year, when Cardinal [[Edward Egan]] returned to New York following the [[September 11 attacks]], Bergoglio replaced him as relator (recording secretary) in the [[Synod of Bishops (Catholic)|Synod of Bishops]],<ref>{{cite web|title=X Ordinary General Assembly (30 September&nbsp;– 27 October 2001)|url=http://press.catholica.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sinodo_indice_en.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219231945/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sinodo_indice_en.html|archive-date=19 February 2011|work=Synod of Bishops|publisher=Holy See|access-date=14 April 2013}}</ref> and, according to the ''[[Catholic Herald]]'', created "a favourable impression as a man open to communion and dialogue".<ref name="thunder">{{cite news|last=Poirier|first=José Maria|title=Features Quiet thunder in Argentina|url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2013/03/13/quiet-thunder-in-argentina/|access-date=18 March 2013|newspaper=Catholic Herald|date=13 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319001817/http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2013/03/13/quiet-thunder-in-argentina/|archive-date=19 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Synodus Episcoporum Bulletin 30 September&nbsp;– 27 October 2001|date=27 October 2001|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_20_x-ordinaria-2001/02_inglese/b33_02.html|access-date=14 March 2013|publisher=Holy See Press Office|archive-date=5 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105215701/http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_20_x-ordinaria-2001/02_inglese/b33_02.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a cardinal, Bergoglio was associated with [[Communion and Liberation]], a Catholic evangelical lay movement of the type known as [[associations of the faithful]].<ref name="Allen" /><ref>{{cite web |title=One of Pope Francis' allegiances might tell us something about the church's future |last=Manson |first=Jamie |url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/one-pope-francis-allegiances-might-tell-us-something-about-churchs-future |work=National Catholic Reporter |date=15 March 2013 |access-date=15 March 2013 |archive-date=18 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318002733/http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/one-pope-francis-allegiances-might-tell-us-something-about-churchs-future |url-status=live }}</ref> He sometimes made appearances at the annual gathering known as the [[Meeting for friendship among peoples|Rimini Meeting]] held during the late summer months in Italy.<ref name=Allen /> In 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio authorized the request for [[beatification]]—the third step toward [[saint]]hood—for six members of the [[Pallottines|Pallottine]] community murdered in the [[San Patricio Church massacre]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Sánchez Alvarado |first=Gretta |title=Francisco: 'El verdadero poder es el servicio' |url=http://www.el-nacional.com/mundo/Francisco-verdadero-poder-servicio_0_156584605.html |access-date=22 March 2013 |publisher=El Nacional |date=20 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321065400/http://el-nacional.com/mundo/Francisco-verdadero-poder-servicio_0_156584605.html |archive-date=21 March 2013 }}</ref><ref name="CT2005">{{cite news |title=Sainthood effort for 5 slain recalls Argentine 'dirty war' |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-08-12/news/0508120166_1_beatification-buenos-aires-argentine-dirty |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=12 August 2005 |access-date=23 March 2013 |first=Colin |last=McMahon |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516123540/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-08-12/news/0508120166_1_beatification-buenos-aires-argentine-dirty |url-status=live }}</ref> At the same time, Bergoglio ordered an investigation into the murders themselves, which had been widely blamed on the [[National Reorganization Process]], the military junta that ruled Argentina at the time.<ref name= CT2005 />

 

 

{{See also|Dirty War}}

Bergoglio was the subject of allegations regarding the [[Argentine Navy]]'s kidnapping of two [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] priests, Orlando Yorio and [[Franz Jalics]], in May 1976, during Argentina's [[Dirty War]].<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/world/europe/new-pope-theologically-conservative-but-with-a-common-touch.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314170716/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/world/europe/new-pope-theologically-conservative-but-with-a-common-touch.html |archive-date=14 March 2013 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=A Conservative With a Common Touch|date=13 March 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|last2=Rother|first2=Larry|last1=Schmall|first1=Emily|access-date=14 March 2013}}</ref> He feared for the priests' safety and had tried to change their work prior to their arrest; contrary to reports, he did not try to throw them out of the Jesuit order.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-jesuits-and-dirty-war|title=Thomas Reese, "Francis, the Jesuits and the Dirty War", ''National Catholic Reporter'', 17 March 2013|last=Coday|first=Dennis|date=17 March 2013|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=23 June 2013|archive-date=6 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606012812/http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-jesuits-and-dirty-war|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, [[Myriam Bregman]], a human rights lawyer, filed a criminal complaint against Bergoglio, as superior in the Society of Jesus of Argentina, accusing him of involvement in the kidnapping.<ref name="latimes1">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-17-fg-cardinal17-story.html|title=Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnap Lawsuit|date=17 April 2005|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316043207/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/17/world/fg-cardinal17|url-status=live}}</ref> Her complaint did not specify how Bergoglio was involved; Bergoglio's spokesman flatly denied the allegations. The complaint was ultimately dismissed.<ref name="nytimes1" /> The priests were tortured,<ref name="rubin">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=174220195|title=Pope Francis Is Known For Simplicity And Humility|date=13 March 2013|agency=[[Associated Press]]|quote=Bergoglio—who ran Argentina's Jesuit order during the dictatorship—told Rubin that he regularly hid people on church property during the dictatorship, and once gave his identity papers to a man with similar features, enabling him to escape across the border.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316234307/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=174220195|archive-date=16 March 2013|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref> but were found alive five months later, drugged and semi-naked. Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads by declining to tell the authorities that he endorsed their work. Yorio, who died in 2000, said in a 1999 interview that he believed that Bergoglio did nothing "to free us, in fact just the opposite".<ref name="WAPO">{{cite news|title=Pope's activity in Dirty War Draws Scrutiny|date=17 March 2013|work=Chicago Tribune|page=27|author=Miroff, Nick}}</ref> Jalics initially refused to discuss the complaint after moving into seclusion in a German monastery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/pope_francis_a_look_at_the_lif.html|title=Pope Francis: A look at the life of the first South American pontiff|date=13 March 2013|work=The Star-Ledger|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316071314/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/pope_francis_a_look_at_the_lif.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days after the election of Francis, Jalics issued a statement confirming the kidnapping and attributing the cause to a former lay colleague who became a guerrilla, was captured, then named Yorio and Jalics when interrogated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesuiten.org/aktuelles/details/article/erklarung-von-pater-franz-jalics-sj.html|title=Declaration of Father Franz Jalics SJ|date=15 March 2013|publisher=German Jesuit Web site|language=de|access-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316013724/http://www.jesuiten.org/aktuelles/details/article/erklarung-von-pater-franz-jalics-sj.html|archive-date=16 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The following week, Jalics issued a second, clarifying statement: "It is wrong to assert that our capture took place at the initiative of Father Bergoglio (…) the fact is, Orlando Yorio and I were not denounced by Father Bergoglio."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/21/pope-francis-argentinian-junta-priest|title=Pope Francis did not denounce me to Argentinian junta, says priest|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=21 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|access-date=21 March 2013|archive-date=5 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905003957/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/21/pope-francis-argentinian-junta-priest|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesuiten.org/aktuelles/details/article/erganzende-erklarung-von-pater-franz-jalics-sj.html|title=Second Declaration of Father Franz Jalics SJ|date=20 March 2013|publisher=German Jesuit Web site|language=de|access-date=21 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328015725/http://www.jesuiten.org/aktuelles/details/article/erganzende-erklarung-von-pater-franz-jalics-sj.html|archive-date=28 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

When Bergoglio became pope, an alleged photo of him giving the [[sacramental bread]] to dictator Jorge Rafael Videla became popular in social networks. It has also been used by the newspaper ''[[Página/12]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoomnews.es/34129/actualidad/mundo/bergoglio-historia-papa-francisco-dictadura-argentina-videla|title=Bergoglio: la verdadera historia del Papa Francisco y la dictadura de Videla|last=Cifuentes|first=Pedro|date=15 March 2013|publisher=Zoom News|language=es|trans-title=Bergoglio: the true story of Pope Francis and Videla's dictatorship|access-date=28 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701131917/http://www.zoomnews.es/34129/actualidad/mundo/bergoglio-historia-papa-francisco-dictadura-argentina-videla|archive-date=1 July 2013}}</ref> The photo was soon proved to be false. It was revealed that the priest, whose face is not visible in the photo, was Carlos Berón de Astrada. The photo was taken at the church "Pequeña Obra de la Divina Providencia Don Orione" in 1990, not during the Dirty War, and after Videla's presidential pardon. The photo was produced by the agency AFP and it was initially published by the ''[[Crónica (newspaper)|Crónica]]'' newspaper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infotechnology.com/internet/The-fake-viral-photo-of-pope-Francis-who-is-the-priest-that-gives-the-communion-to-Videla-20130319-0002.html|title=The fake viral photo of pope Francis: who is the priest that gives the communion to Videla|date=19 March 2013|publisher=Info Technology|name-list-style=amp|author1=Joaquín Garau|author2=Pablo Martín Fernández|access-date=11 February 2015|archive-date=12 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212212239/http://www.infotechnology.com/internet/The-fake-viral-photo-of-pope-Francis-who-is-the-priest-that-gives-the-communion-to-Videla-20130319-0002.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

[[Fernando de la Rúa]] replaced [[Carlos Menem]] as president of Argentina in 1999. As an archbishop, Bergoglio celebrated the annual Mass at the [[Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral]] on the ''[[First National Government]]'' holiday, 25 May. In 2000, Bergoglio criticized the perceived apathy of society.<ref>Rubin, p. 19</ref> Argentina faced an [[1998–2002 Argentine great depression|economic depression]] at the time, and the Catholic Church criticized the fiscal austerity of the government, which increased poverty. De la Rúa asked the church to promote a dialogue between the leaders of economic and political sectors to find a solution for the crisis. He claims that he talked with Bergoglio and proposed to take part in the meeting, but Bergoglio would have told him that the meeting was cancelled because of a misunderstanding by De la Rúa's assistant, who may have declined the president's assistance. Bishop Jorge Casaretto considers it unlikely, as De la Rúa only made the request in newspaper interviews, but never made a formal request to the church.<ref>Reato, p. 160</ref>

 

During police repression of the [[December 2001 riots in Argentina|riots of December 2001]], he contacted the Ministry of the Interior and asked that the police distinguish rioters and vandals from peaceful protesters.<ref>Rubin, pp. 18–19</ref>

 

[[File:Pope Francis with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner 4.jpg|thumb|Francis with Argentine president [[Cristina Fernández de Kirchner]], holding traditional Argentine [[mate (beverage)|mate]] drinkware]]

When Bergoglio celebrated Mass at the cathedral for the 2004 ''First National Government'' holiday, President [[Néstor Kirchner]] attended and heard Bergoglio request more political dialogue, reject intolerance, and criticize exhibitionism and strident announcements.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/604859-el-mensaje-de-la-iglesia-era-para-kirchner|title=El mensaje de la Iglesia era para Kirchner|last=Obarrio|first=Mariano|date=27 May 2004|newspaper=La Nación|language=es|trans-title=The message of the church was for Kirchner|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329094231/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/604859-el-mensaje-de-la-iglesia-era-para-kirchner|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kirchner celebrated the national day elsewhere the following year and the Mass in the cathedral was suspended.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/706830-suspendio|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190651/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/706830-suspendio|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 October 2013|title=Suspendió la Iglesia el tedeum en la Capital|last=Colonna|first=Lucas|date=24 May 2005|newspaper=La Nación|language=es|trans-title=The church suspended the tedeum in the capital|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref> In 2006, Bergoglio helped the fellow Jesuit [[Joaquín Piña]] to win the elections in the [[Misiones Province]] and prevent an amendment of the local constitution that would allow indefinite re-elections. Kirchner intended to use that project to start similar amendments at other provinces, and eventually to the national constitution.<ref>Reato, pp. 224–225</ref> Kirchner considered Bergoglio as a political rival to the day he died in October 2010.<ref name="anios">{{cite news|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1562777-jorge-bergoglio-y-los-kirchner-anos-de-una-relacion-tensa|title=Jorge Bergoglio y los Kirchner: años de una relación tensa|date=14 March 2013|newspaper=La Nación|language=es|trans-title=Jorge Bergoglio and the Kirchners: years of a tense relation|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=19 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319041650/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1562777-jorge-bergoglio-y-los-kirchner-anos-de-una-relacion-tensa|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bergoglio's relations with Kirchner's widow and successor, [[Cristina Fernández de Kirchner]], have been similarly tense. In 2008, Bergoglio called for national reconciliation during [[2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector|disturbances]] in the country's agricultural regions, which the government interpreted as a support for anti-government demonstrators.<ref name="anios" /> The campaign to enact [[Same-sex marriage in Argentina|same-sex marriage legislation]] was a particularly tense period in their relations.<ref name="anios" />

 

When Bergoglio was elected pope, the initial reactions were mixed. Most of the Argentine society cheered it, but the pro-government newspaper ''[[Página/12]]'' published renewed allegations about the Dirty War, and the president of the [[National Library of the Argentine Republic|National Library]] described a global conspiracy theory. The president took more than an hour before congratulating the new pope, and only did so in a passing reference within a routine speech. Due to the pope's popularity in Argentina, Cristina Kirchner made what the political analyst Claudio Fantini called a "[[Copernican Revolution (metaphor)|Copernican shift]]" in her relations with him and fully embraced the Francis phenomenon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/27/christina-fernandez-de-kirchner-pope-francis|title=Cristina Fernández de Kirchner turns Pope Francis from foe to friend|date=27 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=15 March 2014|archive-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317010556/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/27/christina-fernandez-de-kirchner-pope-francis|url-status=live}}</ref> On the day before his inauguration as pope, Bergoglio, now Francis, had a private meeting with Kirchner. They exchanged gifts and lunched together. This was the new pope's first meeting with a head of state, and there was speculation that the two were mending their relations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cp24.com/world/pope-s-diplomacy-put-to-test-as-leaders-flock-to-rome-1.1200040|title=Pope's diplomacy put to test as leaders flock to Rome|date=18 March 2013|publisher=CP24|agency=[[Associated Press]]|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620125831/http://www.cp24.com/world/pope-s-diplomacy-put-to-test-as-leaders-flock-to-rome-1.1200040|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0318/Making-nice-Argentina-s-Kirchner-and-Pope-Francis-meet-in-Rome-video|title=Making nice? Argentina's Kirchner and Pope Francis meet in Rome|last=Gilbert|first=Jonathan|date=18 March 2013|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=26 March 2013|archive-date=25 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325221658/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0318/Making-nice-Argentina-s-Kirchner-and-Pope-Francis-meet-in-Rome-video|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Página/12'' [[Self-censorship|removed]] their controversial articles about Bergoglio, written by [[Horacio Verbitsky]], from their web page, as a result of this change.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perfil.com/politica/Pagina12-saco-notas-de-Verbitsky-sobre-Bergoglio-y-la-dictadura-20141118-0024.html|title=Página 12 sacó notas de Verbitsky sobre Bergoglio y la dictadura|date=18 November 2014|publisher=Perfil|language=es|trans-title=Página 12 removed Verbitsky's articles about Bergoglio and the dictatorship|access-date=28 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620125109/http://www.perfil.com/politica/Pagina12-saco-notas-de-Verbitsky-sobre-Bergoglio-y-la-dictadura-20141118-0024.html|archive-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

 

Before [[Javier Milei]]'s election to the Argentine presidency, he was very critical of Francis, describing him as "imbecile" and a "communist turd". His disparaging comments sparked controversy among Catholics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goñi |first=Uki |date=27 August 2023 |title=The 'false prophet' v the pope: Argentina faces clash of ideologies in election |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/27/the-false-prophet-v-the-pope-argentina-faces-clash-of-ideologies-in-election |access-date=26 February 2024 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712 |archive-date=1 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201094926/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/27/the-false-prophet-v-the-pope-argentina-faces-clash-of-ideologies-in-election |url-status=live }}</ref> However, following his inauguration, Milei softened his position and formally invited Francis to Argentina. Milei visited the Vatican on 11 February 2024, the day Francis canonized [[María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa]], the first female Argentine saint.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/02/12/pope-francis-argentina-president-javier-milei-vatican-247286 | title=Pope Francis and Argentina's President Milei hit it off | date=12 February 2024 | access-date=24 February 2024 | archive-date=24 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224144947/https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/02/12/pope-francis-argentina-president-javier-milei-vatican-247286 | url-status=live }}</ref>

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Vatican II revisited|Theology of Pope Francis#Church leadership}}

{{multiple image

| footer = The gold star represents the [[Virgin Mary]], the grape-like plant—the [[spikenard]]—is associated with [[Saint Joseph]] and the [[Holy Name of Jesus|IHS]] is the symbol of the Jesuits.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vatican releases Pope Francis' coat of arms, motto and ring |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9937813/Vatican-releases-Pope-Francis-coat-of-arms-motto-and-ring.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130321131012/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9937813/Vatican-releases-Pope-Francis-coat-of-arms-motto-and-ring.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 21 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=18 March 2013 |access-date=18 March 2013 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/elezione/stemma-papa-francesco_it.html |title=Lo Stemma di Papa Francesco |publisher=L'Osservatore Romano (Vatican website) |access-date=18 March 2013 |archive-date=9 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209090516/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/elezione/stemma-papa-francesco_it.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NCR" />

}}

Elected at 76 years old, Francis was reported to be healthy and his doctors have said his missing lung tissue, removed in his youth, does not significantly affect his health.<ref name="The Guardian-2013b" /> The only concern would be decreased respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection.<ref name="Park-2013" /> In the past, one attack of [[sciatica]] in 2007 prevented him from attending a consistory and delayed his return to Argentina for several days.<ref name="falasca" />

 

He is also the first from the Americas,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://world.time.com/2013/03/13/pope-of-the-americas/|title=Pope of the Americas|date=13 March 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|author=Howard Chua-Eoan|access-date=8 June 2015|archive-date=31 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531041636/http://world.time.com/2013/03/13/pope-of-the-americas/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the first from the [[Southern Hemisphere]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Fordham Experts Weigh in on Pope Francis' First Decade |url=https://news.fordham.edu/living-the-mission/fordham-experts-weigh-in-on-pope-francis-first-decade/ |access-date=9 March 2023 |work=Fordham Newsroom |date=8 March 2023 |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309164135/https://news.fordham.edu/living-the-mission/fordham-experts-weigh-in-on-pope-francis-first-decade/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many media reported him as being the first non-European pope, but he is actually the 11th; the previous was [[Pope Gregory III|Gregory III]] from Syria, who died in 741. Moreover, although Francis was not born in Europe, he is [[Ethnic groups in Europe|ethnically European]]; his father and maternal grandparents are from northern Italy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/|title=Sorry, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not the first non-European pope|last=Fisher|first=Max|date=13 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=8 June 2015|archive-date=15 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615144215/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

In addition to his [[Native language|native]] Spanish, he speaks fluent Italian (the official language of Vatican City and the "everyday language" of the Holy See) and German. He is also conversant in Latin (the [[official language]] of the Holy See),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/13/new-pope-thirteen-key-facts|title=Pope Francis: 13 key facts about the new pontiff|date=13 March 2013|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=17 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317120117/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/13/new-pope-thirteen-key-facts|url-status=live}}</ref> French,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.va/it/news/briefing-di-padre-lombardi|title=Briefing di padre Lombardi|date=14 March 2013|publisher=The Vatican Today|access-date=14 March 2013|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018142947/http://www.news.va/it/news/briefing-di-padre-lombardi|url-status=dead}}</ref> Portuguese,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.corriere.it/cronache/13_marzo_14/papa-francesco-primo-giorno_9d687672-8c78-11e2-ab2c-711cc67f5f67.shtml|title=Francis and those humble gestures by the Pope, he does not sit on a throne, paying the bill at the hotel|date=14 March 2013|publisher=Corriere Della Sera|language=it|access-date=1 April 2013|archive-date=31 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331184311/http://www.corriere.it/cronache/13_marzo_14/papa-francesco-primo-giorno_9d687672-8c78-11e2-ab2c-711cc67f5f67.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> and English,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/14/pope-francis-first-day|title=Pope Francis, first day after election|date=14 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|author1=Peter Walker|author2=Paul Owen|author3=David Batty|name-list-style=amp|access-date=19 March 2013|archive-date=27 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627230237/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/14/pope-francis-first-day|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="languages">Willey, David, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21986185 News analysis sidebar to "Pope Francis delivers Easter plea for peace"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014121611/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21986185 |date=14 October 2018 }}, BBC News, 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013</ref> and he understands the [[Piedmontese language]] and some [[Genoese dialect|Genoese]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301486.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130402184851/http%3A//www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301486.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2013|title=Can't chant, can't speak English? Pope says it's because he's tone-deaf|last=Glatz|first=Carol|date=2 April 2013|publisher=Catholic News Service|access-date=15 September 2013}}</ref>

On 13 December 2023, in an interview with Mexican broadcaster [[Televisa]], Francis said that his "[[Catholic devotions|great devotion]]" was to the [[Salus Populi Romani|Salus populi Romani]] icon at the [[Santa Maria Maggiore]] in Rome. Francis also told the news outlet that [[List of extant papal tombs|his tomb]] was already prepared at the basilica near the icon. Francis will be the first pope since [[Pope Leo XIII]] to be buried outside the Vatican.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2023 |title=The pope says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica, not in the Vatican |url=https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-basilica-burial-argentina-ba9dc3ccbf4210df16e64d4032451671 |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221181507/https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-basilica-burial-argentina-ba9dc3ccbf4210df16e64d4032451671 |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

{{Main|2013 papal conclave|Papal inauguration of Pope Francis}}

[[File:Papa Francisco recién elegido 2.jpg|thumb|left|Francis appears in public for the first time as pope, at St. Peter's Basilica balcony, 13 March 2013.]]

Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013,<ref name="directory" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/elezione/index_sp.htm |title=FRANCISCUS |date=13 March 2013 |publisher=Holy See |quote=Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Georgium MariumSanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315203915/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/elezione/index_sp.htm |archive-date=15 March 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news.va/en/news/habemus-papam-cardinal-bergolio-elected-pope|title=Habemus Papam! Cardinal Bergoglio Elected Pope Francis|publisher=Official Vatican Network|access-date=14 March 2013|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316043440/http://www.news.va/en/news/habemus-papam-cardinal-bergolio-elected-pope|url-status=dead}}</ref> the second day of the [[2013 papal conclave]], taking the [[papal name]] Francis.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="cnbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/100538976|title=Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina Named as New Pope of the Roman Catholic Church|date=13 March 2013|publisher=[[CNBC]]|access-date=13 March 2013|archive-date=30 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730114209/http://www.cnbc.com/id/100538976|url-status=live}}</ref> Francis was elected on the fifth ballot of the conclave.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.catholicsun.org/2013/03/13/white-smoke-cardinals-elect-new-pope-on-fifth-ballot/|title=White smoke: Cardinals elect new pope on fifth ballot|date=13 March 2013|publisher=The Catholic Sun|access-date=15 March 2013|archive-date=17 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517150203/http://www.catholicsun.org/2013/03/13/white-smoke-cardinals-elect-new-pope-on-fifth-ballot/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[Habemus papam]]'' announcement was delivered by the [[cardinal protodeacon]], [[Jean-Louis Tauran]].<ref name="SuarezPBS">{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/03/a-new-pope-and-maybe-a-new-era.html|title=A New Pope, and Maybe a New Era|last=Suarez|first=Ray|publisher=[[PBS NewsHour]]|access-date=15 March 2013|archive-date=21 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121190305/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/03/a-new-pope-and-maybe-a-new-era.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cardinal [[Christoph Schönborn]] later said that Bergoglio was elected following two supernatural signs, one in the conclave - and hence confidential - and a Latin-American couple, friends of Schönborn at Vatican City, who whispered Bergoglio's name in the elector's ear; Schönborn commented "if these people say Bergoglio, that's an indication of the Holy Spirit".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10056994/Pope-Francis-elected-after-supernatural-signs-in-the-Conclave-Cardinal.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515045005/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10056994/Pope-Francis-elected-after-supernatural-signs-in-the-Conclave-Cardinal.html|archive-date=15 May 2013|url-access=subscription|via=Gale OneFile: News|access-date=17 October 2023|title=Pope Francis elected after supernatural 'signs' in the Conclave, says Cardinal|last=Bingham|first=John|date=14 May 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|location=London}}</ref>

 

Francis held his [[papal inauguration]] on 19 March 2013 in [[St. Peter's Square]] in the Vatican.<ref name="directory" /> He celebrated Mass in the presence of various political and religious leaders from around the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21839069|title=Pope Francis in plea for poor as inauguration Mass held|date=19 March 2013|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=21 March 2013|archive-date=21 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321153132/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21839069|url-status=live}}</ref> In his homily Francis focused on the [[Solemnity of Saint Joseph]], the liturgical day on which the Mass was celebrated.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pope Francis|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html|title=Homily of Pope Francis|date=19 March 2013|publisher=Holy See|access-date=23 March 2013|archive-date=22 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322054014/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

[[File:Pope Francis among the people at St. Peter's Square - 12 May 2013.jpg|thumb|Francis in [[St. Peter's Square]], two months after his election]]

At his first audience on 16 March 2013, Francis told journalists that he had chosen the name in honour of [[Francis of Assisi|Saint Francis of Assisi]], and had done so because he was especially concerned for the well-being of the poor.<ref name="The Guardian-2013a" /><ref name="Vatican Today-2013" /><ref>Michael Martinez, [http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/pope-name/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 CNN Vatican analyst: Pope Francis' name choice 'precedent shattering'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008012331/https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/pope-name/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |date=8 October 2020 }}, [[CNN]] (13 March 2013). Retrieved 13 March 2013.</ref> He explained that, as it was becoming clear during the conclave voting that he would be elected the new bishop of Rome, the Brazilian Cardinal [[Cláudio Hummes]] had embraced him and whispered, "Don't forget the poor", which had made Bergoglio think of the saint.<ref>{{cite news | first1 = Laura |last1 = Smith-Spark | first2= Hada | last2= Messia | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/16/world/europe/vatican-new-pope/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 | url-status = live | archive-date= 17 March 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130317035923/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/16/world/europe/vatican-new-pope/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 | title = Pope Francis explains name, calls for church 'for the poor' | publisher = CNN | date= 16 March 2013 | access-date = 7 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21812545|title=Pope Francis wants 'poor Church for the poor'|date=16 March 2013|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=16 March 2013|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204142721/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21812545|url-status=live}}</ref> Bergoglio had previously expressed his admiration for St. Francis, explaining that: "He brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time. He changed history."<ref name="bethune">Bethune, Brian, [http://www.macleans.ca/2013/03/26/man-of-the-people-2/ "Pope Francis: How the first New World pontiff could save the church"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803171059/http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/03/26/man-of-the-people-2/ |date=3 August 2013 }}, ''Maclean's'', 26 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013</ref>

 

Francis also said that some cardinal electors had jokingly suggested to him that he should choose either "Adrian", since [[Adrian VI]] had been a reformer of the church, or "Clement" to settle the score with [[Clement XIV]], who had [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus|suppressed the Jesuit order]].<ref name="PapalName">[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/march/documents/papa-francesco_20130316_rappresentanti-media_en.html Audience to Representatives of the Communications Media&nbsp;– Address of the Holy Father Pope Francis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402220159/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/march/documents/papa-francesco_20130316_rappresentanti-media_en.html |date=2 April 2014 }}&nbsp;– [[vatican.va]]&nbsp;– [[Paul VI Audience Hall]] Saturday, 16 March 2013</ref><ref>Marco R. della Cava, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/16/pope-francis-press-conference/1992355/ Pope Francis charms media in first press address] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825194800/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/16/pope-francis-press-conference/1992355/ |date=25 August 2017 }}, ''USA Today'' (16 March 2013). Retrieved 16 March 2013.</ref> In February 2014, it was reported that Bergoglio, had he been elected in 2005, would have chosen the pontifical name of "John XXIV" in honour of [[John XXIII]]. It was said that he told Cardinal [[Francesco Marchisano]]: "John, I would have called myself John, like the Good Pope; I would have been completely inspired by him".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-once-thought-taking-name-john-after-pope-john-xxiii|title=Francis once thought of taking the name John, after Pope John XXIII|date=11 February 2014|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305070944/http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-once-thought-taking-name-john-after-pope-john-xxiii|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

[[File:Francis Inauguration fc10.jpg|thumb|Inauguration of Francis, 19 March 2013]]

On 16 March 2013, Francis asked all those in senior positions of the [[Roman Curia]] to provisionally continue in office.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-drops-first-hint-reform-may-be-real|title=Francis drops first hint that reform may be real|last=Allen|first=John L. Jr.|date=16 March 2013|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=17 March 2013|archive-date=19 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319014326/http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-drops-first-hint-reform-may-be-real|url-status=live}}</ref> He named [[Alfred Xuereb]] as his personal secretary.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/world/Gozitan-Mons-Alfred-Xuereb-appointed-Pope-Francis-secretary-20130318|title=Gozitan Mgr Alfred Xuereb appointed Pope's official secretary|last=Stagno-Navarra|first=Karl|date=18 March 2013|publisher=Malta Today|access-date=21 March 2013|archive-date=21 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321001926/http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/world/Gozitan-Mons-Alfred-Xuereb-appointed-Pope-Francis-secretary-20130318|url-status=live}}</ref> On 6 April he named [[José Rodríguez Carballo]] as secretary for the [[Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life]], a position that had been vacant for several months.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-appoints-franciscan-religious-congregation|title=Pope appoints Franciscan to religious congregation|last=McElwee|first=Joshua J.|date=6 April 2013|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=7 April 2013|archive-date=7 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007163804/http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-appoints-franciscan-religious-congregation|url-status=dead}}</ref> Francis abolished the bonuses paid to Vatican employees upon the election of a new pope, amounting to several million Euros, opting instead to donate the money to charity.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/04/19/Pope-scraps-Vatican-staff-bonuses-directs-money-to-charity/UPI-14541366354800/|title=Pope scraps Vatican staff bonuses, directs money to charity|date=19 April 2013|work=United Press International|access-date=21 April 2013|archive-date=21 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421152338/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/04/19/Pope-scraps-Vatican-staff-bonuses-directs-money-to-charity/UPI-14541366354800/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also abolished the €25,000 annual bonus paid to the cardinals serving on the Board of Supervisors for the [[Institute for the Works of Religion|Vatican bank]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/en/2013/04/15/news/pope-francis-sets-up-a-group-of-eight-cardinals-to-advise-him-1.36103794|title=Ior: Cuts to the cardinals' "earnings"|last=Galeazi|first=Giacomo|date=19 April 2013|publisher=Las Stampa: Vatican Insider|access-date=21 April 2013|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308150136/https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/en/2013/04/15/news/pope-francis-sets-up-a-group-of-eight-cardinals-to-advise-him-1.36103794|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

On 13 April 2013, he named eight cardinals to a new [[Council of Cardinal Advisers]] to advise him on revising the organizational structure of the Roman Curia. The group included several known as critics of Vatican operations and only one member of the Curia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-taps-eight-cardinals-lead-reform|title=Pope taps eight cardinals to lead reform|last=Allen|first=John L. Jr.|date=13 April 2013|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902010024/http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-taps-eight-cardinals-lead-reform|url-status=dead}}</ref> They are [[Giuseppe Bertello]], president of the [[President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State|Vatican City State governorate]]; [[Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa]] from Chile; [[Oswald Gracias]] from India; [[Reinhard Marx]] from Germany; [[Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya]] from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; [[George Pell]] from Australia; [[Seán Patrick O'Malley|Seán O'Malley]] from the United States; and [[Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga|Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga]] from Honduras. He appointed Bishop [[Marcello Semeraro]] secretary for the group and scheduled its first meeting for 1–3 October.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-24044/|title=Pope Francis sets up a group of eight cardinals to advise him|last=O'Connell|first=Gerard|date=13 April 2013|publisher=La Stampa: Vatican Insider|access-date=13 April 2013|archive-date=15 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415015644/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-24044/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

In March 2013, 21 British Catholic [[House of Lords|peers]] and [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|members of Parliament]] from all [[Political parties in the United Kingdom|parties]] asked Francis to allow married men in Great Britain to be ordained as priests, keeping celibacy as the rule for bishops. They asked it on the grounds that it would be anomalous that married Anglican priests can be received into the Catholic Church and ordained as priests, by means of either the [[Pastoral Provision]] of 20 June 1980 or the 2009 [[Anglican ordinariate]], but married Catholic men cannot do the same.<ref name="teahan">Teahan, Madeleine, [http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/03/27/catholic-mps-urge-pope-francis-to-allow-ordination-of-married-men/ "Catholic MPs urge Pope Francis to allow ordination of married men"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402203035/http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/03/27/catholic-mps-urge-pope-francis-to-allow-ordination-of-married-men/ |date=2 April 2013 }}, The Catholic Herald, 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013</ref>

 

 

Although the Vatican had prepared greetings in 65 languages, Francis chose not to read them.<ref name="languages" /> According to the Vatican, the pope "at least for now, feels at ease using Italian, the everyday language of the Holy See".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130401151028/http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-pope-francis-easter-mass-20130331%2C0%2C1763686.story "Pope Francis makes an Easter plea for peace"], Los Angeles Times (from AP), 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013</ref>

[[File:VISITA PAPA FRANCISCO I (19473235041).jpg|thumb|Thousands welcomed Francis in [[Guayaquil]], Ecuador, 6 July 2015.]]

In 2013, Francis initially reaffirmed the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]'s program to [[Leadership Conference of Women Religious#Doctrinal issues|reform the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27002/pope-backs-reform-of-us-sisters-leadership-conference|title=Pope backs reform of US sisters' leadership conference|last=Uebbing|first=David|date=15 April 2013|agency=Catholic News Agency|access-date=19 April 2013|archive-date=18 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418021114/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-backs-reform-of-us-sisters-leadership-conference/|url-status=live}}</ref> initiated under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the Vatican had formed the opinion in 2012 that the [[Religious sister (Catholic)|sisters]]' group was tinged with feminist influences, focused too much on ending social and economic injustice and not enough on stopping abortion, and permitted speakers at its meetings who questioned church doctrine.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/us/pope-upholds-reprimand-of-nuns-group.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419022016/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/us/pope-upholds-reprimand-of-nuns-group.html |archive-date=19 April 2013 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Pope Upholds Reprimand of American Nuns' Group|last=Goodstein|first=Laurie|date=15 April 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27002/pope-backs-reform-of-us-sisters-leadership-conference|title=David Uebbing, "Pope backs reform of US sisters' leadership conference", Catholic News Agency, 15 April 2013|agency=Catholic News Agency|access-date=23 June 2013|archive-date=22 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622053426/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-backs-reform-of-us-sisters-leadership-conference/|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2015 the investigation was brought to a close. While the timing of the closure may have anticipated [[Pope Francis's visit to the United States|a visit by Francis to the U.S.]] in September 2015, it was noted that the sisters' emphasis is close to that of Francis.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/us/catholic-church-ends-takeover-of-leadership-conference-of-women-religious.html Vatican Ends Battle With U.S. Catholic Nuns' Group] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526031044/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/us/catholic-church-ends-takeover-of-leadership-conference-of-women-religious.html |date=26 May 2017 }} ''The New York Times'', 16 April 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015</ref>

 

On 12 May, Francis carried out his first [[canonization]]s of candidates approved for sainthood during the reign of Benedict XVI: the first Colombian saint, [[Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena]], the second female Mexican saint, [[María Guadalupe García Zavala]], both of the 20th century, and the 813 15th-century [[Martyrs of Otranto]]. He said: "While we venerate the martyrs of Otranto, ask God to support the many Christians who still suffer from violence and give them the courage and fate and respond to evil with goodness."<ref name="Al Jazeera-2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2013/05/201351212314711566.html|title=Francis canonises first saints of his papacy|date=12 May 2013|publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|access-date=12 May 2013|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513014907/http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2013/05/201351212314711566.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Decentralization}}

Francis has overseen synods on [[Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|the family]] (2014), on [[Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|youth]] (2018), and on the church in the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon region]] (2019). In 2019 Francis's apostolic constitution ''Episcopalis communio'' allowed that the final document of a synod may become magisterial teaching simply with papal approval. The constitution also allowed for laity to contribute input directly to the synod's secretary general.<ref name="sept18">{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39398/pope-francis-approves-new-constitution-for-synod-of-bishops|title=Pope Francis approves new constitution for Synod of Bishops|last=Brockhaus|first=Hannah|date=18 September 2018|access-date=21 May 2019|agency=Catholic News Agency|archive-date=5 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305075140/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-approves-new-constitution-for-synod-of-bishops-79689|url-status=live}}</ref> Some analysts see the creation of a truly synodal church as likely to become the greatest contribution of Francis's papacy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Charlotte |date=2 February 2020 |title=Pope Francis, everyman pontiff: Profile |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/pope-francis-everyman-pontiff-profile-200101104012522.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003053120/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/2/pope-francis-everyman-pontiff-profile |archive-date=3 October 2020 |access-date=5 February 2020 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref>

 

[[File:FrancisQuitoR.png|thumb|Francis in [[Quito]], Ecuador, 2015|left]]

A February 2014 survey by the [[World Values Survey]] cited in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' shows how the unity Francis had created could be challenged. Although views about Francis personally were favourable, many Catholics disagreed with at least some of his teachings. The survey found that members of the Catholic Church are deeply divided over abortion, artificial contraception, divorce, the ordination of women, and married priests.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pope-francis-faces-church-divided-over-doctrine-global-poll-of-catholics-finds/2014/02/08/e90ecef4-8f89-11e3-b227-12a45d109e03_story.html|title=Pope Francis faces church divided over doctrine, global poll of Catholics finds|last=Boorstein|first=Michelle|date=9 February 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006121938/http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pope-francis-faces-church-divided-over-doctrine-global-poll-of-catholics-finds/2014/02/08/e90ecef4-8f89-11e3-b227-12a45d109e03_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://world.time.com/2014/02/09/poll-catholic-beliefs-at-odds-with-vatican-doctrine/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209223758/http://world.time.com/2014/02/09/poll-catholic-beliefs-at-odds-with-vatican-doctrine/|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 February 2014|title=Poll: Catholic Beliefs at Odds With Vatican Doctrine|last=Frizell|first=Sam|date=9 February 2014|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=4 October 2014}}</ref> In the same month Francis asked parishes to provide answers to an official questionnaire<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141027095239/http://press.vatican.va/content/dam/salastampa/it/bollettino/documentazione-linkata/Documento-preparatorio-IIIAssGenStraod_ENG.pdf Vatican: Synod of Bishops – Extraordinary General Assembly – Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization – Preparatory Document, Vatican City 2013]. Includes questionnaire to be circulated to Churches.</ref> described as a "much broader consultation than just a survey"<ref name="bbc27060172">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27060172|title=Roman Catholic Church refuses survey request|date=17 April 2014|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825154410/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27060172|url-status=live}}</ref> regarding opinions among the laity. He continued to assert [[Catholic theology|Catholic doctrine]], in less dramatic tone than his recent predecessors, who maintained that the Catholic Church is not a democracy of popular opinion.<ref name="Clement">{{cite web|url=http://news.gnom.es/news/pope-francis-faces-church-divided-over-doctrine-global-poll-of-catholics-finds|title=Pope Francis faces church divided over doctrine, global poll of Catholics finds|last=Clement|first=Scott|date=23 February 2014|publisher=National News Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223020300/http://news.gnom.es/news/pope-francis-faces-church-divided-over-doctrine-global-poll-of-catholics-finds|archive-date=23 February 2014|access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref>

 

In a column he wrote for the Vatican's semi-official newspaper ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', the then-Prefect of the [[Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura]], American cardinal [[Raymond Leo Burke]], who has a long-standing reputation as one of the church's most vocal conservative hard-liners, said that Francis opposed both abortion and [[gay marriage]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-cardinal-raymond-burke-pope-francis-opposes-abortion-and-gay-marriage/2014/02/21/de5dbf52-9b36-11e3-975d-107dfef7b668_story.html|title=U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke: Pope Francis opposes abortion and gay marriage|last=Gibson|first=David|date=21 February 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=28 May 2015|archive-date=28 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528183118/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-cardinal-raymond-burke-pope-francis-opposes-abortion-and-gay-marriage/2014/02/21/de5dbf52-9b36-11e3-975d-107dfef7b668_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Vatican's chief spokesman, Father [[Federico Lombardi]], also noted in the Vatican press office during the 2014 consistory meetings that Francis and Cardinal [[Walter Kasper]] would not change or redefine any dogmas pertaining to church theology on doctrinal matters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romereports.com/pg155838-lombardi-no-cardinal-believes-in-changing-church-doctrine-en|title=Lombardi: No cardinal believes in changing Church doctrine|publisher=Rome Reports|access-date=24 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301012319/http://www.romereports.com/pg155838-lombardi-no-cardinal-believes-in-changing-church-doctrine-en|archive-date=1 March 2014}}</ref>

 

In the first months of Francis's papacy, the [[Institute for the Works of Religion]], informally known as the Vatican Bank, said that it would become more transparent in its financial dealings<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/05/201351616303447140.html|title=Pope Francis condemns global 'cult of money'|date=16 May 2013|publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|access-date=28 May 2015|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403022453/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/05/201351616303447140.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There had long been allegations of corruption and [[money laundering]] connected with the bank.<ref name="bank1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/26/vatican-bank-pope-francis-commission|title=Vatican bank faces review by Pope Francis commission|last=Davies|first=Lizzy|date=26 June 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=18 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618125252/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/26/vatican-bank-pope-francis-commission|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bank2">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23094320|title=Monsignor Nunzio Scarano held in Vatican bank inquiry|last=Willey|first=David|date=28 June 2013|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=18 July 2013|archive-date=18 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718183525/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23094320|url-status=live}}</ref> Francis appointed a commission to advise him about reform of the Bank,<ref name=bank1 /><ref name=bank2 /> and the finance consulting firm [[Promontory Financial Group]] was assigned to carry out a comprehensive investigation of all customer contacts of the bank on these facts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news.va/en/news/update-on-the-case-of-mons-nunzio-scarano|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528181035/http://www.news.va/en/news/update-on-the-case-of-mons-nunzio-scarano|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 May 2015|title=Update on the case of Mons. Nunzio Scarano|date=12 July 2013|series=Justice and Peace|publisher=Vatican Radio|access-date=6 August 2013}}</ref> Because of this affair the [[Devil's advocate#Origin and history|Promoter of Justice]] at the [[Law of Vatican City|Vatican Tribunal]] applied a [[letter rogatory]] for the first time in the history of the Republic of Italy at the beginning of August 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/08/03/monsignor_scarano:_vatican_forwards_request_to_italy/in2-716914|title=Monsignor Scarano: Vatican forwards request to Italy|date=3 August 2013|series=Justice and Peace|publisher=Vatican Radio|access-date=6 August 2013|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310115026/http://www.radiovaticana.va/page404.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2014, Francis replaced four of the five cardinal overseers of the Vatican Bank, who had been confirmed in their positions in the final days of Benedict XVI's papacy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-replaces-cardinals-serving-vatican-bank-oversight-commission|title=Pope replaces cardinals serving on Vatican bank oversight commission|last=Glatz|first=Carol|date=15 January 2014|newspaper=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=18 January 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203214920/http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-replaces-cardinals-serving-vatican-bank-oversight-commission|url-status=live}}</ref> Lay experts and clerics were looking into how the bank was run. [[Ernst von Freyberg]] was put in charge. [[Moneyval]] feels more reform is needed, and Francis may be willing to close the bank if the reforms prove too difficult.<ref name="Jones">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/pope-francis-report-card|title=12 months a pope: Francis's report card after a year at the top|last=Davies|first=Lizzy|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=13 March 2014|access-date=4 October 2014|archive-date=16 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016184725/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/13/pope-francis-report-card|url-status=live}}</ref> There is uncertainty how far reforms can succeed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/13/can-pope-francis-clean-up-gods-bank|title=Can Pope Francis clean up God's bank?|last=Vallely|first=Paul|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=13 August 2015|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=22 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022023400/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/13/can-pope-francis-clean-up-gods-bank|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

On 29 June 2013, Francis published the [[encyclical]] ''[[Lumen fidei]]'', which was largely the work of Benedict XVI but awaiting a final draft at his retirement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html|title=Lumen Fidei (29 June 2013)|author=Francis|website=w2.vatican.va|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=15 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115115142/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 24 November 2013, Francis published his first major letter as pope, the [[apostolic exhortation]] ''[[Evangelii gaudium]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html |title=Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today's World |work=[[Holy See]] |access-date=26 December 2019 |archive-date=11 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811092426/http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which he described as the programmatic of his papacy.<ref name="National Catholic Reporter-2013">{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/evangelii-gaudium-amounts-francis-i-have-dream-speech|title='Evangelii Gaudium' amounts to Francis' 'I Have a Dream' speech|date=26 November 2013|website=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925121644/https://www.ncronline.org/news/theology/evangelii-gaudium-amounts-francis-i-have-dream-speech|url-status=live}}</ref> On 18 June 2015, he published his first own, original encyclical ''[[Laudato si']]'' concerning care for the planet.<ref>Jim Yardley & Laurie Goodstein (18 June 2015). "Pope Francis, in Sweeping Encyclical, Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change". ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 18 June 2015.</ref> On 8 April 2016, Francis published his second apostolic exhortation, ''[[Amoris laetitia]]'',<ref name="Amoris laetitia">Pope Francis (8 April 2016), [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html Amoris laetitia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114152915/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia.html |date=14 January 2021 }}. The Holy See. Retrieved 20 April 2016.</ref> remarking on love within the family. Controversy arose at the end of 2016 when four cardinals formally asked Francis for clarifications, particularly on the issue of giving communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2016/11/14/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/four-cardinals-openly-challenge-francis-over-amoris-laetitia-62np8ZYXQkeXyBamk0M0jP/pagina.html|title=Four cardinals openly challenge Francis over 'Amoris Laetitia'|last=McElwee|first=Josh|date=14 November 2016|work=Vatican Insider|access-date=20 December 2016|archive-date=30 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930212430/http://www.lastampa.it/2016/11/14/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/four-cardinals-openly-challenge-francis-over-amoris-laetitia-62np8ZYXQkeXyBamk0M0jP/pagina.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

Francis established two new Secretariats (top-level departments) in the Roman Curia: the [[Secretariat for the Economy]], and the [[Secretariat for Communications]]. He [[Matrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis|simplified]] the process for declaring [[Declaration of nullity|matrimonial nullity]].<ref name=trials />

 

 

A further Apostolic Exhortation, ''[[Gaudete et exsultate]]'' (''Rejoice and be glad''), was published on 19 March 2018, dealing with "the [[Universal call to holiness|call to holiness]] in today's world" for all persons. He counters contemporary versions of the [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] and [[Pelagianism|Pelagian]] [[Heresy in Christianity|heresies]] and describes how Jesus's beatitudes call people to "go against the flow".<ref>Pope Francis, [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html ''Gaudete et exsultate''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709164130/https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html |date=9 July 2023 }}, 19 March 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018</ref>

On 30 September 2020, he published the apostolic letter ''[[Scripturae sacrae affectus]]'' to celebrate the 16th centenary of the death of [[Jerome]].<ref>{{cite web|date=30 September 2020|title=New Apostolic Letter highlights St Jerome's love of Scripture|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-09/new-apostolic-letter-highlights-st-jerome-s-love-of-scripture.html|access-date=30 September 2020|website=Vatican News|language=en|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930153322/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-09/new-apostolic-letter-highlights-st-jerome-s-love-of-scripture.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Esteves|first=Junno Arocho|date=30 September 2020|title=Pope releases apostolic letter on Sacred Scripture|url=https://www.catholicnews.com/pope-releases-apostolic-letter-on-sacred-scripture/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001234533/https://www.catholicnews.com/pope-releases-apostolic-letter-on-sacred-scripture/|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 October 2020|access-date=30 September 2020|website=Catholic News Service|language=en-US}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

Francis issued the ''motu proprio'' ''[[Traditionis custodes]]'' on 16 July 2021. The document abrogated the permissions for the celebration of the [[Tridentine Mass]] previously established by Benedict XVI in the 2007 ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]'', with ''Traditionis custodes'' instituting increased restrictions on the use of the 1962 [[Roman Missal]]. Pope Francis stated in a letter accompanying the ''motu proprio'' that emphasizing the [[Mass of Paul VI]] would bring "unity I intend to re-establish throughout the Church of the Roman Rite".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/07/16/0469/01015.html#ingL|title=Lettera del Santo Padre Francesco ai Vescovi di tutto il mondo per presentare il Motu Proprio «Traditionis Custodes» sull'uso della Liturgia Romana anteriore alla Riforma del 1970, 16.07.2021|author=Pope Francis|date=16 July 2021|access-date=17 July 2021|location=[[Rome]]|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717000601/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/07/16/0469/01015.html#ingL|url-status=live}}</ref> On 11 February, Pope Francis met with two priests from the [[Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter]] (FSSP) and reassured them that ''Traditionis Custodes'' did not affect their community and gave them permission, in writing, to use all the liturgical books of 1962. He also implied that ''Traditionis Custodes'' did not apply to all traditional Catholic communities, not just the FSSP.<ref>{{cite web |title=FSSP says Pope Francis has issued decree confirming its use of 1962 liturgical books |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250438/fssp-says-pope-francis-has-issued-decree-confirming-its-use-of-1962-liturgical-books |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302141739/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250438/fssp-says-pope-francis-has-issued-decree-confirming-its-use-of-1962-liturgical-books |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

{{Main|Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue of Pope Francis}}

[[File:Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2016-1283s.jpg|thumb|The stamp is dedicated to the pastoral visit of Francis to Azerbaijan on 2 October 2016.]]

Pope Francis continued in the tradition of the [[Second Vatican Council]] and of the papacies since the Council in promoting [[ecumenism]] with other [[Christian denominations]], as well as encouraging dialogue with leaders of other religions; he has also supported peace with those claiming no religious belief.

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Clericalism}}

In January 2014, Francis said that he would appoint fewer [[monsignor]]s and only assign those honoured to the lowest of the three surviving ranks of monsignor, [[chaplain of His Holiness]]. It would be awarded only to [[diocesan priest]]s at least 65 years old. During his 15 years as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis never sought the title for any of his priests. It is believed he associates it with clerical careerism and hierarchy, though he did not apply this restriction to clergy working in the Roman Curia or diplomatic corps, where careerism is an even greater concern.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/31027/|title=Pope abolishes honorary title of monsignor for diocesan priests under the age of 65|last=O'Connell|first=Gerard|date=4 January 2014|publisher=Vatican Insider|access-date=4 January 2014|archive-date=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104212828/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/31027/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

{{Main|List of saints canonized by Pope Francis|List of people beatified by Pope Francis|List of people declared venerable by Pope Francis}}

Francis presided over the first canonizations of his pontificate on 12 May 2013 in which he canonized the [[Martyrs of Otranto]]. Antonio Primaldo and his 812 companions who had been [[Ottoman invasion of Otranto|executed by the Ottomans]] in 1480,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-02-11/papa-lascia-pontificato-febbraiio-114943.shtml?uuid=Abm8RITH|title=L'addio di papa Ratzinger: "Lascio per il bene della Chiesa". Il fratello Georg: "Lo sapevo da mesi"|website=Il Sole 24 ORE|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222222141/http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-02-11/papa-lascia-pontificato-febbraiio-114943.shtml?uuid=Abm8RITH|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Religious sister (Catholic)|religious sisters]] [[Laura Montoya|Laura of St. Catherine of Siena]] and [[María Guadalupe García Zavala]] – in this first canonization he surpassed the [[List of saints canonized by Pope John Paul II|record of Pope John Paul II]] in canonizing the most saints in a pontificate.<ref name="Al Jazeera-2013"/> Francis approved the [[equipollent canonization]] of [[Angela of Foligno]] the following 9 October and then the Jesuit [[Peter Faber]] the following 17 December.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=20123|title=Vatican cardinal explains why Pope Francis canonized St. Angela of Foligno|publisher=Catholic Culture|date=7 January 2014|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=19 May 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010519103834/http://www.catholicculture.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/28657/pope-francis-declares-sainthood-of-early-jesuit-peter-faber|title=Pope Francis declares sainthood of early Jesuit, Peter Faber|agency=Catholic News Agency|date=17 December 2013|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014183732/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-declares-sainthood-of-early-jesuit-peter-faber|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

Francis also confirmed his predecessor [[Pope John Paul I|John Paul I]] to be [[Venerable]] on 8 November 2017,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Catholic Herald|date=9 November 2017|access-date=10 November 2017|author=Junno Arocho Esteves|title=Pope Francis officially declares John Paul I 'venerable'|url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/11/09/pope-francis-officially-declares-john-paul-i-venerable/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110091738/http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/11/09/pope-francis-officially-declares-john-paul-i-venerable/|archive-date=10 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Beatification|Blessed]] on 4 September 2022.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pope Francis beatifies his predecessor John Paul I|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=4 September 2022|access-date=3 April 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/04/pope-francis-beatifies-john-paul-i}}</ref>

 

 

{{Main|Cardinals created by Francis}}

 

 

 

 

 

With his April 2015 [[papal bull]] of indiction, ''Misericordiae Vultus'' ([[Latin]]: "The Face of [[Mercy]]"), Francis inaugurated a Special [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee Year]] of Mercy, to run from 8 December 2015, [[Solemnity]] of the [[Immaculate Conception]] of the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]], to the last Sunday before [[Advent]] and the Solemnity of the [[Feast of Christ the King]] of the Universe on 20 November 2016.

 

Francis established the [[World Day of the Poor]] in his Apostolic Letter, ''Misericordia et Misera'', issued on 20 November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Day of the Poor|url=http://justiceandpeace.org.au/world-day-of-the-poor/|website=Justice and Peace Office|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175224/http://justiceandpeace.org.au/world-day-of-the-poor/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/card-ranjith-calls-for-prayers-and-practical-action-on-world-day-of-the-poor/39361/1|title=Card Ranjith calls for prayers and practical action on World Day of the Poor|date=30 November 2017|website=Herald Malaysia Online|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152259/http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/card-ranjith-calls-for-prayers-and-practical-action-on-world-day-of-the-poor/39361/1|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Francis cancelled his regular [[Papal audience|general audiences]] at [[St. Peter's Square]] to prevent crowds from gathering and spreading the virus, which [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|seriously affected Italy]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Philip Pullella|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pope/pope-cancels-main-public-appearances-to-stop-crowds-gathering-amid-coronavirus-idUSKBN20U0JH|work=[[Reuters]]|date=7 March 2020|title=Pope cancels main public appearances to stop crowds gathering amid coronavirus|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=16 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316102840/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pope/pope-cancels-main-public-appearances-to-stop-crowds-gathering-amid-coronavirus-idUSKBN20U0JH|url-status=live}}</ref> He encouraged priests to visit patients and health workers;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/pope-tells-priests-to-go-out-and-meet-the-coronavirus-sick|title=Pope tells priests to go out and meet the coronavirus sick|date=10 March 2020|agency=Agence France-Presse|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=11 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311231926/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/pope-tells-priests-to-go-out-and-meet-the-coronavirus-sick|url-status=live}}</ref> urged the faithful not to forget the poor during the time of crisis;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-do-not-forget-the-poor-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic|title=Pope Francis: Do Not Forget the Poor During the Coronavirus Pandemic|website=National Catholic Register|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310114859/https://www.ncregister.com/news/pope-francis-do-not-forget-the-poor-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic|url-status=live}}</ref> offered prayers for people with the virus in China;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-prays-for-coronavirus-victims-in-china|title=Pope Francis Prays for Coronavirus Victims in China|website=National Catholic Register|date=26 January 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=26 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126173844/https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-prays-for-coronavirus-victims-in-china|url-status=live}}</ref> and invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title [[Salus Populi Romani]], as the [[Diocese of Rome]] observed a period of prayer and fasting in recognition of the victims.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-asks-for-marys-protection-of-rome-against-coronavirus|title=Pope Francis Asks for Mary's Protection of Rome Against Coronavirus|website=National Catholic Register|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310114957/https://www.ncregister.com/news/pope-francis-asks-for-marys-protection-of-rome-against-coronavirus|url-status=live}}</ref> The pontiff reacted with displeasure on 13 March 2020, at the news that the Vicar General had closed all churches in the Diocese of Rome. Despite [[2020 Italy coronavirus lockdown|Italy being under a quarantine lockdown]], Francis pleaded "not to leave the ... people alone" and worked to partially reverse the closures.

In response to the [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|economic harm]] created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis stated that now is the time to consider implementing a [[Universal basic income|universal basic wage]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2020 |title=Pope calls for consideration of 'universal basic wage' for unprotected workers - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-04/pope-letter-popular-movements-universal-basic-wage.html |access-date=14 May 2022 |website=www.vaticannews.va |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416093058/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-04/pope-letter-popular-movements-universal-basic-wage.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

Francis has [[Catholic Church and capital punishment|committed the Catholic Church]] to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty in any circumstance.<ref name="Brockhaus-2018">{{Cite web |last=Brockhaus |first=Hannah |date=2 August 2018 |title=Vatican changes Catechism teaching on death penalty, calls it 'inadmissible' |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39033/vatican-changes-catechism-teaching-on-death-penalty-calls-it-inadmissible |access-date=2 August 2018 |website=[[Catholic News Agency]] |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162744/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-changes-catechism-teaching-on-death-penalty-calls-it-inadmissible-28541 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, Francis revised the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' to read that "in the light of the [[Gospel]]" the death penalty is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and [[Human dignity|dignity of the person]]" and that the Catholic Church "works with determination for its abolition worldwide".<ref name="Brockhaus-2018" /><ref name="Harlan-2018">{{Cite news |last=Harlan |first=Chico |date=2 August 2018 |title=Pope Francis changes Catholic Church teaching to say death penalty is 'inadmissible' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-francis-changes-catholic-church-teaching-to-say-death-penalty-is-inadmissible/2018/08/02/0d69ef5e-9647-11e8-80e1-00e80e1fdf43_story.html |access-date=2 August 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802140910/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-francis-changes-catholic-church-teaching-to-say-death-penalty-is-inadmissible/2018/08/02/0d69ef5e-9647-11e8-80e1-00e80e1fdf43_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

On 9 January 2022, Pope Francis stated in his annual speech to Vatican ambassadors: "The death penalty cannot be employed for a purported state justice, since it does not constitute a deterrent nor render justice to victims, but only fuels the thirst for vengeance".<ref name="Pullella-2023">{{Cite news |last=Pullella |first=Philip |date=9 January 2023 |title=Pope condemns Iran's use of death penalty against protesters |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-says-wars-like-that-ukraine-are-crime-against-god-humanity-2023-01-09/ |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113070627/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-says-wars-like-that-ukraine-are-crime-against-god-humanity-2023-01-09/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

{{See also|Women in the Catholic Church}}

 

 

 

 

Francis was mandated by electing cardinals to sort out Vatican finances following scandals during the papacies of Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II. He stated he is determined to end corruption in the Catholic Church but is not very optimistic due to it being a human problem dating back centuries.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 November 2020|title=Pope shakes up running of Vatican funds after London property scandal|language=en|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-vatican-finances-idUKKBN27L1MO|access-date=18 December 2021|archive-date=4 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204121223/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-vatican-finances-idUKKBN27L1MO|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

{{Further|50th G7 summit}}

 

 

{{Main|Theology of Pope Francis}}

In ''Evangelii gaudium'' Francis revealed what would be the emphases of his pontificate: a missionary impulse among all Catholics, sharing the faith more actively, avoiding worldliness and more visibly living the gospel of God's mercy, and helping the poor and working for [[Catholic social teaching|social justice]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wooden |first=Cindy |date=26 November 2013 |title=A summary of the key issues raised by Pope in Evangelii Gaudium |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/evangelii-gaudium-a-summary-of-the-key-issues-raised-by-pope/ |access-date=7 March 2023 |website=Catholic Herald |language=en-GB}}</ref>

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#The Church's mission|}}

 

From his first major letter ''[[Evangelii gaudium]]'' (''Joy to the World''), Francis called for "a missionary and pastoral conversion" whereby the laity would fully share in the missionary task of the church.<ref name="National Catholic Reporter-2013" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pope:-A-missionary-and-pastoral-conversion-for-a-Church-open-to-changing-its-structures-29645.html|title=Pope: A missionary and pastoral conversion for a Church open to changing its structures|work=AsiaNews.it |access-date=25 September 2019}}</ref> Then in his letter on the call of all to the same holiness, ''[[Gaudete et exsultate]]'', Francis describes holiness as "an impulse to evangelize and to leave a mark in this world".<ref>{{cite web|work=Aleteia |title=The pope's new doc on holiness: Gaudete et Exultate in 15 key words|date=9 April 2018|url=https://aleteia.org/2018/04/09/the-popes-new-doc-on-holiness-gaudete-et-exultate-in-15-key-words/|access-date=1 October 2020|language=en-US}}</ref>

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Church governance|}}

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Environmentalism}}

 

In a May 2017 meeting with U.S. President [[Donald Trump]], the [[Cardinal Secretary of State|Vatican's secretary of state]], [[Pietro Parolin]], raised the issue of [[climate change]] and encouraged Trump not to [[United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement|withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Trump: Meeting Pope Francis 'the honor of a lifetime' |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/24/trump-meeting-pope-francis-honor-lifetime.html |publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]|location=New York City|date=24 May 2017 |access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> At the 2017 [[World Food Day]] ceremony the following month, Francis reiterated that "we see the consequences [of climate change] every day" and that we "know how the problems are to be faced ... [t]hanks to scientific knowledge." He said that "the international community has drawn up the necessary legal instruments, such as the Paris Agreement, from which however some are withdrawing. There is a re-emergence of the nonchalance towards the delicate balances of ecosystems, the presumption of being able to manipulate and control the planet's limited resources, and greed for profit."<ref name="Vatican_FAO_20171016">{{cite web|title=Visit of the Holy Father Francis to the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome for World Food Day|url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2017/10/16/171016a.html|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref>

In 2024, Francis organized a climate summit that issued a Planetary Protocol for Climate Change Resilience including three main pillars: reducing greenhouse gas emissions (while prioritizing [[nature-based solutions]]), [[climate change adaptation]] and societal transformation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Planetary Protocol for Climate Change Resilience: A new way to navigate through the climate crisis |url=https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/resources/planetary-protocol-for-climate-change-resilience-a-new-way-to-navigate-through-the-climate-crisis/ |website=Catholic Climate Covenant |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref>

 

{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Option for the poor|Theology of Pope Francis#Capitalism|Theology of Pope Francis#Liberation Theology}}

Francis has highly extolled "popular movements", which demonstrate the "strength of us", serve as a remedy to the "culture of the self", and are based on solidarity with the poor and the common good.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/08/20/pope-says-popular-movements-are-antidote-to-populism/|title=Pope says popular movements are antidote to populism|website=cruxnow.com|access-date=25 September 2019|archive-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915093351/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/08/20/pope-says-popular-movements-are-antidote-to-populism/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has praised liberation theology founder [[Gustavo Gutiérrez|Gustavo Gutierrez]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Esteves |first=Junno Arocho |date=2018-06-11 |title=Pope Francis praises founder of liberation theology |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/pope-francis-praises-founder-of-liberation-theology/ |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=Catholic Herald |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2024, while meeting with representatives of the Dialop group, a discussion group between Christians and Marxists, Pope Francis encouraged them to fight together, and stated that marxists and Christians have a common mission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pope: Marxists and Christians have a common mission |url=https://english.katholisch.de/artikel/50230-pope-marxists-and-christians-have-a-common-mission |access-date=2024-08-13 |website=english.katholisch.de |language=de}}</ref>

 

 

 

{{Main|Pope Francis and LGBT topics}}

 

Relative to LGB topics, Francis has been less accommodative on [[Outline of transgender topics|transgender topics]].<ref name="Molloy-2013" /> He described [[Gender studies|gender theory]] and children's education on [[gender-affirming surgery]] as "ideological colonisation".<ref>{{Cite web |author=Pope Francis |author-link=Pope Francis |date=27 July 2016 |title=Apostolic Journey to Poland: Meeting with the Polish Bishops in the Cathedral of Kraków |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2016/july/documents/papa-francesco_20160727_polonia-vescovi.html |access-date=23 January 2024 |website=[[Holy See]]}}</ref><ref name="Pullella-2016" /> In September 2015, Francis met with [[Kim Davis]], a [[Municipal clerk|county clerk]] who was jailed for six days for [[contempt of court]] for refusing to [[Marriage license|marriage licences]] for same-sex couples,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bacon |first1=John |last2=Eversley |first2=Melanie |date=30 September 2015 |title=Vatican confirms pope met with Kim Davis |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/30/vatican-quiet-claim-pope-met-kim-davis/73078774/ |access-date=23 January 2024 |website=[[USA Today]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Payne |first1=Ed |last2=Burke |first2=Daniel |date=2 October 2015 |title=Pope's meeting with Kim Davis not an endorsement, Vatican says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/kim-davis-pope/index.html |access-date=23 January 2024 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref> and in August 2018, Francis was criticized for suggesting that gay children seek [[Psychiatry|psychiatric treatment]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 August 2018 |title=Katholische Kirche: Vatikan ändert Papst-Zitate zur psychiatrischen Behandlung homosexueller Kinder |trans-title=Catholic Church: Vatican changes Pope's quotes on psychiatric treatment of homosexual children |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/queerspiegel/vatikan-andert-papst-zitate-zur-psychiatrischen-behandlung-homosexueller-kinder-3982726.html |access-date=23 January 2024 |work=[[Der Tagesspiegel]] |language=de-DE |issn=1865-2263}}</ref> As [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Buenos Aires|Archbishop of Buenos Aires]], Bergoglio led public opposition to the parliamentary bill on legalizing [[same-sex marriage in Argentina]], which was approved by the [[Argentine Senate]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 July 2010 |title=Argentina legalises gay marriage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/15/argentina-gay-lesbian-marriage-legalisation |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> A letter he wrote in that campaign was criticized for using "mediaeval" and "obscurantist" language.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Romo |first1=Rafael |last2=Rodriguez |first2=Jose Manuel |last3=Shoichet |first3=Catherine E. |date=20 March 2013 |title=Behind closed doors, pope supported civil unions in Argentina, activist says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/world/americas/argentina-pope-civil-unions/index.html |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Abrevaya |first=Sebastian |date=27 August 2012 |title="Se abroquelan para defender privilegios" |trans-title=They buckle up to defend privileges |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-201958-2012-08-27.html |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=[[Página 12]] |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2013 |title="El pastor no puede ser un privilegiado, no me imagino a Jesús en el Vaticano" |trans-title=The pastor cannot be privileged: I cannot imagine Jesus in the Vatican |url=https://www.lacapital.com.ar/edicion-impresa/el-pastor-no-puede-ser-un-privilegiado-no-me-imagino-jesus-el-vaticano-n549566.html |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=[[La Capital]]}}</ref> A church source quoted in the Argentine newspaper ''[[La Nación]]'' called the letter a strategic error that contributed to the bill's success.<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Vedia |first=Mariano |date=16 July 2010 |title=La carta de Bergoglio, un error estratégico |trans-title=Bergoglio's letter: A strategic error |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/la-carta-de-bergoglio-un-error-estrategico-nid1285258/ |access-date=15 January 2024 |website=[[La Nación]] |language=es}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{{Main|Amoris laetitia}}

On a theological level, controversy arose after the publication of the apostolic exhortation ''[[Amoris laetitia]]'', especially regarding whether the exhortation had changed the [[Catholic Church]]'s sacramental discipline concerning access to the [[Sacrament of Penance|sacraments of Penance]] and the [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Eucharist]] for divorced couples who have [[Civil marriage|civilly remarried]].<ref name="Oullet">Oullet, Marc (21 November 2017), [http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/accompanying-discerning-integrating-weakness "Accompanying, Discerning, Integrating Weakness"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105200946/http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/accompanying-discerning-integrating-weakness |date=5 January 2019 }}, ''L'Osservatore Romano''<span class="reference-accessdate">, retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 November</span> 2017</span></ref> Francis had written: "It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church." He called not for "a new set of general rules, canonical in nature and applicable to all cases", but "a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases". He went on to say: "It is true that general rules set forth a good which can never be disregarded or neglected, but in their formulation they cannot provide absolutely for all particular situations."<ref name="Carroll">{{Cite news|last=Carroll|first=James|date=8 April 2016|title=The New Morality of Pope Francis|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/new-morality-of-pope-francis-joy-of-love|access-date=28 September 2019|issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

 

 

Cardinal [[Gerhard Ludwig Müller|Gerhard Müller]], former prefect of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]], maintained that ''Amoris Laetitia'' should only be interpreted in line with previous doctrine. Therefore, according to Cardinal Müller, divorced and civilly remarried can have access to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist only if they take on the duty of living in complete continence.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-mueller-on-communion-for-divorced-and-remarried-teaching-of-jesus |title= Cardinal Müller on Communion for Divorced & Remarried: Can't Change Church Teaching |newspaper=[[National Catholic Register]] |publisher=[[EWTN]] |location= Irondale, Alabama |date= 4 March 2016 |access-date=5 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/02/01/cardinal-muller-communion-for-the-remarried-is-against-gods-law |title= Cardinal Müller: Communion for the remarried is against God's law |newspaper= [[Catholic Herald]] |publisher= [[Sir Rocco Forte]], [[Lord Black of Crossharbour]] |location= London, England |date= 1 February 2017 |access-date= 8 July 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180705233123/http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/02/01/cardinal-muller-communion-for-the-remarried-is-against-gods-law/ |archive-date= 5 July 2018 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Francis subsequently announced that [[dicastery]] prefects would be appointed for a single five-year term, and replaced Müller at the end of his term in 2017 with [[Luis Ladaria Ferrer]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Edward|last=Pentin|url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-mueller-to-be-dismissed |title=Pope Francis Appoints Spanish Jesuit Ladaria to Succeed Cardinal Müller |newspaper=[[National Catholic Register]] |publisher=[[EWTN]] |location= Irondale, AL |date=3 June 2017 |access-date= 8 July 2018}}</ref> Cardinal [[Carlo Caffarra]], one of the authors of the dubia, maintains that after ''Amoris laetitia'' "only a blind man could deny there's great confusion, uncertainty and insecurity in the Church".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/01/14/cardinal-says-blind-man-deny-confusion-caused-pope |title=Cardinal says 'only blind man' could deny confusion caused by Pope |newspaper=[[Crux (online newspaper)|Crux Now]] |publisher=Boston Globe Partners LLC |location=Boston, MA |date=14 January 2017 |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426145904/https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/01/14/cardinal-says-blind-man-deny-confusion-caused-pope/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

 

 

A defence of ''Amoris Laetitia'' came from philosopher [[Rocco Buttiglione]] who accused its critics of "ethical objectivism". He said that the critics cannot deny that "there are mitigating circumstances in which a mortal sin (a sin that would otherwise be mortal) becomes a lighter sin, a venial sin. There are therefore some cases in which remarried divorcees can (through their confessor and after an adequate spiritual discernment) be considered in God's grace and therefore deserving of receiving the sacraments".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/en/2017/11/20/news/here-is-the-deviation-in-which-amoris-laetitia-s-critics-fall-1.34388313|title="Here is the deviation in which Amoris Laetitia's critics fall"|work=Vatican Insider|publisher=La Stampa|location=Italy|date=20 November 2017|access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>

 

{{Main|Document on Human Fraternity}}

The ''[[Document on Human Fraternity]] for World Peace and Living Together'' is a joint statement signed by Francis and [[Sheikh]] [[Ahmed el-Tayeb]], [[Grand Imam of Al-Azhar]], on 4 February 2019 in [[Abu Dhabi]], United Arab Emirates. This joint statement is concerned with how different faiths can live peaceably in the same world and areas and later inspired the [[International Day of Human Fraternity]], as acknowledged by the UN Secretary-General, [[António Guterres]], in different occasions.<ref name="first-ever">{{cite web|title=First-ever International Day of Human Fraternity focuses on tolerance |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1083832|access-date=3 February 2022|website=United Nations|date=4 February 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Secretary-General's message for 2022: International Day of Human Fraternity |url=https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-fraternity/messages|access-date=3 February 2022|website=United Nations|language=en-US}}</ref> Criticisms focused particularly on the passage about God's will with regard to the diversity of religions, claiming that the "pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pope Francis|last2=Al-Tayyeb|first2=Ahmad|date=4 February 2019|title=Document on "Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together" signed by His Holiness Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahamad al-Tayyib (Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019)|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html|access-date=13 June 2020|website=w2.vatican.va}}</ref><ref name="Reynolds-2019">{{cite web|last=Reynolds|first=Gabriel|date=12 April 2019|title=After Abu Dhabi |url=https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/after-abu-dhabi|access-date=13 June 2020|website=Commonweal Magazine}}</ref> Catholic theologian Chad Pecknold wrote that this sentence was "puzzling, and potentially problematic".<ref name="Farrow-2019">{{cite web|last=Farrow|first=Mary|date=4 February 2019|title=Pope Francis signs peace declaration on 'Human Fraternity' with Grand Imam|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/40483/pope-francis-signs-peace-declaration-on-human-fraternity-with-grand-imam|access-date=13 June 2020|website=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref> Some Catholic observers tried to understand it as an allusion to the "permissive will" of God, allowing evil on earth.<ref name="Reynolds-2019" /> Pecknold wrote that the diversity of religions might also be "evidence of our natural desire to know God".<ref name="Farrow-2019" /> Bishop [[Athanasius Schneider]] claims that Pope Francis clarified to him that he was referring to "the permissive will of God".<ref>{{cite web |last=Gabriel |first=Pedro |url=https://wherepeteris.com/pluralism-and-the-will-of-god-is-there-another-way-to-look-at-it/ |title=Pluralism and the will of God... is there another way to look at it? |publisher=Where Peter Is |date=12 March 2019 |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>

 

{{Main|Traditionis custodes}}

 

{{Main|Fiducia supplicans}}

In December 2023, the [[Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith]] issued a declaration, ''Fiducia supplicans'', approved by Francis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Declaration Fiducia Supplicans On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings (18 December 2023) |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> ''Fiducia supplicans'' intended to provide clarification and reforms on the Catholic Church's treatment of "irregular relationships", defined as those who establish a [[Monogamy|monogamous]] and emotional bond that lasts over time and have not contracted a Catholic marriage. Notably, it allows [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Catholic priests]] to perform "spontaneous blessings" of same-sex couples, as well as opposite-sex couples who are not married, and civilly married couples at least one party of which was previously divorced but has not received an [[Annulment (Catholic Church)|annulment]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2023 |title=Doctrinal declaration opens possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-12/fiducia-supplicans-doctrine-faith-blessing-irregular-couples.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Vatican News |language=en}}</ref>

 

''Fiducia supplicans'' sparked considerable controversy and criticism among Catholics, including from several conservative commentators, clerical congregations, and high-profile cardinals, bishops, priests, and lay people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pentin |first=Edward |date=18 January 2024 |title=Marking One Month of 'Fiducia Supplicans': Opposition Shows No Signs of Abating |url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/marking-one-month-of-fiducia-supplicans-opposition-shows-no-signs-of-abating |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=National Catholic Register |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Horowitz |first=Jason |date=4 January 2024 |title=Vatican Defends Gay Blessings, but Offers Critics Some Leeway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/europe/vatican-pope-lgbtq-blessings.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Coppen |first=Luke |date=19 December 2023 |title='Fiducia supplicans': Who's saying what? |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/fiducia-supplicans-whos-saying-what |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=The Pillar |language=en}}</ref> Cardinal [[Gerhard Ludwig Müller|Gerhard Müller]] called it "sacrilegious and blasphemous" and "self-contradictory".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Müller |first=Gerhard |title=Müller: Blessings for gay couples are blasphemous |url=https://newdailycompass.com/en/mueller-blessings-for-gay-couples-are-blasphemous |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=newdailycompass.com |language=en}}</ref> Cardinal [[Robert Sarah]] described the blessing of couples in irregular situations as "a heresy that seriously undermines the Church".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quiñones |first=Kate |title=Cardinal Sarah speaks out against clergy blessing same-sex unions |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256481/cardinal-sarah-speaks-out-against-clergy-blessing-same-sex-unions |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref> On 11 January 2024, Cardinal [[Fridolin Ambongo Besungu]] announced that all episcopal conferences in Africa, represented in [[Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar|SECAM]], would reject blessings for same-sex couples, stating that "the extra-liturgical blessings proposed in the declaration...cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals".<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 January 2024 |title=African bishops reject same-sex blessings en masse |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/schism-looms-as-african-bishops-reject-same-sex-blessings-document-en-masse/ |access-date=22 January 2024 |website=Catholic Herald |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 January 2024 |title=Africa's Catholic hierarchy refuses same-sex blessings, says such unions are contrary to God's will |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/11/vatican-lgbtq-blessing-africa-france/9a428208-b09d-11ee-9a32-5c9e6aa28b3b_story.html |access-date=22 January 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

 

[[File:Pope Francis and Sergio Mattarella 2022.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Pope Francis with Italian President [[Sergio Mattarella]] in 2022]]

 

===Cuba===

Francis played a key role in the talks toward restoring [[Cuban Thaw|full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba]]. The restoration was jointly announced by U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] and Cuban President [[Raúl Castro]] on 17 December 2014. The headline in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' on 19 December was "Bridge to Cuba via Vatican", with the further lead "In a rare and crucial role, Francis helped keep U.S. talks with Havana on track and guided final deal."<ref name="Bridge to Cuba">{{cite news|first1=Paul|last1=Richter|first2=Tom|last2=Kington|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-todays-paper-20141219-htmlstory.html|title=Bridge to Cuba Via Vatican|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=19 December 2014|access-date=27 October 2018}}</ref> The pope, along with the [[Government of Canada]], was a behind-the-scenes broker of the agreement, taking the role following President Obama's request during his visit to the pope in March 2014.<ref>{{cite news |first= Barbie Latza |last= Nadeau |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/17/the-pope-s-diplomatic-miracle-ending-the-u-s-cuba-cold-war.html |title= The Pope's Diplomatic Miracle: Ending the U.S.–Cuba Cold War |website= [[The Daily Beast]] |publisher=[[IAC (company)|IAC]]|location=New York City|date= 17 December 2014 |access-date=18 December 2014}}</ref> The success of the negotiations was credited to Francis because "as a religious leader with the confidence of both sides, he was able to convince the Obama and Castro administrations that the other side would live up to the deal".<ref name="Bridge to Cuba" /> En route to the United States for a visit in September 2015, the pope stopped in Cuba. "The plan comes amid a breakthrough for which Francis has received much credit."<ref name="Wilkinson, Pope will visit Cuba">{{cite news|first=Tracy|last = Wilkinson|url = https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-pope-cuba-20150422-story.html|title = Pope Francis to stop in Cuba en route to U.S., Vatican announces|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date = 22 April 2015|access-date = 29 July 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150730034810/http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-pope-cuba-20150422-story.html|archive-date=30 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Cuba visit "seals that accomplishment, in which he served as a bridge between two erstwhile enemies".<ref name="Wilkinson, Pope will visit Cuba" /> According to one expert on religion in Latin America, Mario Paredes, the pope's visit to Cuba was consistent with his aim to promote an understanding of the role of the Cuban Revolution and that of the Catholic Church. When Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires, he authored a text entitled "Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro".<ref name="Wilkinson, Pope will visit Cuba" /> John Paul was the first pope to visit Cuba. In May 2015, Francis met with Cuban leader Raúl Castro. After the meeting in Vatican City on 10 May 2015, Castro said that he was considering returning to the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="Catholic Cuba">{{cite web |first=Eliott C.|last=McLaughlin|url= http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/10/europe/italy-raul-castro-pope-francis-meeting/|title= Raul Castro may join Catholic Church, he says after Pope Francis meeting|publisher=[[CNN]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=14 May 2015|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> He said in a televised news conference, "I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the [Catholic] church. I am not joking."<ref name="Yardley-2015">{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Yardley|title=Praising Pope, Cuban President Says He might return to church|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/world/europe/raul-castro-meets-with-pope-francis-at-vatican.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510224154/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/world/europe/raul-castro-meets-with-pope-francis-at-vatican.html |archive-date=10 May 2015 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|date=10 May 2015|access-date=27 October 2018|page=A4}}</ref> Castro said that, when the pope came, "I promise to go to all his Masses and with satisfaction".<ref name="Yardley-2015" />

 

===Arab-Israeli conflict===

[[File:Pope Francis visit Bethlehem.jpg|thumb|Francis in [[Bethlehem]] in May 2014]]

In May 2014, Francis visited [[Israel]] and the [[Palestinian territories]].<ref>{{cite web|first=David|last=Willey|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27469349|title=Pope Francis to tread careful path on Mid-East visit|website=[[BBC News]]|location=London, England|date=23 May 2014|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref><ref name=Sales>Ben Sales, [https://www.jta.org/2014/05/27/israel/in-mideast-visit-pope-francis-makes-symbolic-gestures-to-both-sides In Mideast visit, Pope Francis makes symbolic gestures to both sides], Jewish Telegraphic Agency (May 27, 2014).</ref> Francis offered symbolic gestures to both sides in the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]].<ref name=Sales/> In addition to visiting the [[Western Wall]], [[Yad Vashem]], and the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], he became the first pope to visit the [[Mount Herzl|grave of Theodor Herzl]], entered the [[West Bank]] from Jordan rather than Israel, and invited [[Palestinian Authority]] President [[Mahmoud Abbas]] and Israeli President [[Shimon Peres]] to a prayer summit at the Vatican (both accepted).<ref name=Sales/> He visited [[Bethlehem]], where he gave a speech alongside Abbas, and celebrated Mass at the [[Church of the Nativity]].<ref name=Sales/> At the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], he visited the [[Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial]]; at the invitation of Palestinian authorities, he prayed at a portion of the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]].<ref name=Sales/> In addition to meetings with Peres and Netanyahu, Francis met [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] [[Muhammad Ahmad Hussein]], Chief Rabbis [[Yitzhak Yosef]] and [[David Lau]], and [[Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Places]] [[Shmuel Rabinowitz]].<ref name=Sales/>

 

 

===Migrant and refugee issues===

Francis made the plight of refugees and migrants "a core component of his pastoral work" and has defended their rights in [[Theology of Pope Francis#Refugees and migrants|dialogue both with Europe and with the United States]]. In 2019, he placed a statue in [[St. Peter's Square]] to bring attention to the Christian imperative involved in their situation (Hebrews 13:2).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-wall-idUSKBN15N1ZW|title=Don't build walls, Pope Francis says|date=8 February 2017|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Friedman|first=Uri|date=16 April 2016|website=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/refugees-pope-francis-lesbos/477870/|title='The Globalization of Indifference': How Pope Francis Sees the Refugee Crisis|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New Vatican Statue Proclaims Pope Francis' Concern For Refugees |date=1 October 2019 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/angels-unaware-statue-pope-francis_n_5d93bf92e4b0ac3cddb05a56|first=Carol |last=Kuruvilla|website=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref> In line with this policy, Francis has criticized [[neo-nationalism|neo-nationalists]] and [[populism|populists]] who reject the acceptance of refugees.<ref>{{cite web|date=20 August 2019|title=Pope says popular movements are 'antidote' to populism |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/08/pope-says-popular-movements-are-antidote-to-populism/|access-date=20 June 2021|website=Crux|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Momigliano|first=Anna|date=23 May 2017 |title=Catholic Populists Have to Respect the Pope, but They Love Trump |website=[[The Atlantic]]|language=en |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/catholic-populists-trump-pope-francis-vatican/527766/ |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>

 

===Sovereign Military Order of Malta===

[[File:Wizyta w Watykanie (42556254741).jpg|thumb|Francis with Polish Prime Minister [[Mateusz Morawiecki]] and his family, Vatican City, June 2018|left]]

In January 2017, Francis demanded the resignation of [[Matthew Festing]], the 79th [[List of Princes and Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Prince and Grand Master]] of the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]. The Pope's demand came as a response to Festing and Cardinal [[Raymond Leo Burke]] firing Baron [[Albrecht von Boeselager]] from his position in the Order of Malta. The Order, in May 2017, appointed a new leader in the person of Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/ancient-order-malta-faces-era-change-interim-leader-elected|title=Ancient Order of Malta faces era of change as interim leader is elected|author=Josephine McKenna|date=1 May 2017|newspaper=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref>

 

 

In a February 2024 interview with Swiss television station [[Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana|RSI]], broadcast the following month, Francis suggested that Ukraine should have the "courage of the [[white flag]], and to negotiate"; the statement was interpreted as a call for Ukraine to negotiate [[Surrender (military)|terms of surrender]].<ref name=Horowitz2024/><ref name="Melkozerova-2024">{{Cite web |last=Melkozerova |first=Veronika |date=2024-03-11 |title=Pope's 'white flag' gaffe triggers outrage in Ukraine |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-courage-raising-white-flag-remark-sparks-fury-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref> Ukraine was angered by Francis's suggestion that it should yield to Russian aggression, and the statement was criticized by Ukraine President [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]] and German Foreign Minister [[Annalena Baerbock]].<ref name=Horowitz2024/><ref name="Melkozerova-2024"/> After the broadcast, a Vatican spokesperson said that Francis meant "cease-fire and negotiation" rather than capitulation.<ref name=Horowitz2024/><ref name="Melkozerova-2024"/> The [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] criticized Pope Francis's remarks, saying: "Ukrainians cannot surrender because surrender means death. The intentions of Putin and Russia are clear and explicit. In Putin’s mind, there is no such thing as Ukraine, Ukrainian history, language, and independent Ukrainian church life."<ref name="Melkozerova-2024" />

 

===Elsewhere===

[[File:Pope Francis in Sarajevo 06 (cropped).JPG|thumb|Crowd at the [[Koševo City Stadium]] in [[Sarajevo]], celebrating a mass with Francis, June 2015]]

On 6 June 2015, Francis visited [[Sarajevo]], the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, urging peace in the religiously diverse city.<ref>{{cite news |first1= Nic |last1=Robertson |first2=Laura |last2=Smith-Spark |first3=Faith |last3=Karimi | url= http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/06/europe/bosnia-pope-francis-visit/index.html |title= Pope Francis urges peace on visit to Sarajevo, 'Jerusalem of Europe' |publisher=[[CNN]]|location= Atlanta, Georgia |date=6 June 2015 |access-date= 6 June 2015 }}</ref>

 

In September 2015, Francis visited the [[United Nations Headquarters]] in New York City, where he addressed the [[UN General Assembly]]; following his speech, he visited the [[National September 11 Memorial and Museum]].<ref name="Times 2015">[https://www.dw.com/en/pope-addresses-the-un-prays-at-9-11-memorial/a-18742142 Pope addresses UN General Assembly], [[Deutsche Welle]] (September 25, 2015).</ref> In June 2023, Francis issued an address to the [[UN Security Council]] while recovering from abdominal surgery; the statement was read by Vatican official [[Paul Gallagher (bishop)|Paul Gallagher]] on the pope's behalf.<ref>Edith M. Lederer, [https://apnews.com/article/pope-islam-war-fraternity-un-e105d039988fc0404632fa5239df2cfe Pope joins with imam in making calls for peace before UN Security Council vote], Associated Press (June 14, 2023).</ref><ref>[https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/june/documents/20230614-consigliosicurezza-onu.html ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL OF THE UNITED NATIONS], Vatican (14 June 2023).</ref>

 

 

{{See also|List of places and things named after Pope Francis}}

{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage = [[File:Pope Francis (27056871831) (cropped).jpg|210px]]

In December 2013, both ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'' and ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'' magazines named the Pontiff as their "Person of the Year"; ''Esquire'' magazine named him as the "Best-dressed man" for 2013, citing his simpler vestments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/pope-francis-named-esquires-best-dressed-man-of-2013--but-why-20140101-hv7ab.html |title=Pope Francis named Esquire's 'Best Dressed Man of 2013' – but why?|first=Michael|last=McGough|date=1 January 2014|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine followed in January 2014 by making the Pontiff their featured front cover.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/pope-francis-gentle-revolution-inside-rolling-stones-new-issue-49840/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |title=Pope Francis' Gentle Revolution: Inside Rolling Stone's New Issue |date=28 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Person of the Year 2013 |date=11 December 2013}}</ref> ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine also ranked Francis as number one in their list of 50 greatest leaders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/gallery/leadership/2014/03/20/worlds-best-leaders.fortune/ |publisher=[[CNN]]|first=Geoff |last=Colvin |title=Fortune ranks the World's 50 Greatest Leaders |date=20 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331010527/http://money.cnn.com/gallery/leadership/2014/03/20/worlds-best-leaders.fortune |archive-date=31 March 2014}}</ref> He was included in ''[[Forbes]]'' lists of [[Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People|most powerful people in the world]] in 2014<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2014/11/05/2014-ranking-of-the-worlds-most-powerful-people/|title=2014 Ranking of the World's Most Powerful People|date=11 May 2014|work=[[Forbes]]|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> and 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=M. Ewalt|first1=David|title=The World's Most Powerful People 2016|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2016/12/14/the-worlds-most-powerful-people-2016/|access-date=3 March 2017|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

 

 

Francis presided over his first joint public wedding ceremony in a Nuptial Mass for 20 couples from the Archdiocese of Rome on 14 September 2014, a few weeks before the start of the 5–19 October [[Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops]] (the Synod on the Family).<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 7 November 2015 | work = BBC News| date= 14 September 2014 | title= Pope marries 20 cohabiting couples in sign of papacy shift| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29198491}}</ref>{{efn|[[Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI]] did not do this during his eight-year reign from 2005 to 2013; his predecessor, [[Pope John Paul II]], married a group of couples from all over the world in 2000, as part of the Jubilee for Families, and before that in 1994 during the church's Year of the Family, as well as presiding over a number of private marriages as pope.<ref>{{cite web |last=Glatz |first=Carol |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2014/pope-francis-to-preside-over-joint-september-wedding-at-vatican.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524004506/http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2014/pope-francis-to-preside-over-joint-september-wedding-at-vatican.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2018 |title=Pope Francis to preside over joint September wedding at Vatican |date=29 August 2014 |publisher=Catholic News Service |access-date=23 May 2018}}</ref>}}

 

 

==Health==

In June 2023, Pope Francis underwent abdominal surgery after suffering from a [[hernia]]. The Pope received the surgery at Gemelli Hospital, and spent several days in the hospital while recovering.<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Sofia |last1=Betiza |first2=Nicholas |last2=Yong |date=7 June 2023 |title=Pope Francis, 86, to have abdominal surgery |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65821047 |access-date=7 June 2023 |website=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>

 

 

The official form of address of the pope in English is ''His Holiness Pope Francis''; in Latin, ''Franciscus, Episcopus Romae''. ''Holy Father'' is among the other [[His holiness#Catholic church|honorifics]] used for popes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/894991536|title=Annuario pontificio|publisher=Libr. Ed. Vaticana|oclc=894991536}}</ref>

 

* {{flagu|Bolivia}}: [[File:BOL Order of Condor of the Andes - Grand Cross BAR.png|85px]]: Grand Collar of the [[Order of the Condor of the Andes]] (9 July 2015)<ref name="CondorDeLosAndes">{{cite news |url=http://www.presidencia.gob.bo/fuente/noticia.php?cod=3363#contenido |title=Presidente Evo Morales distingue con el Cóndor de Los Andes al Papa Francisco |access-date=9 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709162549/http://www.presidencia.gob.bo/fuente/noticia.php?cod=3363#contenido |archive-date=9 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="CrucifixThis">{{cite web |url=http://d2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net/content/uploads/2015/07/crucifix_this.jpg |format=JPG |title=Photographic image |website=D2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net |access-date=22 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008051929/http://d2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net/content/uploads/2015/07/crucifix_this.jpg |archive-date=8 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* {{flagu|Bolivia}}: Order of Merit "Father Luis Espinal Camps" (9 July 2015)<ref name="CondorDeLosAndes" /><ref name="CrucifixThis" />

* {{flagu|Poland}}: [[File:POL Order Uśmiechu BAR.svg|85px]]: [[Order of the Smile]] (26 April 2016)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pope2016.com/en/faith/catholic-church/francis/news,466184,pope-francis-receives-order-of-the-smile.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160910222831/http://www.pope2016.com/en/faith/catholic-church/francis/news,466184,pope-francis-receives-order-of-the-smile.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 September 2016|title=Pope Francis receives Order of the Smile – Francis – Catholic Church – Faith – Pope in Poland 2016 – press center |work=pope2016.com|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref>

 

* {{flagu|Germany}}: [[Charlemagne Prize|International Charlemagne Prize]] of [[Aachen]] 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope Francis to be awarded Charlemagne Prize on 6 May |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/es/press-room/20160502IPR25453/pope-francis-to-be-awarded-charlemagne-prize-on-6-may |work=[[European Parliament]] |date=2 May 2016|via=www.europarl.europa.eu}}</ref>

* "Person of the Year" by [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (2015) for his request that all Catholics be kind to animals.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=White |first1=Daniel |title=Pope Francis Is PETA's Person of the Year |url=https://time.com/4130961/peta-pope-francis/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=1 December 2015}}</ref>

*Grand Chief [[Willie Littlechild]] gifted Pope Francis with the Indigenous Name Wapikihew (White Eagle) on behalf of the [[Ermineskin Cree Nation]] and presented him with a tradition Cree [[War bonnet]] following the Pope's apology to the [[Indigenous peoples in Canada]] at [[Maskwacis]], Alberta on 25 July 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chief Wilton Littlechild greets Pope Francis in Maskwacis, Alberta |url=https://slmedia.org/blog/chief-wilton-littlechild-greets-pope-francis-in-maskwacis-alberta |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=slmedia.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=David Staples: What to make of outcry over Indigenous leader bestowing headdress on Pope Francis? |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/david-staples-what-to-make-of-outcry-over-indigenous-leader-bestowing-headdress-on-pope-francis |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=edmontonjournal |language=en-CA}}</ref>

 

[[File:Pope Francis Malacanang 45.jpg|thumb|Francis and Philippine President [[Benigno Aquino III]] in [[Manila]], [[Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines|16 January 2015]]]]

* {{flagu|Philippines}}: The Pope Francis Center for the Poor – [[Palo, Leyte]] (12 July 2015)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=59702|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713221857/http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=59702|url-status=usurped|archive-date=13 July 2015|title=Palo's Pope Francis Center now houses abandoned elderly, orphans|publisher=Catholic's Bishop Conference of the Philippines}}</ref>

* [[Ennio Morricone]] composed a Mass setting (''Missa Papae Francisci'') named after the pope, for the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Jesuit order. The performance aired on [[Rai 5]] and was attended by former Italian President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] and other dignitaries.<ref>"[http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=12223 Oscar-winning composer pens Mass for the Pope] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604092628/http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=12223 |date=4 June 2016 }}". EWTN. Published: 12 June 2015.</ref><ref>"[http://www.romereports.com/2015/06/12/oscar-award-winner-ennio-morricone-composes-mass-for-pope Oscar award winner, Ennio Morricone composes 'Mass' for Pope]". Rome Reports. Published: 12 June 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.rai5.rai.it/articoli/missa-papae-francisci-morricone/30466/default.aspx Missa Papae Francisci (Morricone)]. RAI 5. (Napolitano appears at 32:41 and greets Morricone at 33:07) {{in lang|it}}</ref>

 

In the [[oratorio]] ''[[Laudato si' (oratorio)|Laudato si']]'' by [[Peter Reulein]] (music) written on a [[libretto]] by [[Helmut Schlegel]] [[Order of Friars Minor|OFM]], the figure of Francis appears next to [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]], [[Francis of Assisi]], and [[Clare of Assisi]]. In the oratorio, Pope Franziskus suggests a bridge from the crucifixion scene on [[Calvary|Golgotha]] to the suffering of the present. He emphasizes the female talent and the importance of the charism of women for church and society. The texts of the [[encyclical]]s ''[[Laudato si']]'' and ''[[Evangelii gaudium]]'' were used. The motto of the [[Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy]] also plays a central role.<ref name="Laudato si-score">{{cite book | last1 = Reulein | first1 = Peter | author-link = Peter Reulein | last2 = Schlegel | first2 = Helmut | author-link2 = Helmut Schlegel | title = Laudato si' / Ein franziskanisches Magnificat | publisher = [[Patrick Dehm|Dehm Verlag]] | location = [[Limburg an der Lahn]] | year = 2016 | isbn = 978-3-943302-34-9 | page = 230 | ismn = 979-0-50226-047-7}}</ref> The oratorio was premiered on 6 November 2016 in the [[Limburg Cathedral]].<ref name="Laudato si-Liebfrauen">{{cite web | url = http://www.liebfrauen.net/meldung_volltext.php?si=5807238ed0bee&id=57f955bfc9ddd&view=&lang=&akt=musikkunstkultur_musikmeldungen&k1=main&k2=musikkunstkultur&k3=musikmeldungen&k4= | title = Festkonzert zum Jubiläum des Referates Kirchenmusik / Laudato si' – Oratorium von Peter Reulein (Uraufführung) | publisher = [[Liebfrauen, Frankfurt]] | year = 2016 | language = de | access-date = 25 December 2016 | archive-date = 19 October 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161019155601/http://www.liebfrauen.net/meldung_volltext.php?si=5807238ed0bee&id=57f955bfc9ddd&view=&lang=&akt=musikkunstkultur_musikmeldungen&k1=main&k2=musikkunstkultur&k3=musikmeldungen&k4= | url-status = dead }}</ref>

 

{{Main|Coat of arms of Pope Francis}}

{{Further|Papal coats of arms}}

}}

 

{{Main|Pope Francis bibliography}}

 

Pope Francis has written a variety of books, encyclicals, and other writings.

 

{{Main|Wake Up! (Pope Francis album)}}

''[[Wake Up! (Pope Francis album)|Wake Up!]]'' was released on 27 November 2015 by the label Believe Digital and contains speeches by Francis and accompanying music, including rock music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pope Francis: "Wake Up!"|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/wake-up%21-mr0004476247|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=2 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pope Francis has released a rock album|work=[[BBC News]]|date=20 November 2015|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34863904/pope-francis-has-released-a-rock-album|access-date=2 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://popefranciswakeup.believedigital.com/|title=Pope Francis Wake Up! Music Album with His Words and Prayers|website=Popefranciswakeup.believedigital.com|access-date=21 March 2017|archive-date=31 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131013503/http://popefranciswakeup.believedigital.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

By 2015, there were two biographical films about Francis: ''[[Call Me Francesco]]'' (Italy, 2015), starring [[Rodrigo de la Serna]], and ''[[Francis: Pray for me]]'' (Argentina, 2015), starring [[Darío Grandinetti]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Vivarelli|first=Nick|date=13 January 2015|title=Battle of the Pope Francis Biopics Begins With Two Films Shooting in Buenos Aires|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/global/battle-of-the-pope-francis-biopics-begins-with-two-films-shooting-in-buenos-aires-1201403994/|access-date=15 May 2015}}</ref>

 

On 4 October 2022, the documentary ''[[The Letter: A Message for our Earth]]'' premiered on YouTube Originals, directed by Nicolas Brown and produced by Off The Fence in partnership with [[Laudato Si' Movement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2022/digital/global/youtube-doc-the-letter-a-message-for-our-earth-featuring-pope-francis-1235392482/ |title=Pope Francis YouTube Doc 'The Letter: A Message For Our Earth' Launches From Vatican City – Trailer |work=Variety |last=Vivarelli |first=Nick |date=4 October 2022 |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref>

 

Francis is played by [[Jonathan Pryce]] in the [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film ''[[The Two Popes]]'' (2019), costarring with [[Anthony Hopkins]] who plays [[Pope Benedict XVI]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/magazine/you-couldnt-help-but-be-moved-spiritually-anthony-hopkins-and-jonathan-pryce-interviewed/ |title='You couldn't help but be moved spiritually': Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce interviewed |first=Gabrielle |last=Donnlly |date=19 December 2019 |access-date=9 February 2020 |newspaper=[[Catholic Herald]]}}</ref>

 

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* [[List of current Christian leaders]]

* [[List of popes]]

 

{{Notelist}}

 

{{Reflist|refs=

 

}}

 

* {{cite book |last= Allen|first=John L.|title=The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church|year= 2015|publisher= [[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location= New York|isbn= 978-1-61893-131-3}}

*{{cite book | last = Borghesi | first = Massimo | translator-last = Hudock | translator-first = Barry | date = 2018 | orig-year = Italian original, 2017 | title = The Mind of Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio's Intellectual Journey | publisher = Liturgical Press | place = Collegeville, Minnesota | isbn = 978-0-8146-8790-1 }}

* {{Cite web |last=Liedl |first=Jonathan |title=Francis' Pontificate Turns 10: Outward-Facing Emphasis Has Shaken Up Church's Inner Equilibrium |url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/francis-pontificate-turns-10-uil8q6nh|access-date=7 March 2023 |website=[[National Catholic Register]] |date=6 March 2023 |language=en}}

 

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* [https://www.vatican.va/ Vatican: the Holy See] – Vatican web site

** [http://www.news.va/en/news/biography-who-is-jorge-mario-bergoglio Vatican Web site: Official biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018141414/http://www.news.va/en/news/biography-who-is-jorge-mario-bergoglio |date=18 October 2017 }} (published on the occasion of the Conclave by the Holy See Press Office, with the information provided by the cardinals themselves)

[[Category:People of Piedmontese descent]]

[[Category:Time Person of the Year]]

[[Category:Popes]]

[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Buenos Aires]]