Pope Francis - Wikipedia Pope Francis 266th and current Pope Pope Francis Bishop of Rome Pope Francis in Korea Papacy began 13 March 2013 Predecessor Benedict XVI Orders Ordination 13 December 1969 by Ramón José Castellano Consecration 27 June 1992 by Antonio Quarracino Created Cardinal 21 February 2001 by John Paul II Personal details Birth name Jorge Mario Bergoglio ( 1936 - 12 - 17 ) 17 December 1936 ( age 81 ) Buenos Aires, Argentina Nationality Argentine ( with Vatican citizenship ) Denomination Roman Catholic Church Residence Apostolic Palace, Vatican City ( de jure ) Domus Sanctae Marthae ( de facto ) Parents Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori Previous post Provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina ( 1973 -- 1979 ) Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires ( 1992 -- 1997 ) Titular Bishop of Auca ( 1992 -- 1997 ) Archbishop of Buenos Aires ( 1998 -- 2013 ) Cardinal - Priest of San Roberto Bellarmino ( 2001 -- 2013 ) Ordinary of the Ordinariate for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites in Argentina ( 1998 -- 2013 ) President of the Argentine Episcopal Conference ( 2005 -- 2011 ) Motto Miserando atque eligendo Signature Coat of arms Part of a series on the Catholic Church St. Peter 's Basilica, Vatican City Overview Pope : Francis Hierarchy History ( Timeline ) Theology Liturgy Sacraments Mary Background Jesus Crucifixion Resurrection Ascension Early Christianity History of the Catholic Church History of the papacy Ecumenical Councils Four Marks of the Church One true church Apostolic succession Organisation Holy See College of Cardinals Ecumenical Councils Episcopal polity Latin Church Eastern Churches Canon law Theology Trinity Father Son Holy Spirit Ten Commandments Three States of the Church Purgatory Paschal Mystery Passion Crucifixion Harrowing of Hell Resurrection Ascension Mary Mariology Veneration Immaculate Conception Theotokos Perpetual virginity Assumption Titles Morality Body Lectures Sexuality Apologetics Divine grace Salvation Original sin Saints Dogma Catechism Philosophy Natural law Catholic ethics Personalism Social teaching Philosophers Worship Liturgy Mass Divine Office Liturgical year Sacraments Baptism Penance Eucharist Confirmation Anointing of the Sick Matrimony Holy Orders Prayer Devotions Bible Biblical canon Rites Latin Roman Ordinary form Tridentine Anglican Use Zaire Use Gallican Ambrosian Braga Mozarabic Eastern Antiochian Maronite West Syrian Syro - Malankara Chaldean East Syrian Syro - Malabar Byzantine Armenian Alexandrian Ethiopic Controversies Antipopes Anti-Catholicism Criticism Homosexuality Sex and gender roles Sexual abuse cases Other topics Art Ecumenism Evolution Health care Monasticism Music Science Role in civilization Links and resources Index Outline Glossary Category Media Templates WikiProject Book Pope portal Vatican City portal Catholicism portal Pope Francis ( Latin : Franciscus ; Italian : Francesco ; Spanish : Francisco ; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio ; 17 December 1936 ) is the 266th and current Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and nightclub bouncer before beginning seminary studies. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina 's provincial superior of the Society of Jesus ( Jesuits ). He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God 's mercy, concern for the poor and commitment to interfaith 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 his predecessors. In addition, due to both his Jesuit and Ignatian aesthetic, he is known for favoring simpler vestments void of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as cardinal. He maintains that the Church should be more open and welcoming. He does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology. Francis maintains the traditional views of the Church regarding abortion, marriage, ordination of women, and clerical celibacy. He opposes consumerism, overdevelopment, and supports taking action on climate change, a focus of his papacy with the promulgation of Laudato si '. In international diplomacy, he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Since the publication of Amoris laetitia in 2016, Francis has faced increasingly open criticism from theological conservatives, particularly on the question of admitting civilly divorced and remarried Catholics to Communion. Contents 1 Early years 2 Jesuit ( 1958 -- 2013 ) 2.1 Presbyterate ( 1969 - 1992 ) 2.2 Pre-papal Episcopate ( 1992 -- 2013 ) 2.3 Cardinalate ( 2001 -- 2013 ) 3 Relations with Argentine governments 3.1 Dirty War 3.2 Fernando de la Rúa 3.3 Néstor and Cristina Kirchner 4 Papacy ( 2013 -- present ) 4.1 Election 4.2 Name 4.3 Curia 4.4 Early issues 4.5 Consultation with Catholic laity 4.6 Institute for the Works of Religion 4.7 Papal documents 4.8 Clerical titles 4.9 Canonizations and beatifications 4.9. 1 Doctor of the Church 4.10 Consistories 4.11 Year of Mercy 4.12 Criticisms 5 Teachings 5.1 Mercy 5.2 Faith and evangelization 5.3 Environment 5.4 Poverty 5.5 Liberation theology 5.6 Abortion 5.7 Ordination of women 5.8 Clergy 5.8. 1 Priestly celibacy 5.9 Contraception and family planning 5.10 LGBT issues 5.11 Religious persecution 5.12 Capital punishment and life imprisonment 5.13 Ecumenism with other Christians 5.13. 1 Independent Catholicism 5.13. 2 Eastern Orthodoxy 5.13. 3 Oriental Orthodoxy 5.13. 4 Anglicanism 5.13. 5 Lutheranism 5.13. 6 Methodism 5.13. 7 Evangelicalism 5.13. 8 Mormonism 5.14 Interfaith dialogue 5.14. 1 Judaism 5.14. 2 Islam 5.14. 3 Buddhism 5.15 Attitudes about non-believers 6 International diplomatic role 7 Public image 8 Distinctions 8.1 Titles and styles 8.2 National orders 8.3 Foreign orders 8.4 Awards 8.5 Academic honors 8.6 Honorific eponyms and dedications 8.7 Appreciation 9 Coat of arms 10 Writings 10.1 Books 10.2 Other 11 Music album 12 Documentary film 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Bibliography 17 External links Early years Jorge Mario Bergoglio ( fourth boy from the left on the third row from the top ) at age 12, while studying at the Salesian College Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Flores, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio ( 1908 -- 1959 ) and Regina María Sívori ( 1911 -- 1981 ). Mario Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro ( Province of Asti ) in Italy 's Piedmont region. Regina Sívori was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian ( Piedmontese - Genoese ) origin. Mario José 's family left Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini. According to María Elena Bergoglio, the Pope 's only living sibling, they did not emigrate for economic reasons. His other siblings were Alberto Horacio, Oscar Adrián and Marta Regina. Two great - nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic collision. In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles, a school of the Salesians of Don Bosco, in Ramos Mejía, Buenos Aires. He attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N ° 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, named after a past President of Argentina, and graduated with a chemical technician 's diploma. He worked for a few years in that capacity in the foods section at Hickethier - Bachmann Laboratory where his boss was Esther Ballestrino. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer and as a janitor sweeping floors, and he also ran tests in a chemical laboratory. In the only known health crisis of his youth, at the age of 21 he suffered from life - threatening pneumonia and three cysts. He had part of a lung excised shortly afterwards. Bergoglio has been a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. Bergoglio is also a fan of the films of Tita Merello, neorealism, and tango dancing, with a fondness for the traditional music of Argentina and Uruguay known as the milonga. Jesuit ( 1958 -- 2013 ) Ordination history of Pope Francis show History Priestly ordination Ordained by Ramón José Castellano ( Córdoba emer ) Date of ordination 13 December 1969 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Antonio Card Quarracino ( Buenos Aires ) Co-consecrators Ubaldo Calabresi ( Argentina AN ) Emilio Ogñénovich ( Mercedes - Luján ) Date of consecration 27 June 1992 Place of consecration Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral Cardinalate Elevated by John Paul II Date of elevation 21 February 2001 show Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Pope Francis as principal consecrator Horacio Ernesto Benites Astoul 1 May 1999 Jorge Rubén Lugones 30 July 1999 Jorge Eduardo Lozano 25 March 2000 Joaquín Mariano Sucunza 21 October 2000 José Antonio Gentico 28 April 2001 Fernando Carlos Maletti 18 September 2001 Andrés Stanovnik 16 December 2001 Mario Aurelio Poli 20 April 2002 Eduardo Horacio García 16 August 2003 Adolfo Armando Uriona 8 May 2004 Eduardo Maria Taussig 25 September 2004 Raúl Martín 20 May 2006 Hugo Manuel Salaberry Goyeneche 21 August 2006 Óscar Vicente Ojea Quintana 2 September 2006 Hugo Nicolás Barbaro 4 July 2008 Enrique Eguía Seguí 11 October 2008 Ariel Edgardo Torrado Mosconi 13 December 2008 Luis Alberto Fernández 27 March 2009 Vicente Bokalic Iglic 29 May 2010 Alfredo Horacio Zecca 17 September 2011 Jean - Marie Speich 24 October 2013 Giampiero Gloder 24 October 2013 Fernando Vérgez Alzaga 15 November 2013 Fabio Fabene 30 May 2014 Angelo de Donatis 9 November 2015 Peter Bryan Wells 19 March 2016 Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot 19 March 2016 Alfred Xuereb 19 March 2018 José Avelino Bettencourt 19 March 2018 Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag 19 March 2018 Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood while he was on his way to celebrate the Spring Day. He passed by a church to go to confession, and was inspired by the priest. 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. 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. As a Jesuit novice he studied humanities in Santiago, Chile. At the conclusion of 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. In 1960, Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy from the Colegio Máximo de San José in San Miguel, Buenos Aires Province. He taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, a high school in Santa Fe, from 1964 to 1965. In 1966 he taught the same courses at the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. Presbyterate ( 1969 - 1992 ) In 1967, Bergoglio finished his theological studies and was ordained to the priesthood on 13 December 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He attended the Facultades de Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel ( Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel ), a seminary in San Miguel. He served as the master of novices for the province there and became a professor of theology. Bergoglio completed his final stage of spiritual training as a Jesuit, tertianship, at Alcalá de Henares, Spain. He took the final fourth vow ( obedience to the pope ) in the Society of Jesus on 22 April 1973. He was named provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina on 31 July 1973 and served until 1979. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1973, shortly after being named provincial superior, but his stay was shortened by the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. After the completion of his term of office, in 1980 he was named the rector of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel in San Miguel. 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. After returning to Argentina to take up his new post at San Miguel, Father Bergoglio served in that capacity until 1986. He was removed as rector by the Jesuit superior - general Peter Hans Kolvenbach because Bergoglio 's policy of educating the young Jesuits in direct pastoral work and in popular religiosity was opposed to the worldwide trend in the Society of Jesus of emphasizing social justice based on sociological analysis, especially promoted by the Centro de Investigaciones y Accion Social ( CIAS ). He spent several months at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, Germany, while considering possible dissertation topics,, he settled on exploring the work of the German / Italian theologian Romano Guardini, particularly around his study of ' Contrast ' published in his 1925 work Der Gegensatz. However he was to return to Argentina prematurely to serve as a confessor and spiritual director to the Jesuit community in Córdoba. In Germany, he saw the painting Mary Untier of Knots in Augsburg and brought a copy of the painting to Argentina where it has become an important Marian devotion. As a student at the Salesian school, Bergoglio was mentored by Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest Stefan Czmil. Bergoglio often rose hours before his classmates to serve Mass for Czmil. 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 theology of liberation, and his work as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. From then on, he did not visit Jesuit houses and was in `` virtual estrangement from the Jesuits '' until after his election as Pope. Pre-papal episcopate ( 1992 -- 2013 ) Bergoglio was named Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and ordained on 27 June 1992 as Titular Bishop of Auca, with Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving as principal consecrator. He chose as his episcopal motto Miserando atque eligendo. 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 ''. On 3 June 1997, Bergoglio was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires with right of automatic succession. Upon Quarracino 's death on 28 February 1998, Bergoglio became Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In that role, Bergoglio created new parishes and restructured the archdiocese administrative offices, led pro-life initiatives, and created a commission on divorces. One of Bergoglio 's major initiatives as archbishop was to increase the Church 's presence in the slums of Buenos Aires. Under his leadership, the number of priests assigned to work in the slums doubled. This work led to him being called the `` Slum Bishop ''. Early in his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio sold off the archdiocese 's shares in multiple banks and turned its accounts into those of a normal customer in international banks. The shares in banks had led the local church to a propensity towards high spending, and the archdiocese was nearing bankruptcy as a result. As a normal customer of the bank, the church was forced into a higher fiscal discipline. On 6 November 1998, while remaining Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was named ordinary for those Eastern Catholics in Argentina who lacked a prelate of their own rite. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk has said that Bergoglio understands the liturgy, rites, and spirituality of his Greek Catholic Church and always `` took care of our Church in Argentina '' as ordinary for Eastern Catholics during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. 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. 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. Bergoglio made it his custom to celebrate the Holy Thursday ritual washing of feet in places such as jails, hospitals, retirement homes or slums. In 2007, just two days after Benedict XVI issued new rules for using the liturgical forms that preceded the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Bergoglio was one of the first bishops in the world to respond by instituting a Tridentine Mass in Buenos Aires. It was celebrated weekly. On 8 November 2005, Bergoglio was elected president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference for a three - year term ( 2005 -- 08 ). He was reelected to another three - year term on 11 November 2008. 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. 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. 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. Still, as he had no coadjutor archbishop, he stayed in office, waiting for an eventual replacement appointed by the Vatican. Cardinalate ( 2001 -- 2013 ) Bergoglio on 18 June 2008 giving a catechesis At the consistory of 21 February 2001, Archbishop Bergoglio was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II with the title of cardinal - priest of 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 traveled to Rome for the ceremony, he and his sister María Elena visited the village in northern Italy where their father was born. 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 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, and, according to the Catholic Herald, created `` a favourable impression as a man open to communion and dialogue ''. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2008 Cardinal Bergoglio became known for personal humility, doctrinal conservatism, and a commitment to social justice. A simple lifestyle contributed to his reputation for humility. He lived in a small apartment, rather than in the elegant bishop 's residence in the suburb of Olivos. He took public transportation and cooked his own meals. He limited his time in Rome to `` lightning visits ''. He was known to be devoted to St. Therese of Lisieux, and he enclosed a small picture of her in the letters he wrote, calling her `` a great missionary saint ''. After Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, Bergoglio attended his funeral and was considered one of the papabile for succession to the papacy. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. In the National Catholic Reporter, John L. Allen, Jr. reported that Bergoglio was a frontrunner in the 2005 conclave. In September 2005, the Italian magazine Limes published claims that Bergoglio had been the runner - up and main challenger to Cardinal Ratzinger at that conclave and that he had received 40 votes in the third ballot, but fell back to 26 at the fourth and decisive ballot. The claims were based on a diary purportedly belonging to an anonymous cardinal who had been present at the conclave. According to the Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, this number of votes had no precedent for a Latin American papabile. La Stampa reported that Bergoglio was in close contention with Ratzinger during the election, until he made an emotional plea that the cardinals should not vote for him. According to Tornielli, Bergoglio made this request to prevent the conclave from delaying too much in the election of a pope. As a cardinal, Bergoglio was associated with Communion and Liberation, a Catholic evangelical lay movement of the type known as associations of the faithful. He sometimes made appearances at the annual gathering known as the Rimini Meeting held during the late summer months in Italy. In 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio authorized the request for beatification -- the third step towards sainthood -- for six members of the Pallottine community murdered in the San Patricio Church massacre. 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. Relations with Argentine governments Dirty War Bergoglio was the subject of allegations regarding the kidnapping of two Jesuit priests during Argentina 's Dirty War. He feared for the priests ' safety and had tried to change their work prior to their arrest ; however, contrary to reports, he never tried to throw them out of the Jesuit order. 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 Navy 's kidnapping of the two priests in May 1976. The lawyer 's complaint did not specify the nature of Bergoglio 's alleged involvement, and Bergoglio 's spokesman flatly denied the allegations. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. The priests, Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, had been tortured, but 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 ''. Jalics initially refused to discuss the complaint after moving into seclusion in a German monastery. However, two days after the election of Pope Francis, Jalics issued a statement confirming the kidnapping and attributing the cause to a former lay colleague who became a guerrilla, was captured, and named Yorio and Jalics when interrogated. 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. '' Bergoglio told his authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, that after the priests ' imprisonment, he worked behind the scenes for their release ; Bergoglio 's intercession with dictator Jorge Rafael Videla on their behalf may have saved their lives. Bergoglio also told Rubin that he had often sheltered people from the dictatorship on church property, and once gave his own identity papers to a man who looked like him, so he could flee Argentina. The interview with Rubin, reflected in the biography El jesuita, is the only time Bergoglio has spoken to the press about those events. Alicia Oliveira, a former Argentine judge, has also reported that Bergoglio helped people flee Argentina during the rule of the junta. Since Francis became Pope, Gonzalo Mosca and José Caravias have related to journalists accounts of how Bergoglio helped them flee the Argentine dictatorship. Oliveira described the future Pope as `` anguished '' and `` very critical of the dictatorship '' during the Dirty War. Oliveira met with him at the time and urged Bergoglio to speak out -- he told her that `` he could n't. That it was n't an easy thing to do. '' Artist and human rights activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said : `` Perhaps he did n't have the courage of other priests, but he never collaborated with the dictatorship... Bergoglio was no accomplice of the dictatorship. '' Graciela Fernández Meijide, member of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, also said that there was no proof linking Bergoglio with the dictatorship. She told to the Clarín newspaper : `` There is no information and Justice could n't prove it. I was in the APDH during all the dictatorship years and I received hundreds of testimonies. Bergoglio was never mentioned. It was the same in the CONADEP. Nobody mentioned him as instigator or as anything. '' Ricardo Lorenzetti, President of the Argentine Supreme Court, also has said that Bergoglio is `` completely innocent '' of the accusations. Historian Uki Goñi pointed that, during the early 1976, the military junta still had a good image among society, and that the scale of the political repression was not known until much later ; Bergoglio would have had little reason to suspect that the detention of Yorio and Jalics could end up in their deaths. When Bergoglio became Pope, an alleged photo of him giving the sacramental bread to dictator Jorge Rafael Videla became viral in social networks. It has also been used by the newspaper Página / 12. 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. Fernando de la Rúa 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. Argentina faced an economic depression at the time, and the 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. The Justicialist Party won the 2001 elections and got the majority in the Congress, and appointed Ramón Puerta as president of the Senate. As vice president Carlos Álvarez resigned shortly before, this left an opposing party second in the order of precedence. Bergoglio asked for an interview with Puerta, and had a positive impression of him. Puerta told him that the Justicialist party was not plotting to oust De la Rúa, and promised to help the president promote the laws that may be required. During police repression of the riots of December 2001, he contacted the Ministry of the Interior and asked that the police distinguish rioters engaged in acts of vandalism from peaceful protesters. Néstor and Cristina Kirchner Francis with Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner 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. Kirchner celebrated the national day elsewhere the following year and the Mass in the Cathedral was suspended. 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. Kirchner considered Bergoglio as a political rival to the day he died in October 2010. 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 disturbances in the country 's agricultural regions, which the government interpreted as a support for anti-government demonstrators. The campaign to enact same - sex marriage legislation was a particularly tense period in their relations. 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 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. However, due to the Pope 's popularity in Argentina, Cristina Kirchner made what the political analyst Claudio Fantini called a `` Copernican shift '' in her relations with him and fully embraced the Francis phenomenon. 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. Página / 12 removed their controversial articles about Bergoglio, written by Horacio Verbitsky, from their web page, as a result of this change. Papacy ( 2013 -- present ) Coat of arms of Pope Francis As Cardinal As Pope The gold star represents the Virgin Mary, the grape - like plant -- the spikenard -- is associated with Saint Joseph and the IHS is the symbol of the Jesuits Elected at the age of 76, Francis was reported to be healthy and his doctors have said his missing lung tissue, removed in his youth, does not have a significant impact on his health. The only concern would be decreased respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection. In the past, one attack of sciatica in 2007 prevented him from attending a consistory and delayed his return to Argentina for several days. Francis is the first Jesuit pope. This was an unexpected appointment, because of the tense relations between the Society of Jesus and the Holy See. He is also the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Many media reported him as being the first non-European pope, but he is actually the 11th ; the previous was Gregory III from Syria, who died in 741. However, although Francis does not have a European nationality, he has a European ethnicity. As pope, his manner is less formal than that of his immediate predecessors : a style that news coverage has referred to as `` no frills '', noting that it is `` his common touch and accessibility that is proving the greatest inspiration. '' On the night of his election, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals, rather than be driven in the papal car. The next day, he visited Cardinal Jorge María Mejía in the hospital and chatted with patients and staff. At his first media audience, the Saturday after his election, the Pope said of Saint Francis of Assisi : `` The man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man '', and he added `` ( h ) ow I would like a poor Church, and for the poor ''. In addition to his native Spanish, Francis is also conversant in Latin ( the official language of the Holy See ), he speaks fluent Italian ( the official language of Vatican City and the `` everyday language '' of the Holy See ), German, French, Portuguese, English, and he understands the Piedmontese language and some Genoese. Francis chose not to live in the official papal residence in the Apostolic Palace, but to remain in the Vatican guest house, in a suite in which he can receive visitors and hold meetings. He is the first pope since Pope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments. Francis still appears at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday Angelus. Election Main articles : Papal conclave, 2013 and Papal inauguration of Pope Francis 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, the second day of the 2013 papal conclave, taking the papal name Francis. Francis was elected on the fifth ballot of the conclave. The Habemus Papam was delivered by Cardinal protodeacon Jean - Louis Tauran. 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 of friends of Schönborn who whispered Bergoglio 's name in Schönborn 's ear ; Schönborn commented `` if these people say Bergoglio, that 's an indication of the Holy Spirit ''. Instead of accepting his cardinals ' congratulations while seated on the papal throne, Francis received them standing, reportedly an immediate sign of a changing approach to formalities at the Vatican. During his first appearance as pontiff on the balcony of Saint Peter 's Basilica, he wore a white cassock, not the red, ermine - trimmed mozzetta used by previous popes. He also wore the same iron pectoral cross that he had worn as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, rather than the gold one worn by his predecessors. After being elected and choosing his name, his first act was bestowing the Urbi et Orbi blessing to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter 's Square. Before blessing the crowd, he asked those in St. Peter 's Square to pray for his predecessor, `` the bishop emeritus of Rome '' Pope Benedict XVI, and for himself as the new `` bishop of Rome ''. Pope Francis held his papal inauguration on 19 March 2013 in St. Peter 's Square in the Vatican. He celebrated Mass in the presence of various political and religious leaders from around the world. In his homily Pope Francis focused on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, the liturgical day on which the Mass was celebrated. Name In St. Peter 's Square At his first audience on 16 March 2013, Francis told journalists that he had chosen the name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, and had done so because he was especially concerned for the well - being of the poor. 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, `` Do n't forget the poor '', which had made Bergoglio think of the saint. 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. '' This is the first time that a pope has been named Francis. On the day of his election, the Vatican clarified that his official papal name was `` Francis '', not `` Francis I '', i.e. no regnal number is used for him. A Vatican spokesman said that the name would become Francis I if and when there is a Francis II. It is the first time since Pope Lando 's 913 -- 914 reign that a serving pope holds a name not used by a predecessor. Francis also said that some cardinal - electors had jokingly suggested to him that he should choose either `` Adrian '', since Pope Adrian VI had been a reformer of the church, or `` Clement '' to settle the score with Pope Clement XIV, who had suppressed the Jesuit order. In February 2014, it was reported that Bergoglio, had he been elected in 2005, would have chosen the pontifical name of `` John XXIV '' in honor of Pope 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 ''. Curia Inauguration of Pope Francis, 19 March 2013 On 16 March 2013, Pope Francis asked all those in senior positions of the Roman Curia to provisionally continue in office. He named Alfred Xuereb as his personal secretary. 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. 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. He also abolished the € 25,000 annual bonus paid to the cardinals serving on the Board of Supervisors for the Vatican bank. 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. They are Giuseppe Bertello, president of the 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 O'Malley from the United States ; and Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga from Honduras. He appointed Bishop Marcello Semeraro secretary for the group and scheduled its first meeting for 1 -- 3 October. Early issues Map indicating countries visited by Francis as pope In March 2013, 21 British Catholic peers and Members of Parliament from all 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 can not do the same. Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, included a call in his 2013 Easter homily for the Pope to visit Jerusalem. Louis Raphael I, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, asked the Pope to visit the `` embattled Christian community '' in Iraq. On the first Holy Thursday following his election, Francis washed and kissed the feet of ten male and two female juvenile offenders, not all Catholic, aged from 14 to 21, imprisoned at Rome 's Casal del Marmo detention facility, telling them the ritual of foot washing is a sign that he is at their service. This was the first time that a pope had included women in this ritual ; although he had already done so when he was archbishop. One of the male and one of the female prisoners were Muslim. On 31 March 2013 Francis used his first Easter homily to make a plea for peace throughout the world, specifically mentioning the Middle East, Africa, and North and South Korea. He also spoke out against those who give in to `` easy gain '' in a world filled with greed, and made a plea for humanity to become a better guardian of creation by protecting the environment. He said that `` ( w ) e ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. '' Although the Vatican had prepared greetings in 65 languages, Francis chose not to read them. According to the Vatican, the pope `` at least for now, feels at ease using Italian, the everyday language of the Holy See ''. In 2013, Francis initially reaffirmed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 's program to reform the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious, initiated under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The New York Times reported that the Vatican had formed the opinion in 2012 that the 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. However, in April 2015 the investigation was brought to a close. The timing of the closure may have anticipated a visit by Francis to the U.S. in September 2015. On 12 May, Francis carried out his first canonizations 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, Maria Guadalupe Garcia 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. '' He also commented on abortion, saying legislation should be introduced to `` protect all human beings from the first moment of their existence. '' Consultation with Catholic laity A February 2014 survey by World Values Survey cited in The Washington Post and Time shows how the unity Pope Francis had created could be challenged. Although views about Francis personally were favorable, 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. In the same month Pope Francis asked parishes to provide answers to an official questionnaire described as a `` much broader consultation than just a survey '' regarding opinions among the laity. He continued to assert Catholic doctrine, in less dramatic tone than his recent predecessors, who maintained that the Catholic Church is not a democracy of popular opinion. Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University wrote of the survey Francis initiated, `` it 's not a survey in any sense that a social scientist would recognize. '' Woodhead said that many ordinary Catholics would have difficulty understanding theological jargon there. Nonetheless, she suspected the survey might be influential. The Catholic Church in England and Wales as of April 2014 had refused to publish results of this survey ; a Church spokesman said a senior Vatican official had expressly asked for summaries to remain confidential, and that orders had come from the Pope that the information should not be made public until after October. This disappointed many reformers who hoped the laity would be more involved in decision - making. Some other Catholic churches, for example in Germany and Austria, published summaries of the responses to the survey, which showed a wide gap between Church teaching and the behavior of ordinary Catholics. In a column he wrote for the Vatican 's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the head Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, US Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who has a long - standing reputation as one of the church 's most vocal conservative hard - liners, said that Pope Francis opposed both abortion and gay marriage. The Vatican 's chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, also noted in the Vatican Press Office during the 2014 consistory meetings that Pope Francis and Cardinal Walter Kasper would not change or redefine any dogmas pertaining to Church theology on doctrinal matters. Institute for the Works of religion 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 There had long been allegations of corruption and money laundering connected with the bank. Francis appointed a commission to advise him about reform of the Bank, 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. Because of this affair the Promoter of Justice at the Vatican Tribunal applied a letter rogatory for the first time in the history of the Republic of Italy at the beginning of August 2013. 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. 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. There is uncertainty how far reforms can succeed. Papal documents On 29 June 2013, Pope Francis published his first encyclical, titled Lumen fidei. It is a collaborative writing with Benedict XVI and talks about faith, complementing Benedict 's previous encyclicals on charity and hope. He published his second one, entitled Laudato si ', on 18 June 2015, concerning care for the planet. On 24 November 2013, he published his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, with his views on faith and evangelization. On 8 April 2016, Pope Francis published his second apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia, remarking on love within the family. Controversy arose at the end of 2016 when four cardinals formally asked Pope Francis for clarifications, particularly on the issue of giving communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. His motu proprios include Ai nostri tempi and De concordia inter codices. Francis issued another titled Maiorem hac dilectionem which created a new path towards canonization for certain causes. He established two new Secretariats ( top - level departments ) in the Roman Curia : the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Secretariat for Communications. He reformed the process for declaring matrimonial nullity. On 8 December 2017, Pope Francis signed a new apostolic constitution on ecclesiastical universities and faculties Veritatis gaudium, published 29 January 2018. A further Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et exsultate ( Rejoice and be glad ), was published on 19 March 2018, dealing with `` the call to holiness in today 's world '' and countering contemporary versions of the gnostic and Pelagian heresies from `` earlier Christian times ''. Clerical titles In January 2014, Pope Francis said that he would appoint fewer monsignors and only assign those honored to the lowest of the three surviving ranks of monsignor, Chaplain of His Holiness. It would be awarded only to diocesan priests at least 65 years old. During his 15 years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope 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. Canonizations and beatifications Main articles : List of saints canonized by Pope Francis, List of people beatified by Pope Francis, and List of people declared venerable by Pope Francis Pope Francis presides over the canonization of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, in the Sanctuary of Fátima, Portugal, in 2017 Pope Francis presided over the first canonizations of his pontificate on 12 May 2013 in which he canonized Antonio Primaldo and his 812 companions as well as the nuns Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavalia -- in this first canonization he surpassed the record of Pope John Paul II in canonizing the most saints in a pontificate. Francis approved the equipollent canonization of Angela of Foligno the following 9 October and then the Jesuit Peter Faber the following 17 December. The pope approved further equipollent canonizations on 3 April 2014 for the Jesuit José de Anchieta as well as the Ursuline nun Marie of the Incarnation and bishop François de Laval. Francis canonized his two predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II on 27 April 2014 and canonized six additional saints the following 23 November. The pope canonized Joseph Vaz on his visit to Sri Lanka on 14 January 2015 and canonized a further four saints on the following 17 May ; he canonized Junípero Serra on 23 September while visiting the United States and then canonized four saints on 18 October including the first married couple to be named as saints. Francis canonized Maria Elisabeth Hesselblad and Stanislaus Papczyński on 5 June 2016 and then canonized Teresa of Calcutta on 4 September ; he canonized seven additional saints on 16 October. The pope canonized the two child visionaries Francisco and Jacinta Marto during his visit to Fátima in mid-2017 and canonized 35 additional saints on 15 October. The pope has also continued the practice of having beatifications celebrated in the place of the individual 's origin though has presided over beatifications himself on three occasions for Paul Yun Ji - Chung and 123 companions on 16 August 2014, his predecessor Pope Paul VI on 19 October 2014 and two Colombian martyrs on 8 September 2017. The pope has approved beatifications for a range of men and women including the likes of Álvaro del Portillo of Opus Dei ( 27 September 2014 ), the martyred archbishop Óscar Romero ( 23 May 2015 ) and several large groups of Spanish martyrs. Francis also confirmed his predecessor John Paul I to be Venerable on 8 November 2017. Doctor of the Church On 21 February 2015, Francis signed a decree naming Saint Gregory of Narek as the 36th Doctor of the Church ; he formally conferred the title upon the saint at a ceremony held in Saint Peter 's Basilica on 12 April 2015 with delegations from the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church present. Consistories Main article : Cardinals created by Francis At the first consistory of his papacy, held on 22 February 2014, Francis created 19 new cardinals. At the time of their elevation to that rank, 16 of these new cardinals were under eighty years of age and thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave. The new appointees included prelates from South America, Africa, and Asia, including appointees in some of the world 's poorest countries, such as Chibly Langlois from Haiti and Philippe Nakellentuba Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso. The consistory was a rare occasion in which Francis and his predecessor, Benedict XVI, appeared together in public. Benedict XVI also attended the second consistory on 14 February 2015, at which Francis elevated 20 new cardinals, with 15 under the age of eighty and five over the age of eighty. The pope continued his practice of appointing cardinals from the peripheries, such as Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar and Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga. Francis presided over the third consistory of his papacy on 19 November 2016, elevating 17 new cardinals. Of that total number at the time of their elevation, 13 were under the age of eighty and four were over the age of eighty. Francis continued his previous practice of elevating cardinals from the peripheries with an emphasis again on Asia and Africa, such as Patrick D'Rozario from Bangladesh and Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Central African Republic, while also naming the first three American cardinals of his papacy and only one Curial appointment. The pope presided over a fourth consistory for the elevation of 5 new cardinals on the afternoon of 28 June 2017. Each of the five were under the age of eighty, and were thus eligible to vote in a papal conclave. This consistory was noteworthy for the fact that, with the pope continuing the trend of elevating cardinals from a diverse range of areas, no cardinals elevated are of the Roman Curia, and one was a mere auxiliary bishop. Year of mercy Pope Francis opens the Holy Door marking the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Main article : Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy With his April 2015 papal bull of indiction, Misericordiae Vultus ( Latin : `` The Face of Mercy '' ), Francis inaugurated a Special 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. The Holy Doors of the major basilicas of Rome ( including the Great Door of St. Peter 's ) were opened, and special `` Doors of Mercy '' were opened at cathedrals and other major churches around the world, where the faithful can earn indulgences by fulfilling the usual conditions of prayer for the Pope 's intentions, confession, and detachment from sin, and communion. During Lent of that year, special 24 - hour penance services will be celebrated, and during the year, special qualified and experienced priests called `` Missionaries of Mercy '' will be available in every diocese to forgive even severe, special - case sins normally reserved to the Holy See 's Apostolic Penitentiary. Criticisms A session of the Synod of Bishops in October 2014 See also : Amoris Laetitia Since 2016, criticisms against Pope Francis by some conservative Catholics intensified. An unnamed group of `` anti-reform '' cardinals has been claimed to state that Francis 's supposed openness to `` modernity on sexual morality, communion for remarried Catholics and friendly relations with other religions have opened a gulf between progressives and traditionalists. '' Other conservatives have criticized his administrative style which they assert the pontiff has `` wielded '' against conservative opponents. '' Since 2017, Francis has also been contrasted with US President Donald Trump, elected that year, with some conservative critics drawing comparisons between the two. During the 2016 United States presidential election, Francis said of Trump, `` A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel. '' Trump responded saying `` For a religious leader to question a person 's faith is disgraceful. '' Federico Lombardi defended the Pope 's remarks, saying that they were not by any means `` a personal attack, nor an indication of who to vote for ''. The Pope drew criticism in 2013 for appearing on the balcony of St. Peter 's Basilica with Godfried Danneels in the Pope 's initial presentation, as well as appointments he received from Francis. Danneels had previously recommended silence on sex - crimes committed by priests. In 2014 his rehabilitation of Fr. Mauro Inzoli, who was defrocked in 2012 for sexually abusing minors, sparked controversy. In 2015, he was criticized for supporting Chilean bishop Juan Barros, who was accused over covering up sex - crimes against minors. In February 2017, further criticism from clergy sex abuse survivors erupted when it was revealed that the Pope had quietly made the Church - recommended sentence for clergy convicted of sex abuse a lifetime of prayer rather than a recommendation to serve time in jail. In the Venezuelan crisis, Francis has not openly denounced the acts of Nicolas Maduro, despite the reiterated requests made by the local bishops. Critics suggested that Francis might be holding back out of ideological sympathy for Maduro and his left - wing allies, such as Evo Morales. On a theological level, controversy arose after the publication of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia. Four Cardinals ( Raymond Leo Burke, Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller, and Joachim Meisner ) formally asked Pope Francis for clarifications, particularly on the issue of giving communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. They submitted five `` dubia '' ( doubts ), and requested a yes or no answer. Francis declined to answer -- a move which British Cardinal Vincent Nichols characterized as `` absolutely right, '' noting that `` to enter into that field is actually to step back from the very thing he wants to help us understand, that we have to respond to people and help them in their journey to God and to do so is not simply to apply a law. '' Strong divergences of interpretation appeared among bishops and cardinals. Some bishops issued guidelines for their diocese insisting that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics remain ineligible for the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist unless they live in continence, while other bishops opened up the possibility of access to these sacraments. Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, maintained that Amoris Laetitia should only be interpreted in line with doctrine. Therefore, according to Cardinal Müller, divorced and civilly remarried can have access to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion only if they refrain from sexual relations. Pope Francis subsequently announced that dicastery prefects would be appointed for a single five - year term, and replaced Cardinal Müller at the end of his term in 2017 with Luis Ladaria Ferrer. Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, one of the authors of the dubia, sustains that after Amoris laetitia `` only a blind man could deny there 's great confusion, uncertainty and insecurity in the Church. '' In February 2017, posters appeared around Rome featuring a stern - looking Pope Francis, complaining about Francis 's actions against conservative Catholics, and challenging his reputation for mercy. According to vaticanist Inés San Martín this is `` the first time in most Romans ' memories that the city has seen posters in major public venues complaining about the policies of a given pope ''. A week later, the Pope was targeted by a fake news, which spoofed L'Osservatore Romano. In response, the Council of Cardinal Advisers appointed by the Pope voiced its `` full support '' to Francis. In March 2017, when Cardinal Donald Wuerl was asked about the Pope 's critics, he concluded : `` I think, there are just some people who ca n't bring themselves to move beyond where they are. These look at things through one lens only. But this pontificate and ' Amoris Laetitia ' are multifaceted, and if you can only see them through one lens, you 're never going to be able to appreciate this. '' In July 2017 a group of conservative clergy, academics and laymen signed a document labeled as a `` Filial Correction '' of Pope Francis. The twenty - five page document, which was made public in September after it received no reply, criticized the Pope for promoting what it described as seven heretical propositions through various words, actions and omissions during his pontificate. Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, ex-doctrine chief of US Bishops, wrote a letter to Pope Francis on July 31, 2017, which he subsequently made public, in which he charged that Pope Francis is fostering `` chronic confusion '', `` demeaning '' the importance of doctrine, appointing bishops who `` scandalize '' believers with dubious `` teaching and pastoral practice '', giving prelates who object the impression they will be `` marginalized or worse '' if they speak out, and causing faithful Catholics to `` lose confidence in their supreme shepherd ''. Father Weinandy resigned as a consultant to the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ( USCCB ) on the day he publicized the letter, and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the USCCB, responded with a statement in which he said, `` ' every good Christian ought to be more eager to put a good interpretation on a neighbor 's statement than to condemn it. ' This presupposition should be afforded all the more to the teaching of Our Holy Father. '' Teachings Main article : Theology of Pope Francis Part of a series on the Catholic social teaching Emblem of the Holy See Overview Social teachings of the Popes Distributism Solidarity Subsidiarity Tranquillitas ordinis Pope Leo XIII Rerum novarum Pope Pius XI Divini redemptoris Mit brennender Sorge Non abbiamo bisogno Quadragesimo anno Pope Pius XII Social teachings Pope John XXIII Mater et magistra Pacem in terris Vatican II Dignitatis humanae Gaudium et spes Pope Paul VI Octogesima adveniens Populorum progressio Pope John Paul II Laborem exercens Sollicitudo rei socialis Centesimus annus Evangelium vitae Pope Benedict XVI Caritas in veritate Pope Francis Evangelii Gaudium Laudato si ' Other figures Gaspard Mermillod René de La Tour du Pin Heinrich Pesch Dorothy Day Óscar Romero Joseph Bernardin Hilaire Belloc G.K. Chesterton Catholicism portal Francis during the canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II on 27 April 2014 Francis told La Civiltà Cattolica that the church does not need to speak constantly of the issues of abortion, artificial contraception, and homosexuality. He thought that other issues, notably the duty to help those who are poor and marginalized, have been neglected. He added that the church had focused in trivial issues, and as such should not be so prone to condemn, and that priests should be more welcoming. He said the confessional should be used to motivate people to better themselves. Mercy See also : Mercy § Christianity Pope Francis said that the most powerful message of Jesus Christ is mercy. His motto, Miserando atque eligendo, is about Jesus 's mercy towards sinners. The phrase is taken from a homily of Saint Bede, who commented that Jesus `` saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him : ' Follow me ' ''. The motto is a reference to the moment when he found his vocation to the priesthood, at the age of 17. He started a day of student celebrations by going to confession. As cardinal he thought Christian morality is not a titanic effort of the will, but a response to the mercy of God. It is not a matter of never falling down but of always getting up again. In this sense, he says Christian morality is a revolution. The Gospel reading for the Sunday he was scheduled to give his first public address as pope was on Jesus 's forgiveness of the adulterous woman. This allowed him to discuss the principle that God never wearies of forgiving humans and to stress the importance of never tiring in asking for forgiveness. Because of this emphasis, many have returned to God and to confession, a result which has been called the `` Pope Francis effect ''. However, there seems to be no such effect in counteracting the free fall of vocations, among the Jesuits and not only. In March 2015, Pope Francis announced that the universal church would celebrate a Jubilee Year from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016, dedicated to the theme of God 's mercy. The Vatican announced the pope would perform several acts to demonstrate the theme of God 's mercy. Vatican spokesperson Greg Burke has said the Pope 's emphasis on mercy applied to `` even those who are guilty of heinous crimes. '' One example is the case of Father Mauro Inzoli an Italian priest. The Inzoli case is one of several where Pope Francis overruled the recommendation of the Vatican 's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ( CDF ) reducing a sentence calling for him to be laicized. In March 2018, Francis was quoted in La Republica as saying ( in Italian ) `` Those who repent obtain God 's forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and can not be forgiven disappear. A hell does n't exist, the disappearance of sinning souls exists. '' The Vatican quickly called this a reconstruction by Eugenio Scalfari rather than a faithful transcription of Francis ' words. Scalfari later said he believed the Pope denied the existence of hell, but admitted he did not take notes during their chat, and may have mistakenly mistranslated Francis ' words, having made mistakes about him before. Faith and evangelization See also : Evangelism Pope Francis 's first encyclical, `` Lumen Fidei '', was on faith and his first apostolic exhortation, `` Evangelii Gaudium '', was on the new evangelization. In both his first homily as pope and in his first address to the cardinals, Francis talked about walking in the presence of Jesus Christ and stressed the church 's mission to announce him. In the audience with the cardinals, he emphasized the concept of `` encounter with Jesus '' : Stimulated by the Year of Faith, all together, pastors and faithful, we will make an effort to respond faithfully to the eternal mission : to bring Jesus Christ to humanity, and to lead humanity to an encounter with Jesus Christ : the Way, the Truth, and the Life, truly present in the Church and, at the same time, in every person. This encounter makes us become new men in the mystery of Grace, provoking in our hearts the Christian joy that is a hundredfold that given us by Christ to those who welcome Him into their lives. In his homily, he stressed that `` if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord. '' He went on to teach that `` When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil... when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly ''. The theme of rejecting `` spiritual worldliness '', described as a leitmotif of his teachings even before he became pope, was emphasized in his first apostolic exhortation. Understanding this worldliness as `` putting oneself at the center '', he said that it is the `` greatest danger for the Church, for us, who are in the Church ''. On the other hand, in October 2013, during a notable interview with the founder of la Repubblica newspaper Eugenio Scalfari, Francis said : `` I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God '', and `` Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us ''. Environment Play media John Zizioulas, Eastern Orthodox metropolitan of Pergamon, presents the encyclical Laudato si ' at the Press conference in Rome. See also : Christian views on environmentalism After his election Francis said, `` Here too, it helps me to think of the name of Francis ( of Assisi ), who teaches us profound respect for the whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another 's detriment. ''. At the University of Molise he described environmental concerns as a great contemporary challenge and voiced opposition to deforestation. He believes that development should respect what Christians see as creation, and that exploiting the earth is sinful. Francis told the Second International Conference on Nutrition, held in Rome by the Food and Agriculture Organization, that a lack of protection for the ecology may generate problems. Francis plans a meeting with leaders of main religions to increase awareness of the state of the climate. On 18 June 2015, Pope Francis issued a papal encyclical called Laudato si ' on climate change, care for the environment, and sustainable development. The encyclical, although dated 24 May 2015, was officially made public on 18 June 2015. The encyclical sets apart the basic human needs and appetites. Francis considers that the former are small and non-negotiable, and that the latter are potentially unlimited. Although he asks for the use of renewable energy instead of conventional fuels, he thinks that it would not be enough unless society turns down the unlimited appetites of consumerism. This project was opposed by Vatican conservatives, Catholic conservatives, and the US evangelical movement. In the encyclical, Francis states `` The Earth, our home, is beginning to look like an immense pile of filth. '' As he prepared for the encyclical, Francis sponsored a Pontifical Academy of Sciences summit meeting in April 2015 that focused on the relationships connecting poverty, economic development, and climate change. The meeting included presentations and discussions by scientists, religious leaders, and economists. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki - moon, who is urging world leaders to approve a climate - change accord in Paris at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, delivered the keynote address. Poverty Pope Francis visits a favela in Brazil during World Youth Day 2013 See also : Christian views on poverty and wealth While he has said that the greatest poverty is `` the lack of Christ, '' and the `` only one real kind of poverty '' is `` not living as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ '', Francis has also been very outspoken against material poverty. At a meeting of Latin American bishops in 2007, Bergoglio said that, despite the economic growth, poverty had not been reduced in the continent, and asked for a better income distribution. On 30 September 2009, Bergoglio spoke at a conference organized by the Argentina City Postgraduate School ( EPOCA ) at the Alvear Palace Hotel in which he quoted the 1992 `` Documento de Santo Domingo '' by the Latin American Episcopal Conference, saying `` extreme poverty and unjust economic structures that cause great inequalities '' are violations of human rights. He went on to describe social debt as `` immoral, unjust, and illegitimate ''. During a 48 - hour public servant strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio criticized unequal treatment of the judiciary to poor and rich people. In 2002, during an economic crisis, Bergoglio harshly criticized those in power, saying, `` ( l ) et 's not tolerate the sad spectacle of those who no longer know how to lie and contradict themselves to hold onto their privileges, their rapaciousness, and their ill - earned wealth ''. During a May 2010 Mass celebrated by twenty bishops commemorating the Argentina Bicentennial in front of the basilica of Luján, an important Catholic institution and destination of pilgrimage, Bergoglio criticized the reduced social concern over poverty and exhorted Catholics to ask the Virgin of Luján to `` take care of our motherland, particularly those who are most forgotten ''. In line with the Catholic Church 's efforts to care for AIDS victims, in 2001 he visited a hospice where he washed and kissed the feet of twelve AIDS patients. As Pope Francis he spoke out over the collapse of Rana Plaza garment factory in April 2013, which killed over a thousand people, and condemned the low pay workers received. Pope Francis urged world leaders to prevent excessive monetary ambitions, which he said had become similar to an idolatry of money, and urged them to provide more welfare aid. Dealing with the Great Recession, the pope criticized unbridled capitalism, considering that it judged human beings purely by their ability to consume goods and made people miserable. He said that social inequality and increasing poverty is caused by neoliberalism, and preferred economic systems with a higher intervention by the state. During a May 2014 meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki - moon, Francis called on the United Nations to encourage a better income distribution. In 2015, he declared that the poor and downtrodden of the world should have `` sacred rights '' of labor, lodging, and land, and denounced the austerity imposed by global financial institutions, referring to it as the `` new colonialism ''. Pope Francis deplores modern slavery and, together with a diverse group of leaders from other religions, he signed a declaration promising to inspire action worldwide in an effort to eliminate slavery by 2020. Both Pope Francis and the declaration described slavery as a crime against humanity. During his new year mass in 2015 Francis pressed people from all cultures and religions to combat human trafficking and modern slavery according to their responsibilities. Francis said all human beings are brothers and sisters and all have a right to be free. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel consulted Francis on 18 May 2013, and later the same day called for more stringent controls of financial markets. Francis has referred many times to the Eurozone crisis that affect Greece and Catholic Southern European nations. Nevertheless, Pope Francis considers that starvation and homeless people are bigger problems than the financial crises. George Haley of New Haven University said that Francis thinks that capitalism should reduce income disparity, and proposed that he used the diplomatic influence of the Vatican to suggest changes in national economies. Rohit Arora is concerned that Francis has not come up with any specific way to solve income inequality and believes if the pope is serious he should do so. Joseph Pastore believes the wealth of the Catholic Church prevents Francis from taking a polarizing position and is unsure how far Francis can reform the Church. Pope Francis denounced the `` autonomy of the marketplace '' and `` financial speculation '' as tyranny in his 84 - page apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium : Just as the commandment `` Thou shalt not kill '' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say `` thou shalt not '' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills... A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self - serving tax evasion, which has taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. Pope Francis 's views were called Marxist by Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives as a result of his critique of capitalism with absolute market autonomy. Pope Francis responded that `` Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I do n't feel offended... there is nothing in the exhortation that can not be found in the social doctrine of the church. '' He later postulated that the Communists `` stole '' the flag of Christianity as `` the flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the center of the Gospel. '' Liberation theology See also : Liberation theology Francis opposed the Marxist versions of liberation theology followed by the `` ' progressive ' group of ( Jesuit ) theologians living out in base communities ''. As he wrote in the preface to a book on the Catholic Church in Latin America, Una apuesta por América Latina ( A Commitment to Latin America ) by Guzmán Carriquiry Lecour, the proponents of liberation theology were unable to reformulate it after the collapse of Marxism, and it thus became an anachronism. His theologian of reference was Juan Carlos Scannone, a fellow Jesuit who had developed a theology centered on the `` religious devotion of the common people ''. Thousands welcomed Francis in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 6 July 2015 Historian Roberto Bosca at the Austral University in Buenos Aires says that Pope Francis supported liberation theology 's preferential option for the poor, although `` in a nonideological fashion ''. Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Bergoglio described liberation theology 's preferential option for the poor as part of a long Christian tradition rooted in the Gospels. Bergoglio 's opposition focused on the Montoneros, a terrorist group similar to the European Red Brigades that caused nearly 6,000 deaths. Montoneros claimed that they ascribed to liberation theology, and sought support from the Church. Bosca considers that Bergoglio 's opposition to the liberation theology `` was n't opposition to liberation theology in itself or the option for the poor '', but opposition to the possible official Catholic support to the Montoneros. Despite his caution about elements of liberation theology, Francis met with Gustavo Gutiérrez, who is usually regarded as its founder. Gutiérrez had co-authored a book with Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican 's semiofficial newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said at the time that the liberation theology should not continue to be ignored. Pope Francis 's beatification of Archbishop of San Salvador Óscar Romero, who was assassinated in March 1980 as he said mass, as a martyr to the church is seen as Francis 's strong support for the poor and those who defend that stance. Abortion See also : Catholic Church and abortion Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has been a vocal opponent of both the practice and legality of abortion. In May 2013, Francis unexpectedly participated in Italy 's pro-life march in Rome, asking its participants to protect human life `` from the moment of conception ''. Also, as the mostly Catholic country of Ireland was preparing legislation to legalize abortion, Francis sent a message to the Irish asking them to protect the lives of both the unborn and vulnerable people. Also in May 2013, during a Wednesday audience Francis officially blessed the pro-life march in Szczecin, Poland, one of Europe 's largest pro-life events and, speaking in Italian, encouraged the Poles to defend the unborn. He maintained that human life should be respected all the way from conception to natural death. At a September 2013 meeting with Catholic gynecologists, Francis condemned abortion saying that : `` Every child that is n't born, but is unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of Jesus Christ, has the face of the Lord. '' He advised the gynecologists to invoke the conscience clause to refuse to perform abortions, if so requested. Francis also thought, as a Cardinal, that the church should support those women who carry on with their pregnancy despite being single parents, rejecting the option to abort. He maintained that, in those cases, priests should not refuse to baptize those children. During a Baptism of the Lord Mass in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis baptised the baby of a couple in a civil marriage. During the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Francis `` grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion '', a provision which he extended indefinitely in his Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Misera issued on 20 November 2016. Francis appealed to all priests to grant forgiveness to women who had undergone an abortion, as well as anyone who had been involved in completing the procedure. While Francis reiterated that the sin of abortion ( an act punishable with automatic excommunication ) is `` a grave sin '', he affirmed that `` there is no sin that God 's mercy can not reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart. '' Kate D'Annunzio, of Rachel 's Vineyard, a pro-life group which ministers to women who have experienced abortions, said that Francis had clarified that priests have the ability to both forgive abortions and welcome women back into the church, stating ; `` The Church has had the ability to forgive these women, but many of these women had difficulty forgiving themselves. This outreach by the Pope is saying ' Do n't isolate yourselves, come back to the church. ' '' Jon O'Brien, the president of U.S. pro-choice Catholic dissident advocacy group Catholics for Choice, praised the pope 's effort, and said `` it showed that Francis understood the deep chasm that exists between ordinary Catholics -- who turn to abortion and birth control with the same frequency as people of other faiths -- and their clergy. '' Ordination of women See also : Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women Francis has often spoken about the importance of women in the Catholic Church. He considers that they have a special role in spreading the faith to their children and grandchildren. He also considers that, although the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus were women, their significance was ignored because in Jewish law, only males are credible witnesses. Francis has addressed the subject of the ordination of women a number of times. Francis has ruled out the possibility of female priests, stating that this has been the longtime stance of the Church, and that `` John Paul II made the Church 's stance definitive. The door is closed. '' Francis ruled out female cardinals in December 2013. On the other hand, Francis has been noncommittal about whether women should lead more in administration and pastoral activities. Erin Saiz Hanna of the Women 's Ordination Conference has accused Francis of a selective use of evidence. She mentioned that the Pontifical Biblical Commission had once concluded that there were no scriptural or theological problems with ordaining women, and cited the attitude of Jesus towards women and their leadership in the early church. She also suggested that his rejection to the ordination of women may be at odds with his tolerance of gay priests, mentioned in the same interview. Clergy Bishop Gabriel Barba and Pope Francis Francis has criticized the perceived hunger for power of some sectors of the curia, which come at the expense of a proper religious life. He thinks that gossip is a danger to the reputation of people, and that the presence of cliques within organizations is a threat to both the individual and the organization. Francis thinks that priests should be in contact with the people as much as possible and avoid isolation. He also suggests that priests should encourage people to be optimistic. He has been supported by Rome bishops, priests, deacons, and seminarians from the English - speaking world who attended the second international conference of the Confraternities of Catholic Clergy. In September 2013, Pope Francis approved the excommunication of Australian priest Greg Reynolds, the first during Francis 's papacy. Reynolds was accused of heresy and sacrilegious treatment of the consecrated host. His public preaching contradicting church teaching was also referenced in the letter of excommunication. A letter sent by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, to the priests of his diocese cited Reynolds 's support for the ordination of women and `` his public celebration of the Eucharist when he did not hold faculties to act publicly as a priest ''. Reynolds said that his support of same - sex marriage was also a factor, though not mentioned. In response to the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases, Francis created the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In the past, priests who committed abuses were removed by bishops, but bishops were rarely held accountable. This tribunal was created to prevent cover - ups of abuse cases ; offenders would be dealt with by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Barbara Blaine, president of the organization Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, considered that it may not be effective. Priestly celibacy As a cardinal, Bergoglio 's views regarding the celibacy of priests were recorded in the book On Heaven and Earth, a record of conversations conducted with Abraham Skorka, a Buenos Aires rabbi and rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary. He says that celibacy is a matter of discipline rather than faith, and that tradition and experience would advise to keep it. He noted that the Byzantine, Ukrainian, Russian, and Greek Catholic Churches allow married men to be ordained priests, but not bishops. He said that many of those in Western Catholicism who are pushing for more discussion about the issue do so from a position of pragmatism, based on a loss of manpower. He states that `` If, hypothetically, Western Catholicism were to review the issue of celibacy, I think it would do so for cultural reasons ( as in the East ), not so much as a universal option. '' He emphasized that, in the meantime, the rule must be strictly adhered to, and any priest who can not obey it should leave the ministry. The National Catholic Reporter 's Vatican analyst, Thomas J. Reese, also a Jesuit, praised Bergoglio 's use of conditional language. He said that phrases like `` for the moment '' and `` for now '' are `` not the kind of qualifications one normally hears when bishops and cardinals discuss celibacy. '' Contraception and family planning The initial reports that Francis considered that the use of methods intended for contraception with the purpose of preventing disease might be permissible were disputed by others who said he was `` unwaveringly orthodox on matters of sexual morality ''. Before becoming Pope he opposed the free distribution of contraceptives when it was introduced by the Kirchner government. Francis emphasized that contraception involves `` destruction of the family through the privation of children. '' At the same time, Francis teaches that `` responsible parenthood '' is important, and suggested to have about three children in a family, and added that Christians do not need to breed in excess. Francis encourages natural family planning such as avoiding sexual intercourse when the woman is fertile. LGBT issues See also : Homosexuality and the Catholic Church As bishop and Pope, Francis restated the Church 's principle : that homosexual practice is intrinsically immoral, but that every homosexual person deserves respect and love. He opposes same - sex marriage, including the 2010 bill to introduce it in Argentina. In July 2010, while the law was under consideration, he wrote a letter to Argentina 's cloistered nuns in which he said the Argentine nuclear family could be seriously harmed. He thought that children would face discrimination and lose the development that a father and mother give. Let 's not be naïve : This is not a simple political fight ; it is a destructive proposal to God 's plan. This is not a mere legislative proposal ( that 's just its form ), but a move by the father of lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God... Let 's look to St. Joseph, Mary, and the Child to ask fervently that they defend the Argentine family in this moment... May they support, defend, and accompany us in this war of God. After L'Osservatore Romano reported this, several priests expressed their support for the law and one was defrocked. Observers believe that the church 's opposition and Bergoglio 's language worked in favor of the law 's passage and that in response, Catholic officials adopted a more conciliatory tone in later debates on social issues such as parental surrogacy. Rubin, Bergoglio 's biographer, said that while taking a strong stand against same - sex marriage, Bergoglio raised the possibility in 2010 with his bishops in Argentina that they support the idea of civil unions as a compromise position. According to one news report by The New York Times, a majority of the bishops voted to overrule him. Miguel Woites, the director of the Catholic News Agency of Argentina, denied that Bergoglio ever made such a proposal, but additional sources, including two Argentine journalists and two senior officials of the Argentine bishops conference, supported Rubin 's account. In an interview on 28 July 2013, when discussing homosexuals ( both in general and their place in the clergy ) and answering a question as to whether there was a `` gay lobby '' in the Vatican, the pontiff said, `` If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him ? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a beautiful way, saying... : ' no one should marginalize these people for this, they must be integrated into society '. '' According to two gay rights activists, Marcelo Márquez and Andrés Albertsen, Bergoglio expressed support for the spiritual needs of `` homosexual people '' and willingness to support `` measured actions '' on their behalf in private conversations with them. These remarks have been seen as an encouraging change of tone from the papacy, so much so that the American LGBT magazine The Advocate named Pope Francis their Person of the Year for 2013. On 5 January 2014, the Vatican denied that the Pontiff supports gay unions. In response to various Italian tabloid articles released in the media, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi cited that various media misinterpretations are `` paradoxical '' and manipulative in misusing Pope Francis 's words noted in response to children growing up in non-traditional families. The New York Times considers that Bergoglio may have supported gay unions in Argentina only as a negotiated compromise, but that his context as a Pope is very different. In 2015, Pope Francis declared that `` the family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage '' and suggested that same - sex marriage `` disfigures God 's plan for creation ''. The Pontiff supported the Slovak referendum on banning gay marriage and gay adoption in an address to St. Peter 's Square, stating : `` I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society. '' In October 2015, priest and Vatican theologian Priest Krzysztof Charamsa was stripped of his posts after announcing he was homosexual and denouncing the Church for `` persecuting '' and causing `` immeasurable suffering '' to homosexuals. On 2 October 2016, Pope Francis spoke in favor of pastoral care for and including transgender Catholics in the church, stating priests should `` accompany them spiritually '' and that they should never be turned away, even if they have undergone gender transition and sex - reassignment operations. He spoke out against `` Gender Theory '', that is the concept that gender identity is not definite and can change, being taught in schools and referred to it as `` ideological colonization '' and said it was one of the threats against traditional marriage and is destructive to children. New Ways Ministry and DignityUSA, two LGBT Catholic Advocacy groups, both spoke out against Pope Francis 's statements regarding gender identity, calling it `` dangerous ignorance '' of the issue. Francis once held an audience with a Spanish transgender man, who had transitioned from female to male, and his wife. In April 2018 Pope Francis met with Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of sexual abuse by Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. Cruz discussed with Francis in detail how his sexual orientation was used by Latin American media and news outlets to discredit his report of abuse and label him as a pervert and liar. In a private conversation between the two Francis reportedly said to Cruz, whom identifies as homosexual, in regards to his sexuality, `` You know Juan Carlos, that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say. '' Religious persecution Francis condemned persecution of religious minorities in Iraq including some Christian victims. He did not mention the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant specifically but is believed to have referred to it. Francis mentioned children dying of hunger and thirst, kidnapped women, massacres, and violence of all kinds. In the opinion of Francis war and hatred can not be carried out in the name of God. Francis thanked brave people bringing aid to those driven from their homes. He confidently expects an effective solution to stop those crimes and return the area to the rule of law and, in a break with Vatican tradition, supports the use of force to stop Islamic militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq. On 9 April 2017 following the 2017 Palm Sunday church bombings at the Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria and the Church of St. George in Tanta, killing at least 40 people and injuring dozens more, Pope Francis said `` We pray for the victims of the attack carried out today, this morning, in Cairo, in a Coptic church. '' He expressed his `` deep condolences '' for Coptic Orthodox Christians and for Egypt and called Pope Tawadros II, who had escaped the attack, his `` brother ''. Capital punishment and life imprisonment Pope Francis proposed the abolition of both capital punishment and life imprisonment in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law. He thinks that states should find another way to protect people from aggression, and includes deaths caused by police brutality and extrajudicial punishment. He affirmed that the Church accepts it when there are no other options to protect the people, but considers that nowadays such cases may be minimal or even nonexistent. He also thinks that life imprisonment, recently removed from the Vatican penal code, is just a variation of the death penalty. Ecumenism with other Christians In October 2013, during the above - mentioned interview with Eugenio Scalfari, Francis said : `` I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God ''. In another interview with La Stampa, Pope Francis emphasized his commitment to ecumenism, stating : `` For me, ecumenism is a priority. Today, we have the ecumenism of blood. In some countries they kill Christians because they wear a cross or have a Bible, and before killing them they do n't ask if they 're Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics or Orthodox. The blood is mixed. '' During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis addressed the attendees of the John 17 Movement gathering opining that `` Division is the work of the Father of Lies '' and that he `` knows that Christians are disciples of Christ : that they are one, that they are brothers ! He does n't care if they are Evangelicals, or Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic... he does n't care ! They are Christians. And that blood ( of martyrdom ) unites. Today, dear brothers and sisters, we are living an ' ecumenism of blood '. This must encourage us to do what we are doing today : to pray, to dialogue together, to shorten the distance between us, to strengthen our bonds of brotherhood. '' During the 2016 Octave of Christian Unity, Pope Francis `` asked forgiveness for the way Catholics had treated other Christian believers over the years, and also invited Catholics to pardon those who had persecuted them. '' Independent Catholicism In October 2014, Pope Francis met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church 's Bishops ' Conference of the Union of Utrecht, led by the Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the International Old Catholic Bishops Conference Joris Vercammen. The Pope reflected on the shared ecumenical journey of the two churches since their 18th - century schism over the issue of papal primacy. The Pope called for Catholics and Independent Catholics to `` persevere in dialogue and to walk, pray and work together in a deeper spirit of conversion '' and said there are `` many areas in which Catholics and Old Catholics can collaborate in tackling the profound spiritual crisis affecting individuals and societies, especially in Europe. '' Eastern orthodoxy Francis with Patriarch Bartholomew I in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, during his 2014 pilgrimage to the Holy Land Bergoglio is recognized for his efforts `` to further close the nearly 1,000 - year estrangement with the Eastern Orthodox Churches ''. Antoni Sevruk, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome, said that Bergoglio `` often visited Orthodox services in the Russian Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral in Buenos Aires '' and is known as an advocate on behalf of the Orthodox Church in dealing with Argentina 's government. Bergoglio 's positive relationship with the Eastern Orthodox Churches is reflected in the fact that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople attended his installation. This is the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 that the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, a position considered first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox Church organization, has attended a papal installation. Orthodox leaders state that Bartholomew 's decision to attend the ceremony shows that the relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches is a priority of his, but they also note that Francis 's `` well - documented work for social justice and his insistence that globalization is detrimental to the poor '' may have created a `` renewed opportunity '' for the two Church communities to `` work collectively on issues of mutual concern ''. In 2013, Pope Francis received Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, in the Vatican. On 12 February 2016, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, met in Havana, Cuba, issuing the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, calling for restored Christian unity between the two churches. This was reported as the first such high - level meeting between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054. On April 28, 2017, Pope Francis participated in an ecumenical prayer service in Cairo, Egypt, with Pope Theodoros II, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II. This historic event appears to be the first time that the three Christian popes and the ecumenical patriarch have met together. ( Joshua J. McElwee ( 2017 ). `` In Egypt, Francis appeals for peace. '' `` National Catholic Reporter. '' May 19 - June 1, 2017. p. 6 ) Oriental orthodoxy In May 2013, Pope Francis met with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria in the Vatican. The meeting coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first visit by a Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria to the Vatican ; when Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria met with Pope Paul VI on 10 May 1973. Francis reflected on the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, saying that the visit `` strengthens the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that already exist between the See of Peter and the See of Mark '' and praised the Commission for Theological Dialogue for preparing ground for dialogue between the Catholic Church and Oriental Orthodox churches. Pope Francis also acknowledged the two churches shared beliefs in the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, Marian devotion, apostolic traditions, and the seven sacraments. In May 2016, Pope Francis sent a letter to Tawadros II, acknowledging their shared commitment to holiness and defending the dignity of human life and celebrating friendship between Catholics and Coptic Orthodox Christians. The Pope said, `` we are able even now to make visible the communion uniting us. '' In June 2015, Pope Francis met with Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The two primates discussed their desire to work toward full communion between their two churches, stating that Antioch and Rome are the only two Apostolic Sees where St. Peter the Apostle had preached. They also expressed an eagerness to celebrate Easter on a common date, as Catholics and Oriental Orthodox have separate days for Easter. During his papal visit to Armenia in 2016, Pope Francis prayed inside Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the oldest state - built church in the world, alongside the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II. During the prayer service, the Pope asked for and received a blessing from Catholicos Karekin II. The Pope spoke about the Christian faith of the Armenian people and how Armenia became the first nation to accept Christianity as its official religion, even while persecutions under Emperor Diocletian were prevalent in the Roman Empire. The Pope also gave thanks for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church and the steps they have taken `` for the sake of coming to share fully in the Eucharistic banquet. '' In February 2017, the Pope met with Coptic bishops at the Vatican to discuss the violence against and persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Anglicanism Gregory Venables, Anglican Bishop of Argentina and former Primate of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, said that Cardinal Bergoglio had told him very clearly that the personal ordinariates established within the Catholic Church for groups of former Anglicans was `` quite unnecessary '' and that the Catholic Church needed Anglicans as Anglicans. A spokesman for the ordinariates said the words were those of Venables, not the Pope. Pope Francis met for the first time the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, when he visited the Vatican, on 14 June 2013. The Roman Pontiff said that they both shared the same concerns for social justice, peace and the promotion of Christian values, in matters like marriage. The second meeting took place at the Vatican, on 16 June 2014, with Pope Francis and Justin Welby recommitting themselves to work against modern slavery and human trafficking. Pope Francis has expressed his support for the Anglican realignment, sending through his personal friend, Gregory Venables, a message to the Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America, a newly formed church outside of the Anglican Communion and not officially recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with his `` personal greetings and congratulations as he leads his church in the very important job of revival '' and asking Venables to embrace him on his behalf. It was presented during Archbishop Beach 's enthronement, which took place at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, on 9 October 2014. Lutheranism On 31 October 2016, Pope Francis commemorated the 499th anniversary of the Reformation with Lutherans in Sweden. This event opened the 500th year since the Reformation began with Martin Luther posting his Ninety - Five Theses in Wittenberg in 1517. The Pope visited the 950 year old Lund Cathedral, located in Sweden 's southernmost and originally Danish province of Scania. He celebrated an ecumenical liturgy together with the president of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Dr. Munib Younan. Pope Francis expressed his shared desire with leaders of the Church of Sweden to achieve full communion, but said more ecumenical work needed to be done in order to work towards communion. The two churches called for focusing on what unites their faith rather than what separates them from each other ( Pope Francis previously made a similar treaty with the Orthodox Church. ) The following day the Pope conducted a Catholic mass at a football stadium in Malmö. In 2013, Mark Hanson, then presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA ), greeted the news of Bergoglio 's election with a public statement that praised his work with Lutherans in Argentina. Methodism On 14 December 2014, Pope Francis became the first pope to host a General of The Salvation Army, the international leader of the Evangelical Methodist denomination The Salvation Army, in a private audience in the Vatican when he met with André Cox. The pope said that `` Catholics and Salvationists, together with other Christians, recognise that those in need have a special place in God 's heart '', as a result they often `` meet at the same peripheries of society ''. During his papal visit to the Philippines in 2015, the Pope met with Chief Justice Reynato Puno, a United Methodist layman, along with nine other religious leaders and peace advocates to discuss humanitarian relief. In 2016, Pope Francis met with members of the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Council of Europe, and the Methodist Church in Britain, who were in Rome for the opening of the Methodist Ecumenical Office there. The Pope called for Catholics and Methodists to unite in their Christian beliefs and in service to others. Pope Francis referred to Catholics and Methodists as `` truly brothers and sisters '' and, reflecting on the words of the Anglican priest and founder of Methodism John Wesley in his Letter to a Roman Catholic, quoted `` if we can not as yet think alike in all things, at least we may love alike. '' Also in 2016, Pope Francis met with Gottfried Locher, the President of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches to speak about `` ecumenism and Protestantism in Europe. '' The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches is made up of Calvinist, Zwinglian, and Methodist churches. Evangelicalism Evangelical Christian leaders, including Argentine Luis Palau, welcomed the news of Bergoglio 's election as Pope based on his relations with Evangelical Protestants, noting that Bergoglio 's financial manager for the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires was an Evangelical Christian whom Bergoglio refers to as a friend. Palau recounted how Bergoglio would not only relax and `` drink mate '' with that friend, but would also read the Bible and pray with him, based on what Bergoglio called a relationship of friendship and trust. Palau described Bergoglio 's approach to relationships with Evangelicals as one of `` building bridges and showing respect, knowing the differences, but majoring on what we can agree on : on the divinity of Jesus, his virgin birth, his resurrection, the second coming. '' As a result of Bergoglio 's election, Palau predicted that `` tensions will be eased. '' Juan Pablo Bongarrá, president of the Argentine Bible Society, recounted that Bergoglio not only met with Evangelicals and prayed with them, he also asked them to pray for him. Bongarrá noted that Bergoglio would frequently end a conversation with the request, `` Pastor, pray for me. '' Additionally, Bongarrá told the story of a weekly worship meeting of charismatic pastors in Buenos Aires, which Bergoglio attended : `` He mounted the platform and called for pastors to pray for him. He knelt in front of nearly 6,000 people, and ( the Protestant leaders there ) laid hands and prayed. '' Other Evangelical Christian leaders agreed that Bergoglio 's relationships in Argentina made him `` situated to better understand Protestantism '' than had his predecessor Pope Benedict, `` who often referred to Protestantism as a ' sect ' of Christianity ''. Noting that the divide between Catholicism and Protestantism is often present among members of the same families in Argentina, and is therefore an extremely important human issue, Evangelical author Chris Castaldo said that Francis could set the tone for more compassionate conversations among families about the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism. Mormonism In November 2014, three top Mormon leaders attended the Vatican 's `` Humanum : An International Interreligious Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman '' ; the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints Gérald Caussé, the First Counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church Henry B. Eyring, and L. Tom Perry, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Catholic and Mormon leaders reaffirmed their shared beliefs in the centrality of marriage and families in society. Pope Francis shook hands with Henry B. Eyring, who was one of the 30 speakers chosen for the event. The interaction was the first time a Pope and a Latter - day Saint leader had met face - to - face. Interfaith dialogue Pope Francis in Bethlehem, Palestine, 25 May 2014 Bergoglio has written about his commitment to open and respectful interfaith dialogue as a way for all parties engaged in that dialogue to learn from one another. In the 2011 book that records his conversations with Rabbi Abraham Skorka, On Heaven and Earth, Bergoglio said : Dialogue is born from an attitude of respect for the other person, from a conviction that the other person has something good to say. It assumes that there is room in the heart for the person 's point of view, opinion, and proposal. Dialogue entails a cordial reception, not a prior condemnation. In order to dialogue it is necessary to know how to lower the defenses, open the doors of the house, and offer human warmth. Religious leaders in Buenos Aires have mentioned that Bergoglio promoted interfaith ceremonies at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. For example, in November 2012 he brought leaders of the Jewish, Muslim, Evangelical, and Orthodox Christian faiths together to pray for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflicts. Rabbi Alejandro Avruj praised Bergoglio 's interest in interfaith dialogue and his commitment to mend religious divisions. Shortly after his election, the pope called for more interreligious dialogue as a way of `` building bridges '' and establishing `` true links of friendship between all people ''. He added that it was crucial `` to intensify outreach to nonbelievers, so that the differences which divide and hurt us may never prevail ''. He said that his title of `` pontiff '' means `` builder of bridges '', and that it was his wish that `` the dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced. '' On 24 May 2014, Pope Francis arrived in Jordan, at the start of a tour of the Middle East, `` aiming to boost ties with Muslims and Jews as well as easing an age - old rift within Christianity ''. In a 2016 survey, Francis was viewed favourably by almost two thirds of Jews, as well as majorities of Protestants and the irreligious ; minorities of Buddhists and Muslims had favourable views of him. Judaism Francis praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on his 2014 visit to the Holy Land Bergoglio has close ties to the Jewish community of Argentina, and attended Rosh Hashanah ( Jewish new year ) services in 2007 at a synagogue in Buenos Aires. He told the Jewish congregation during his visit that he went to the synagogue to examine his heart, `` like a pilgrim, together with you, my elder brothers ''. After the 1994 AMIA bombing of a Jewish Community Center that killed 85 people, Bergoglio was the first public figure to sign a petition condemning the attack and calling for justice. Jewish community leaders around the world noted that his words and actions `` showed solidarity with the Jewish community '' in the aftermath of this attack. A former head of the World Jewish Congress, Israel Singer, reported that he worked with Bergoglio in the early 2000s, distributing aid to the poor as part of a joint Jewish -- Catholic program called `` Tzedaká ''. Singer noted that he was impressed with Bergoglio 's modesty, remembering that `` if everyone sat in chairs with handles ( arms ), he would sit in the one without. '' Bergoglio also co-hosted a Kristallnacht memorial ceremony at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral in 2012, and joined a group of clerics from a number of different religions to light candles in a 2012 synagogue ceremony on the occasion of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Pope Francis blessed the cornerstone for the building of the museum devoted to wartime Polish rescuers of Jews which is being built in the Polish village of Markowa ; where the family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, who are now Servants of God as the Vatican is studying their cause for sainthood, were shot by the Germans for hiding their Jewish neighbors. Abraham Skorka, the rector of the Latin - American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires, and Bergoglio published their conversations on religious and philosophical subjects as Sobre el cielo y la tierra ( On Heaven and Earth ). An editorial in Israel 's Jerusalem Post notes that `` Unlike John Paul II, who as a child had positive memories of the Jews of his native Poland but due to the Holocaust had no Jewish community to interact with in Poland as an adult, Pope Francis has maintained a sustained and very positive relationship with a living, breathing ( Jewish ) community in Buenos Aires. '' One of the pope 's first official actions was writing a letter to Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, inviting him to the papal installation and sharing his hope of collaboration between the Catholic and Jewish communities. Addressing representatives of Jewish organizations and communities, Francis said that, `` due to our common roots ( a ) Christian can not be anti-Semitic ! '' Francis had a warm relationship with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who visited the pope in April 2013 and invited him to Israel. Francis traveled to Israel in May 2014 and met with Peres at the presidential residence. During his trip, Francis invited both Peres and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to join him in Rome to `` pray for peace '', which Peres and Abbas did in June 2014. After leaving the presidency, Peres visited Francis again in Rome in September 2014 and June 2016. Islam Muslim leaders in Buenos Aires welcomed the news of Bergoglio 's election as pope, noting that he `` always showed himself as a friend of the Islamic community '', and a person whose position is `` pro-dialogue ''. They praised Bergoglio 's close ties with Muslim groups and noted his comments when Pope Benedict 's 2006 Regensburg lecture was interpreted by many as denigrating Islam. According to them, Bergoglio immediately distanced himself from Benedict 's language and said that statements which provoked outrage with Muslims would `` serve to destroy in 20 seconds the careful construction of a relationship with Islam that Pope John Paul II built over the last 20 years. '' Bergoglio visited both a mosque and an Islamic school in Argentina ; visits that the Director for the Diffusion of Islam, Sheik Mohsen Ali, called actions that strengthened the relationship between the Catholic and Islamic communities. Sumer Noufouri, Secretary General of the Islamic Center of the Argentine Republic ( CIRA ), added that for Muslims, Bergoglio 's past actions make his election as pope a cause of `` joy and expectation of strengthening dialogue between religions ''. Noufouri said that the relationship between CIRA and Bergoglio over the course of a decade had helped to build up Christian -- Muslim dialogue in a way that was `` really significant in the history of monotheistic relations in Argentina ''. Ahmed el - Tayeb, Grand Imam of al - Azhar and president of Egypt 's Al - Azhar University, sent congratulations after the pope 's election. Al - Tayeb had `` broken off relations with the Vatican '' during Benedict XVI 's time as pope ; his message of congratulations also included the request that `` Islam asks for respect from the new pontiff ''. Shortly after his election, in a meeting with ambassadors from the 180 countries accredited with the Holy See, Pope Francis called for more interreligious dialogue -- `` particularly with Islam ''. He also expressed gratitude that `` so many civil and religious leaders from the Islamic world '' had attended his installation Mass. An editorial in the Saudi Arabian paper Saudi Gazette strongly welcomed the pope 's call for increased interfaith dialogue, stressing that while the pope was `` reiterating a position he has always maintained '', his public call as pope for increased dialogue with Islam `` comes as a breath of fresh air at a time when much of the Western world is experiencing a nasty outbreak of Islamophobia ''. In 2016, Pope Francis met with Ahmed el - Tayeb at the Vatican, the first meeting since 2000 between the Grand Imam of al - Azhar and the leader of the world 's Catholics. In the aftermath of the 2016 Normandy church attack, whereby two Islamic terrorists affiliated with ISIS murdered the 85 - year - old Catholic priest Jacques Hamel by slitting his throat, Bergoglio made public statements saying, `` It 's not right to identify Islam with violence. It 's not right and it 's not true (... ) If I speak of Islamic violence, then I have to speak of Catholic violence. '' According to the BBC, this received a French backlash on social media, as the hashtag # PasMonPape ( `` Not My Pope '' ) became the number one trend on Twitter in France. Buddhism In 2014, Pope Francis declined to meet with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, after the Dalai Lama, who was visiting Rome, had requested a papal audience. Vatican officials assured the press and Buddhist leaders that Pope Francis held the Dalai Lama `` in very high regard '', but was concerned that the meeting of the two spiritual leaders could jeopardize the Vatican 's efforts to improve their relationship with China. In speaking critically of the progress of the negotiations, in October 2017 Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, said the Pope `` does not understand the Communist Party at all '' and that the Chinese Communist Party government had failed to make any concessions. In January 2015 during the papal visit to Sri Lanka, Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at a Buddhist temple in Colombo where he was shown sacred Buddhist relics that are normally only viewed once a year, and listened to singing and devotional music. Earlier that week, Francis had met with Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian leaders in Sri Lanka and said `` religious beliefs must never be allowed to be abused in the cause of violence and war. '' On 24 June 2015, dialogue between Buddhist and Catholic religious and social leaders began in the Vatican, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Pope Francis attended the meeting, where he spoke in favor of Buddhists and Catholics working together to address social problems. Pope Francis received a Buddhist blessing while at the meeting. Attitudes about non-believers Speaking to journalists and media employees on 16 March 2013, Pope Francis said he would bless everyone silently, `` given that many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church, and others are not believers. '' In his papal address on 20 March, he said the `` attempt to eliminate God and the Divine from the horizon of humanity '' resulted in violence, but described as well his feelings about nonbelievers : `` ( W ) e also sense our closeness to all those men and women who, although not identifying themselves as followers of any religious tradition, are nonetheless searching for truth, goodness and beauty, the truth, goodness and beauty of God. They are our valued allies in the commitment to defending human dignity, in building a peaceful coexistence between peoples and in safeguarding and caring for creation. '' Some atheists hoped Francis would prove to be progressive on issues like poverty and social inequality, while others were more skeptical that he would be `` interested in a partnership of equals ''. In May 2013, Francis said all who do good can be redeemed through Jesus, including atheists. Francis said God `` has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ : all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone ! Even the atheists. Everyone ! '' Amid the ensuant controversy, Carl E. Olson said Francis 's words were fundamental Christian teaching dating back to the Apostle Paul and Fr. Dwight Longenecker wrote, `` Unfortunately for those who wish to paint Pope Francis as a lovable liberal, in fact, the Pope is simply affirming certain truths that any somewhat knowledgable Catholic will uphold. '' A spokesman for the Vatican, Father Thomas Rosica, issued an `` explanatory note '' that non-Catholics who `` know '' the Catholic Church but do not convert `` can not be saved '', and only those who `` sincerely seek God... can attain eternal salvation ''. Hendrik Hertzberg criticised Rosica in The New Yorker magazine, and speculated that there may be major internal disagreement between supporters and opponents of Vatican II in the Catholic Church. In September 2013, Francis wrote a letter to Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, saying non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences. Responding to a list of questions published in his newspaper by Scalfari, who is not a Catholic, Francis wrote : `` you ask if the God of Christians forgives those who do not believe and who do not seek faith. Given the premise, and this is fundamental, that the mercy of God is limitless for those who turn to him with a sincere and contrite heart, the issue for the unbeliever lies in obeying his or her conscience. '' International diplomatic role Pope Francis with U.S. President Barack Obama, 27 March 2014 Pope Francis shaking hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, behind Russian President Vladimir Putin, 10 June 2015 Pope Francis played a key role in the talks toward restoring 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 Wednesday, 17 December 2014. The headline in the Los Angeles Times on 19 December 2014 was `` Bridge to Cuba via Vatican, '' with the further lead `` In a rare and crucial role, Pope Francis helped keep U.S. talks with Havana on track and guided final deal. '' 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. 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 ''. 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. '' The Cuba visit `` seals that accomplishment, in which he served as a bridge between two erstwhile enemies ''. According to one expert on religion in Latin America, Mario Paredes, the pope 's visit to Cuba is 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. '' John Paul was the first pope to visit Cuba. In May 2015, the pope met with Cuban leader Raúl Castro. After the meeting in Vatican City on 10 May 2015, Castro said that he is considering returning to the Catholic Church. 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. '' Castro said that when the pope comes, `` I promise to go to all his Masses and with satisfaction ''. In December 2014, Pope Francis declined to meet with the 14th Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. According to a New York Times report, a Vatican spokesman said `` Pope Francis obviously holds the Dalai Lama in very high regard, but he will not be meeting any of the Nobel ( Peace ) laureates. '' The last meeting between the Dalai Lama and a pope was with Benedict XVI in 2006. In November 2015, Pope Francis met with that year 's Nobel Peace Prize laureates from Tunisia. In May 2014, his visit to the state of Israel, where he delivered 13 speeches, was heavily publicized. protests against his visit resulted in an alleged arson attempt at the Dormition Abbey. The cave under the Church of the Nativity caught fire the night after his visit. In May 2015, Pope Francis welcomed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican. Several media outlets reported that Francis praised Abbas as `` an angel of peace '', though his actual words were the following : `` The angel of peace destroys the evil spirit of war. I thought about you : may you be an angel of peace. '' The Vatican signed a treaty recognizing the state of Palestine. The Vatican issued statements concerning the hope that the peace talks could resume between Israel and Palestine. Abbas 's visit was on the occasion of the canonization of two Palestinian nuns. On 6 June 2015, Pope Francis visited Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He urged peace during his time in the religiously diverse city, known as the `` Jerusalem of Europe ''. On 25 September 2015, Pope Francis addressed the United Nations in New York City. On 16 April 2016, he visited, together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop Ieronimos II of Athens, the Mòria camp in the Greek island of Lesbos, to call the attention of the world to the refugee issue. There the three Christian leaders signed a joint declaration. Pope Francis has said he will visit Ireland in 2018, in what will be the first papal tour of the country since John Paul II 's historic trip in 1979. U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania with Pope Francis, 24 May 2017, Vatican City In January 2017, Pope Francis demanded the resignation of Matthew Festing, the 79th 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 's firing of Baron Albrecht von Boeselager from his position in the Order of Malta. The Order is currently under Vatican control until another Prince is appointed. On 24 May 2017, Pope Francis met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Vatican City where they discussed the contributions of Catholics to the United States and to the world. Trump and the Pope discussed issues of mutual concern including how religious communities can combat human suffering in crisis regions, such as Syria, Libya, and ISIS - controlled territory. Trump and Pope Francis also discussed terrorism and the radicalization of young people. The Vatican 's secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, raised the issue of climate change in the meeting and encouraged Trump to remain in the Paris Agreement. Public image See also : List of places and things named after Pope Francis External video Why the only future worth building includes everyone, TED talks, April 2017, 17 : 51, in Italian with subtitles in 22 languages Popular mainstream media frequently portray Pope Francis either as a progressive papal reformer or with liberal, moderate values. The Vatican has claimed that Western news outlets often seek to portray his message with a less - doctrinal tone of papacy, in hopes of extrapolating his words to convey a more merciful and tolerant message. In the news media, both faithful and non-believers often refer to a `` honeymoon '' phase in which the Pope has changed the tone on Catholic doctrines and supposedly initiated ecclesiastical reform in the Vatican. Media systems differ, too, not only in their coverage of Francis 's stances but also in how individual events are portrayed. His 2015 trip to Cuba is a prime example. During this trip, American - based AP and British - based Reuters highlighted the religious aspect of the pope 's journey while Prensa Latina, the official state media agency, depicted it as a diplomatic visit. American and British media were also more likely during this trip to show Francis interacting with regular Cubans compared to the official Cuban media, which showed Francis interacting with elites most often. In December 2013, both Time and The Advocate magazines named the Pontiff as their `` Person of the Year '' in praise and hopes of reforming the Roman Curia while hoping to change the Catholic Church 's doctrine on various controversial issues. In addition, Esquire magazine named him as the `` Best - dressed man '' for 2013 for his simpler vestments often in tune with a modern simplistic design on sartorial fashion. Rolling Stone magazine followed in January 2014 by making the Pontiff their featured front cover. Fortune magazine also ranked Pope Francis as number one in their list of 50 greatest leaders. On 5 November 2014, he was ranked by Forbes as the fourth most powerful person in the world and was the only non-political figure in the top ranking. In December 2016, Francis yet made Forbes 's list of `` The World 's Most Powerful People '', ranking fifth. In March 2013, a new song was dedicated to Francis and released in Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, and Italian, titled Come Puoi ( `` How You Can '' ). Also in March, Pablo Buera, the mayor of La Plata, Argentina, announced that the city had renamed a section of a street leading up to a local cathedral Papa Francisco. There are already efforts to name other streets after him, as well as a school where he studied as a child. A proposal to create a commemorative coin as a tribute to Pope Francis was made in Argentina 's lower house on 28 November 2013. On the coins it would read, `` Tribute from the Argentine People to Pope Francis. '' beneath his face. As of May 2013, sales of papal souvenirs, a sign of popularity, were up. Pope 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, just a few weeks before the start of 5 -- 19 October Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. To date, there are two biographical films about Pope Francis : Call Me Francesco ( Italy, 2015 ), starring Rodrigo de la Serna, and Francis : Pray for me ( Argentina, 2015 ), starring Darío Grandinetti. On 19 March 2016, Pope Francis became the first Pope to create an Instagram account. He broke records after having gained over one million followers in under twelve hours of the account being up. On 8 January 2017 at a ceremony commemorating the Baptism of Jesus at the Sistine Chapel in which twenty - eight infants were to be baptized, Pope Francis reiterated support for mothers to breastfeed their children in public, even in sacred places. In July 2017 Pope Francis reiterated the position of the Church that bread to be used in the eucharist for the transsubstantiation into the Body of Christ should not be glutenfree. Distinctions Titles and styles Papal styles of Pope Francis Reference style His Holiness Spoken style Your Holiness Religious style Holy Father The official style of the Pope in English is His Holiness Pope Francis ; in Latin, Franciscus, Episcopus Romae. Holy Father is another honorific often used for popes. His full title, rarely used, is : His Holiness Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God. The best - known title, that of `` Pope '', does not appear in the official list of titles, but is commonly used in the titles of documents, and appears, in abbreviated form, in their signatures as `` PP. '' standing for Papa ( Pope ). It is customary when referring to popes to translate the regnal name into local languages. Thus he is Papa Franciscus in Latin ( the official language of the Holy See ), Papa Francesco in Italian ( the language of the Vatican ), Papa Francisco in his native Spanish, and Pope Francis in English. National orders As Pope, representative of the Holy See and head of state of Vatican City, Francis is Grand Master of the following orders : Holy See : Supreme Order of Christ Holy See : Order of the Golden Spur Holy See : Order of Pius IX Holy See : Order of St. Gregory the Great Holy See : Order of St. Sylvester Foreign orders Bolivia : Grand Collar of the Order of the Condor of the Andes ( 9 July 2015 ) Bolivia : Order of Merit `` Father Luis Espinal Camps '' ( 9 July 2015 ) Poland : Order of the Smile ( 26 April 2016 ) Awards Germany : International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen 2016 `` Person of the Year '' by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( 2015 ) for his request that all Catholics be kind to animals Academic honors Honorary Sommelier Diploma of the Italian Sommelier Association ( 2015 ) Honorific eponyms and dedications Francis and President Aquino at Malacañan, 16 January 2015 Philippines : The Pope Francis Center for the Poor -- Palo, Leyte ( 12 July 2015 ) 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. The composer Ludger Stühlmeyer dedicated his work Klangrede -- Sonnengesang des Franziskus, for choir ( SATB ) and instruments, to Pope Francis ( Suae Sanctitati Papae Francisci dedicat. ). First performance : Capella Mariana 4 October 2015. Appreciation In the oratorio Laudato si ' by Peter Reulein ( music ) written on a libretto by Helmut Schlegel OFM, the figure of Pope Francis appears next to Mary, Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi. In the oratorio, Pope Franziskus suggests a bridge from the crucifixion scene on 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 Laudato si ' and Evangelii gaudium were used. The motto of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy also plays a central role. The oratorio was premiered on 6 November 2016 in the Limburg Cathedral. Coat of arms Main article : Coat of arms of Pope Francis Coat of arms of Pope Francis Notes Pope Francis 's initial grant of arms by the Holy See was as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was Cardinal Bergoglio, in which the depiction of the Star and Spikenard were tinctured Argent. Following his election as Pontiff these are now tinctured Or. The first version of His Holiness ' arms released by the Vatican Press Office depicted a five - pointed Star from Bergoglio 's archiepiscopal version, but upon election as Pope his coat of arms assumed an eight - pointed star with the representation of the spikenard also being suitably differenced. Crest Not applicable to prelates Helm Bishop 's mitre Escutcheon Azure on a Sun in Splendour Or the IHS Christogram ensigned with a Cross Paté fiché piercing the H Gules all above three Nails fanwise points to centre Sable, and in dexter base a Mullet of eight points and in sinister base a Spikenard flower Or Motto MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO ( Latin for `` BY GIVING MERCY AND BY CHOOSING '' ) Other elements Keys of Peter behind HH 's shield and Papal mantling Symbolism ( On the shield ) Jesuit emblem : In reference to Francis being a Jesuit, the uppermost charge on the shield is the emblem of the Society of Jesus. This charge displays a radiating sun within which is the monogram of the Holy Name of Jesus in red, with a red cross surmounting the H and three black nails below the H. Eight - pointed star : a long - standing symbol of the Virgin Mary. Spikenard alias nard : this flower represents Saint Joseph ; in Hispanic iconographic tradition St Joseph is often depicted holding a branch of spikenard. Further information : Papal coats of arms Writings Library resources about Pope Francis Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Pope Francis Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Books Bergoglio, Jorge ( 1982 ). Meditaciones para religiosos ( Meditations for the Religious ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Diego de Torres. OCLC 644781822. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 1992 ). Reflexiones en esperanza ( Reflections of Hope ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Ediciones Universidad del Salvador. OCLC 36380521. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2003 ). Educar : exigencia y pasión : desafíos para educadores cristianos ( To Educate : Exactingness and Passion : Challenges for Christian Educators ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 9789505124572. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2003 ). Ponerse la patria al hombro : memoria y camino de esperanza ( Putting the Motherland on One 's Shoulders : Memoir and Path of Hope ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 9789505125111. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2005 ). La nación por construir : utopía, pensamiento y compromiso : VIII Jornada de Pastoral Social ( The Nation to Be Built : Utopia, Thought, and Commitment ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 9789505125463. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2006 ). Corrupción y pecado : algunas reflexiones en torno al tema de la corrupción ( Corruption and Sin : Some Thoughts on Corruption ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 9789505125722. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2006 ). Sobre la acusación de sí mismo ( On Self - Accusation, ( or from the Italian, Humility : The Road towards God ) ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 978 - 950 - 512 - 549 - 4. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2007 ). El verdadero poder es el servicio ( True Power Is Service ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. OCLC 688511686. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2009 ). Seminario : las deudas sociales de nuestro tiempo : la deuda social según la doctrina de la iglesia ( Seminar : the Social Debts of Our Time : Social Debt According to Church Doctrine ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : EPOCA - USAL. ISBN 9788493741235. Bergoglio, Jorge ; Skorka, Abraham ( 2010 ). Sobre el cielo y la tierra ( On Heaven and Earth ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Sudamericana. ISBN 9789500732932. ; Bergoglio, Jorge ; Skorka, Abraham ( 2013 ). On Heaven and Earth : Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty - First Century. New York : Random House. ISBN 978 - 0770435066. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2010 ). Seminario Internacional : consenso para el desarrollo : reflexiones sobre solidaridad y desarrollo ( International seminar : Consensus about Development : Reflexions on Solidarity and development ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : EPOCA. ISBN 9789875073524. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2011 ). Nosotros como ciudadanos, nosotros como pueblo : hacia un bicentenario en justicia y solidaridad ( Ourselves as Citizens, Ourselves as a People : towards a Bicentenary in Justice and Solidarity ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Editorial Claretiana. ISBN 9789505127443. Pope Francis ( 2013 ). The Joy of the Gospel : Evangelii Gaudium. Washington, DC : United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. ISBN 978 - 1601374585. Pope Francis ( 2013 ). Open Mind, Faithful Heart : Reflections On Following Jesus. Translated by Joseph V. Owens, SJ. New York : Crossroad Publishing Company. ISBN 9780824519971. Pope Francis ( 2015 ). Praise Be To You -- Laudato Si ' ; On Care for Our Common Home. San Francisco : Ignatius Press. ISBN 978 - 1621640813. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on Love in the Family ( `` The Joy of Love '' ), published 8 April 2016 Other Bergoglio, Jorge ( 1995 ). La vida sagrada y su misión en la Iglesia y en el mundo ( PDF ) ( in Spanish ). Argentina Catholic University : Faculty of Theology. OCLC 806712655. Egan, Edward Michael ; Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2001 ). Episcopus minister Evangelii Iesu Christi propter spem mundi : relatio post disceptationem. The Catholic Church. The Synod of Bishops. Ordinary General Assembly. E Civitate Vaticana. OCLC 749998123. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2003 ). `` For Man ''. In Buzzi, Elisa. A Generative Thought : An Introduction to the Works of Luigi Giussani. Montreal : McGill - Queen 's University Press. pp. 79 -- 83. ISBN 0 - 7735 - 2612 - 9. John Paul, Pope ; Castro, Fidel ( 2004 ). Bergoglio, Jorge, ed. Diálogos entre Juan Pablo II y Fidel Castro ( Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro ) ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : Ciudad Argentina. ISBN 9789875070745. Bergoglio, Jorge ( 2007 ). `` Buscar el camino hacia el futuro, llevando consigo la memoria de las raíces ''. Humanitas ( in Spanish ). National Humanities Institute ( 47 ) : 468 -- 483. OCLC 176911626. Castiñeira de Dios, José María ( 2007 ). El santito Ceferino Namuncurá : relato en verso ( in Spanish ). Foreword by Jorge Bergoglio. Buenos Aires : Lumen. ISBN 9789870007340. Spadaro, Antonio, SJ ( interviewer ) ( 2013 ). A Big Heart Open to God : A Conversation with Pope Francis. New York : HarperOne. ISBN 978 - 0062333773. Official Vatican transcript in English of IEC Catechesis The Eucharist : Gift from God for the life of the world ( 2008 ) ( originally given in Spanish ), 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec, Canada Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina ( 1999 -- 2012 ). Documentos de los obispos : Homilías y documentos del cardenal Bergoglio ( in Spanish ) Music album Main article : Wake Up ! ( Pope Francis album ) Wake Up ! was released on 27 November 2015 by the label Believe Digital and contains speeches by Pope Francis and accompanying music, including rock music. Documentary film Main article : Pope_Francis - A Man of His Word Pope Francis - A Man of His Word is a documentary film with Swiss - Italian - French - German co-production, co-written and directed by Wim Wenders. It premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States on 18 May 2018. It includes extensive sections of interviews as well as stock footage from archives. See also List of current Christian leaders List of current heads of state and government List of pastoral visits of Pope Francis outside Italy List of people beatified by Pope Francis List of popes Notes Jump up ^ Press reports have provided a variety of translations for the phrase. According to Vatican Radio : `` Pope Francis has chosen the motto Miserando atque eligendo, meaning lowly but chosen ; literally in Latin by having mercy, by choosing him. The motto is one Francis used as bishop. It is taken from the homilies of the Venerable Bede on Saint Matthew 's Gospel relating to his vocation : ' Jesus saw the tax collector and by having mercy chose him as an apostle saying to him : Follow me. ' '' Jump up ^ Pronunciation : ( ˈxoɾxe ˈmaɾjo βeɾˈɣoɣljo ) ( Spanish ), ( berˈɡɔʎʎo ) ( Italian ) Jump up ^ This devotion has since spread to Brazil ; it `` attracts people with small problems ''. Bergoglio had an image of Mary Untier of Knots inscribed on a chalice he presented to Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Jump up ^ Pope John Paul I, elected in 1978, took a new combination of already used names, in honor of his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI. Jump up ^ Italics added to refer to English translation of the Latin motto Jump up ^ Both in the Eastern Catholic Churches and in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, married men can be ordained to the priesthood, but priests can not marry after having been ordained. See Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 795 Jump up ^ One source says that the gospel was chanted in Greek during the pope 's inauguration Mass in recognition of Bartholomew 's historic attendance, but the Vatican News Service paraphrased Federico Lombardi of the Vatican Press Office as explaining that `` ( t ) he Gospel will be proclaimed in Greek, as at the highest solemnities, to show that the universal Church is made up of the great traditions of the East and the West. '' ( emphasis added ) Jump up ^ 31 October 2016 is the 499th anniversary of the start of the Reformation. Jump up ^ Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI did not do this during his eight - year reign from 2005 -- 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. References This section is very long. You can click here to skip it. Jump up ^ Scarisbrick, Veronica ( 18 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : `` Miserando atque eligendo ''... '' Vatican Radio. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Direttorju Ekklezjastiku 2016 '' ( PDF ) ( in Maltese and English ). The Church in Malta. 30 June 2016. pp. 1 -- 2. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 22 November 2016. CS1 maint : Unrecognized language ( link ) Jump up ^ Claudio Iván Remeseira : Pope Francis : A humble and outspoken man, and technically also Italian NBCLatino, 14 March 2013 Jump up ^ Garrido, J. ( 16 March 2013 ). `` Vida y trayectoria de Bergoglio en seis capítulos ''. La Tercera. Retrieved 24 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Vatican Web site, from L'Osservatore Romano, Year LXIII, number 12 : biography of the Holy Father Francis ''. Holy See. Retrieved 18 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Regina María Sívori, su mamá ''. La Nación. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ Rice - Oxley, Mark ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : the humble pontiff with practical approach to poverty ''. London : The Guardian ( UK ). Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Donovan, Jeffrey ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Argentina 's Cardinal Bergoglio Is Elected Pope Francis ''. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Henderson, Barney ( 14 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis elected leader of Catholic Church : latest ''. London : The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Rosales & Olivera 2013, p. 5. ^ Jump up to : `` Jorge is against regimes. It is because of fascism that our father emigrated ''. La Stampa. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Los Bergoglio, la familia más sorprendida '' ( The Bergoglio, the most surprised family ) ( in Spanish ). La Nación. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` 3 relatives of pope killed in crash in Argentina -- Chicago Tribune ''. Chicago Tribune. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` CNS STORY : Pope asks prayers after great nephews, their mother die in car crash ''. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Jorge Bergoglio, un sacerdote jesuita de carrera '' ( Jorge Bergoglio, a career Jesuit priest ). La Nación ( in Spanish ). 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Biography : who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio ? ''. News.va. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Reese, Thomas ( 3 June 2015 ), Does Pope Francis have a MA in chemistry ?, National Catholic Reporter, retrieved 3 June 2015 Jump up ^ `` Su etapa de laboratorista ''. Clarín. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013. Jump up ^ Burke, Daniel ( 3 December 2013 ). `` Pope : I was once a bar bouncer ''. CNN. Retrieved 3 December 2013. Jump up ^ Chua, Howard ( 11 December 2013 ). `` TIME 's Person of the Year 2013 Pope Francis, The People 's Pope ''. Time. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ Lifschitz, Alejandro ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Argentina 's pope a modest man focused on the poor ''. Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro ( 14 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis is a card - carrying San Lorenzo supporter ''. ^ Jump up to : `` Bergoglio, sobre todo ' pastor ', tanguero y simpatizante de San Lorenzo '' ( in Spanish ). Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Bergoglio, Jorge Mario ''. Breve biografía de obispos ( in Spanish ). La Agencia Informativa Católica Argentina. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Sergio Rubin ; Francesca Ambrogetti, Pope Francis -- Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio. pp. 45 -- 46 ^ Jump up to : Connor, Tracy, `` Pope Francis spoke of being ' dazzled ' by girl, possible change of celibacy rule '', NBC News, 21 March 2013, Retrieved 21 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` En 1958, Bergoglio hizo su noviciado en Chile '' ( in Spanish ). La Segunda. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ Lanser, p. 96 ^ Jump up to : Rosales & Olivera, p. 42 Jump up ^ `` Biography of the Holy Father Francis ''. The Holy See. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Biografía : ¿ Quién es Jorge Bergoglio ? ''. Vatican. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church -- Biographies -- A ''. Florida International University. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Why Bergoglio travels so little ''. Vatican Insider. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014. Jump up ^ The Vatican Today, 13 March 2013, Biography : who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio ?, retrieved 6 April 2013 Jump up ^ The Irish Independent, 30 March 2013, ( 1 ), retrieved 10 November 2013 ^ Jump up to : Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer : Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, Henry Holt 2014 Jump up ^ `` Neuigkeiten 14.03 ''. Hochschule. Philosophisch - Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen. Retrieved 14 March 2013... einige Monate in Sankt Georgen verbrachte, um sich mit einzelnen Professoren über ein Dissertationsprojekt zu beraten. Zu einem Abschluss in Sankt Georgen ist es nicht gekommen. Jump up ^ `` Biografía de Jorge Bergoglio '' ( in Spanish ). El Litoral. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Baumann, Andrea ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Was Papst Franziskus in Augsburg machte '' ( in German ). Augsburger Allgemeine. Retrieved 20 March 2013. Jump up ^ Bellos, Alex ( 23 December 2001 ). `` Virgin painting ties Brazilians in knots ''. London : The Guardian ( UK ). Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Jiménez, Pablo ( 14 March 2013 ). `` The Pope 's chalice : silver - made, austere and featuring Our Lady of Luján ''. Buenos Aires Herald. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Paul Vallely, Pope Francis : Untying the Knots, Bloomsbury, 2013 ^ Jump up to : Shkodziska, Oksana ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Patriarch Sviatoslav : Newly Elected Pope Knows Ukrainian Catholic Church, its Liturgy and Spirituality ''. Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 15 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` To understand Pope Francis, look to the Jesuits ''. ncronline.org. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` Setting the Record Straight on Pope Francis : A Reply to Frank Brennan ''. abc.net.au. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis ''. google.com.ph. Jump up ^ The titular see of Auca, established in 1969, is seated at Villafranca Montes de Oca, Spain : Titular See of Auca, Spain. Jump up ^ `` Francis Toughened by Argentine Politics Ready for Papal Test ''. Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Glatz, Carol ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Pope 's episcopal motto comes from homily by English doctor of church ''. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Jesuit Argentine Cardinal Bergoglio elected pope, takes name Francis ''. jesuit.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Haley Cohen, `` Slum Priest : Pope Francis ' Early Year '', ' ' The Atlantic ' ', 20 March 2013 ``. The Atlantic. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Puella, Phillip ( 9 May 2014 ). `` U.N. should encourage redistribution of wealth, pope says ''. Reuters. Retrieved 8 November 2014. Jump up ^ Coday, Dennis ( 4 April 2013 ). `` John Allen, `` Former aide says Francis may close Vatican Bank '' ``. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Magister, Sandro ( 2 December 2002 ). `` Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Profession : Servant of the Servants of God ''. L'espresso. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Hebblethwaite, Margaret ( 14 March 2013 ). `` The Pope Francis I know ''. London : The Guardian ( UK ). Retrieved 16 March 2013. 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. Jump up ^ Calloni, Stella ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Acusado de tener vínculos con la dictadura ; la derecha lo defiende '' ( in Spanish ). La Jornada. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Magister, Sandro ( 2 December 2002 ). `` Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Profession : Servant of the Servants of God ''. L'espresso. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Pullella, Philip ( 21 March 2013 ). `` Pope to hold major Holy Week service in youth jail ''. Reuters. Retrieved 22 March 2013. Jump up ^ Rocca, Francis X. ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Next pope faces global challenges ''. Catholic San Francisco. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Rubin, Sergio ( 17 September 2007 ). `` Regresó la misa en latín, con mujeres cubiertas por mantillas '' ( in Spanish ). Clarin. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` El latín volvió a las misas '' ( in Spanish ). Línea Capital. 17 September 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Elige Sus Nuevas Autoridades La Conferencia Episcopal ''. Mercedes Ya. 7 November 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` El cardenal Bergoglio fue reelegido frente a la Conferencia Episcopal ''. DERF. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2013. Jump up ^ Speciale, Alessandro ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Vatican defends Pope Francis ' actions during Argentina 's ' Dirty War ' ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bergoglio presenta su renuncia como arzobispo de Buenos Aires, aunque seguirá en el cargo ''. Terra Noticias. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` X Ordinary General Assembly ( 30 September -- 27 October 2001 ) ''. Synod of Bishops. Holy See. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2013. Jump up ^ Poirier, José Maria ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Features Quiet thunder in Argentina ''. Catholic Herald. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Synodus Episcoporum Bulletin 30 September -- 27 October 2001 ''. Holy See Press Office. 27 October 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Allen, Jr., John L. ( 3 March 2013 ). `` Profile : New pope, Jesuit Bergoglio, was runner - up in 2005 conclave ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Rubin, Sergio ( 14 March 2013 ). `` ' El Jesuita, ' biography of Jorge Bergoglio, tells of Pope Francis ' humble beginnings in the church that he maintained throughout his cardinalship ''. New York Daily News. Retrieved 18 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Falasca, Sefania ( November 2007 ). `` What I would have said at the Consistory ''. 30 Giorni. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Maureen O'Riordan. `` Saint Therese of Lisieux -- `` Saint Therese of Lisieux : A Gateway '' Blog -- Pope Francis and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux : `` To depend solely on the tenderness of God '' ``. Thérèse of Lisieux. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnap Lawsuit ''. Los Angeles Times. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Allen, Jr., John L. ( 14 April 2005 ). `` Handicapping the conclave ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Cardinal breaks conclave vow of secrecy ''. CNN. Associated Press. 23 September 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Wooden, Cindy ( 23 September 2005 ). `` Article based on diary says German cardinal became pope with 84 votes ''. Catholic News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2005. Article gives numbers for the four votes ; Ratzinger had most votes, followed by Bergoglio. ^ Jump up to : Rubin, p. 13 Jump up ^ Tosatti, Marco. `` Ecco come andò davvero il Conclave del 2005 ''. La Stampa ( in Italian ). Retrieved 30 January 2017. According to the source, Cardinal Bergoglio begged `` almost in tears '' ( `` quasi in lacrime '' in Italian ) Jump up ^ Rubin, p. 15 Jump up ^ Manson, Jamie ( 15 March 2013 ). `` One of Pope Francis ' allegiances might tell us something about the church 's future ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Sánchez Alvarado, Gretta ( 20 March 2013 ). `` Francisco : ' El verdadero poder es el servicio ' ''. El Naconal. Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : McMahon, Colin ( 12 August 2005 ). `` Sainthood effort for 5 slain recalls Argentine ' dirty war ' ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 23 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Schmall, Emily ; Rother, Larry ( 13 March 2013 ). `` A Conservative With a Common Touch ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Coday, Dennis ( 17 March 2013 ). `` Thomas Reese, `` Francis, the Jesuits and the Dirty War '', ' ' National Catholic Reporter ' ', 17 March 2013 ``. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnap Lawsuit ''. Los Angeles Times. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 13 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Pope Francis Is Known For Simplicity And Humility ''. Associated Press. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. 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. ^ Jump up to : Miroff, Nick ( 17 March 2013 ). `` Pope 's activity in Dirty War Draws Scrutiny ''. Chicago Tribune. Sec. 1. Washington Post. p. 27. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : A look at the life of the first South American pontiff ''. The Star - Ledger. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Declaration of Father Franz Jalics SJ '' ( in German ). German Jesuit Web site. 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Watts, Jonathan ( 21 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis did not denounce me to Argentinian junta, says priest ''. London : The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Second Declaration of Father Franz Jalics SJ '' ( in German ). German Jesuit Web site. 20 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Is Known For Simplicity And Humility ''. Associated Press. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. both men were freed after Bergoglio took extraordinary, behind - the - scenes action to save them -- including persuading dictator Jorge Videla 's family priest to call in sick so that he could say Mass in the junta leader 's home, where he privately appealed for mercy. Jump up ^ Pablo Javier Blanco ( 17 March 2013 ). `` Dias inolvidables para su biógrafo '' ( Unforgettable days for his biographer ). El Papa del fin del mundo ( in Spanish ). Clarín. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Indart, Ramón ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Alicia Oliveira : `` Garré sabe todo lo que hizo Bergoglio '' ``. Perfil ( in Spanish ). Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Yo pensaba si el padre éste era consciente de lo que se estaba jugando ''. La Nacion. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Un cura español dice que el Papa evitó que lo mataran durante la dictadura argentina ''. El País. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Hernandez, Vladimir ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Argentina ' Dirty War ' accusations haunt Pope Francis ''. BBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ Watts, Jonathan ; Goni, Uki ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : role during Argentina 's military era disputed ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` ' Bergoglio had no links with the dictatorship, ' Peace Nobel Prize winner ''. Buenos Aires Herald. 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ Fioriti, Santiago. `` Atacan a Bergoglio porque Cristina no quería que fuera Papa '' ( PDF ). Clarín ( in Spanish ). Jump up ^ `` '' `` Bergoglio is completely innocent, '' says Argentina 's Supreme Court `` ''. Vatican Insider. 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Goñi, Uki ( 19 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : what did he really do in Argentina in the 1970s ? ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ Cifuentes, Pedro ( 15 March 2013 ). `` Bergoglio : la verdadera historia del Papa Francisco y la dictadura de Videla '' ( Bergoglio : the true story of Pope Francis and Videla 's dictatorship ) ( in Spanish ). Zoom News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ Joaquín Garau & Pablo Martín Fernández ( 19 March 2013 ). `` The fake viral photo of pope Francis : who is the priest that gives the communion to Videla ''. Info Technology. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ Rubin, p. 19 Jump up ^ Reato, p. 160 Jump up ^ Reato, pp. 222 -- 223 Jump up ^ Rubin, pp. 18 -- 19 Jump up ^ Obarrio, Mariano ( 27 May 2004 ). `` El mensaje de la Iglesia era para Kirchner '' ( The message of the church was for Kirchner ) ( in Spanish ). La Nación. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Colonna, Lucas ( 24 May 2005 ). `` Suspendió la Iglesia el tedeum en la Capital '' ( The church suspended the tedeum in the capital ) ( in Spanish ). La Nación. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Reato, pp. 224 -- 225 ^ Jump up to : `` Jorge Bergoglio y los Kirchner : años de una relación tensa '' ( Jorge Bergoglio and the Kirchners : years of a tense relation ) ( in Spanish ). La Nación. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Associated Press in Buenos Aires ( 27 March 2013 ). `` Cristina Fernández de Kirchner turns Pope Francis from foe to friend ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Pope 's diplomacy put to test as leaders flock to Rome ''. CP24. Associated Press. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Jump up ^ Gilbert, Jonathan ( 18 March 2013 ). `` Making nice ? Argentina 's Kirchner and Pope Francis meet in Rome ''. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 26 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Página 12 sacó notas de Verbitsky sobre Bergoglio y la dictadura '' ( Página 12 removed Verbitsky 's articles about Bergoglio and the dictatorship ) ( in Spanish ). Perfil. 18 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Vatican releases Pope Francis ' coat of arms, motto and ring ''. London : The Daily Telegraph. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Lo Stemma di Papa Francesco ''. L'Osservatore Romano ( Vatican website ). Retrieved 18 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Pope stresses simplicity, ecumenism in inaugural Mass plans ''. National Catholic Reporter. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis 's missing lung should not be a problem, say doctors ''. London : The Guardian. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Park, Alice ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Why Pope Francis Only Has One Lung ''. Time. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Jump up ^ Caleb K. Bell ( 14 March 2013 ). `` Why the first Jesuit pope is a big deal ''. Religion News Service. Retrieved 8 June 2015. Jump up ^ Howard Chua - Eoan ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Pope of the Americas ''. TIME. Retrieved 8 June 2015. Jump up ^ Fisher, Max ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Sorry, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not the first non-European pope ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Pope Francis brings no - frills style to papacy '', CBS News, 28 March 2013, Retrieved 28 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis wants a ' poor Church for the poor ' ''. Reuters. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope visits ailing Argentine cardinal in hospital ''. ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2014. ^ Jump up to : Audience to Representatives of the Communications Media -- Address of the Holy Father Pope Francis -- vatican.va -- Paul VI Audience Hall Saturday, 16 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : 13 key facts about the new pontiff ''. The Guardian. London. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Briefing di padre Lombardi ''. The Vatican Today. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Francis and those humble gestures by the Pope, he does not sit on a throne, paying the bill at the hotel '' ( in Italian ). Corriere Della Sera. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013. Jump up ^ Peter Walker, Paul Owen & David Batty ( 14 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis, first day after election ''. London : The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Willey, David, News analysis sidebar to `` Pope Francis delivers Easter plea for peace '', BBC News, 31 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 Jump up ^ Glatz, Carol ( 2 April 2013 ). `` Ca n't chant, ca n't speak English ? Pope says it 's because he 's tone - deaf ''. Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013. Jump up ^ Wooden, Cindy ( 26 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis to live in Vatican guesthouse, not papal apartments ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 26 March 2013. Jump up ^ Speciale, Alessandro, `` Pope Francis opts for Vatican guesthouse instead of spacious papal apartment '', Religion News Service, 26 March 2013, Retrieved 27 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` FRANCISCUS ''. Holy See. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum ; habemus Papam : Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Georgium MariumSanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Bergoglio qui sibi nomen imposuit Franciscum Jump up ^ `` Habemus Papam ! Cardinal Bergoglio Elected Pope Francis ''. Official Vatican Network. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina Named as New Pope of the Roman Catholic Church ''. CNBC. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` White smoke : Cardinals elect new pope on fifth ballot ''. The Catholic Sun. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Suarez, Ray. `` A New Pope, and Maybe a New Era ''. PBS. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Bingham, John ( 14 May 2013 ). `` Pope Francis elected after supernatural ' signs ' in the Conclave, says Cardinal ''. London : The Daily Telegraph. ^ Jump up to : `` Habemus Papam : New Pope, new lifestyle in the Vatican ''. New Europe. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Uebbing, David. `` Pope Francis ' personality begins to change routines ''. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ Philippi, Dieter. `` The Mozzetta of the Pope ''. Philippi Collection. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis delivers first blessing, asks world for prayers Reuters ''. Reuters. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis in plea for poor as inauguration Mass held ''. BBC News. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013. Jump up ^ Pope Francis ( 19 March 2013 ). `` Homily of Pope Francis ''. Holy See. Retrieved 23 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis explains decision to take St Francis of Assisi 's name ''. London : The Guardian. 16 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` New Pope Francis visits St. Mary Major, collects suitcases and pays bill at hotel ''. The Vatican Today. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Michael Martinez, CNN Vatican analyst : Pope Francis ' name choice ' precedent shattering ', CNN ( 13 March 2013 ). Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Laura Smith - Spark et al. : Pope Francis explains name, calls for church ' for the poor ' CNN, 16 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis wants ' poor Church for the poor ' ''. BBC News. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Bethune, Brian, `` Pope Francis : How the first New World pontiff could save the church '', Maclean 's, 26 March 2013, Retrieved 27 March 2013 Jump up ^ Alpert, Emily ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Vatican : It 's Pope Francis, not Pope Francis I ''. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ Knowles, Leo ( 2003 ). Modern Heroes of the Church. Huntington, IN : Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 1 - 931709 - 46 - 7. Jump up ^ Marco R. della Cava, Pope Francis charms media in first press address, USA Today ( 16 March 2013 ). Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Francis once thought of taking the name John, after Pope John XXIII ''. National Catholic Reporter. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2015. Jump up ^ Allen, Jr., John L. ( 16 March 2013 ). `` Francis drops first hint that reform may be real ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 17 March 2013. Jump up ^ Stagno - Navarra, Karl ( 18 March 2013 ). `` Gozitan Mgr Alfred Xuereb appointed Pope 's official secretary ''. Malta Today. Retrieved 21 March 2013. Jump up ^ McElwee, Joshua J. ( 6 April 2013 ). `` Pope appoints Franciscan to religious congregation ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 7 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope scraps Vatican staff bonuses, directs money to charity ''. UPI. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ Galeazi, Giacomo ( 19 April 2013 ). `` Ior : Cuts to the cardinals ' `` earnings '' ``. Las Stampa : Vatican Insider. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ Allen, Jr., John L. ( 13 April 2013 ). `` Pope taps eight cardinals to lead reform ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 14 April 2013. Jump up ^ O'Connell, Gerard ( 13 April 2013 ). `` Pope Francis sets up a group of eight cardinals to advise him ''. La Stampa : Vatican Insider. Retrieved 13 April 2013. Jump up ^ Teahan, Madeleine, `` Catholic MPs urge Pope Francis to allow ordination of married men '', The Catholic Herald, 27 March 2013, Retrieved 27 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Jerusalem prelate urges pope to visit holy city '', GlobalPost ( from Agence France - Presse ), 31 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Chaldean prelate invites pope to visit Iraq '', catholicculture.org, 22 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 ^ Jump up to : Speciale, Alessandro, `` Pope washes feet of two girls, two Muslims at youth prison '', Washington Post ( On Faith ), 29 March 2013, Retrieved 29 March 2013 Jump up ^ Heller, Jill, `` Pope Francis Washes Muslim Woman 's Feet On Holy Thursday : Did He Violate Catholic Church Canon Ahead Of Easter ? '', ibtimes.com, 29 March 2013, Retrieved 30 March 2013 ^ Jump up to : Lymon, Eric J., `` Pope Francis makes pleas for peace on Easter Sunday '', Usa Today, 31 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis delivers Easter plea for peace '', BBC News, 31 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis makes an Easter plea for peace '', Los Angeles Times ( from AP ), 31 March 2013, Retrieved 31 March 2013 Jump up ^ Uebbing, David ( 15 April 2013 ). `` Pope backs reform of US sisters ' leadership conference ''. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 19 April 2013. Jump up ^ Goodstein, Laurie ( 15 April 2013 ). `` Pope Upholds Reprimand of American Nuns ' Group ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` David Uebbing, `` Pope backs reform of US sisters ' leadership conference '', ' ' Catholic News Agency ' ', 15 April 2013 ``. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Vatican Ends Battle With U.S. Catholic Nuns ' Group The New York Times, 16 April 2015, Retrieved 27 May 2015 Jump up ^ `` Francis canonises first saints of his papacy ''. Al Jazeera English. 12 May 2013. Jump up ^ Boorstein, Michelle ( 9 February 2014 ). `` Pope Francis faces church divided over doctrine, global poll of Catholics finds ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ Frizell, Sam ( 9 February 2014 ). `` Poll : Catholic Beliefs at Odds With Vatican Doctrine ''. TIME.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ 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. ^ Jump up to : `` Roman Catholic Church refuses survey request ''. BBC News. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014. 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Jump up ^ `` The Pope is making clear there is now only one centre of power at the Vatican ''. Catholic Herald. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Cardinal says ' only blind man ' could deny confusion caused by Pope ''. Crux. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Jump up ^ San Martín, Inés ( 4 February 2017 ). `` Rome wakes up to find city full of anti-Pope Francis posters ''. Crux. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Jump up ^ San Martín, Inés ( 10 February 2017 ). `` Fake Vatican newspaper delivers new shot at Pope Francis ''. Crux. Retrieved 11 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` Amid controversy, council of cardinals backs Pope Francis ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ O'Connell, Gerard ( 6 March 2017 ). `` Cardinal Wuerl : Pope Francis has Reconnected the Church with Vatican II ''. America. Retrieved 6 March 2017. Jump up ^ Gallagher, Delia ; Burke, Daniel ( 26 September 2017 ). `` Conservatives accuse the Pope of spreading heresy ''. CNN. Retrieved 2 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Correctio filialis de haeresibus propagatis ''. Jump up ^ `` Ex-bishops ' doctrine chief says darkness coming to light under Francis ''. Crux. 2017 - 11 - 01. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 01. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops President On Dialogue Within The Church '', USCCB, retrieved November 27, 2017 Jump up ^ Goodstein, Laurie ( 19 September 2013 ). `` Pope Says Church Is ' Obsessed ' With Gays, Abortion and Birth Control ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` BBC News -- Pope Francis : Church too focused on gays and abortion ''. BBC News. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope urges more understanding for gays -- Europe ''. Al Jazeera English. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ Migliaccio, Alessandra ( 19 September 2013 ). `` Pope Says Church Should Stop Obsessing Over Gays, Abortion ''. Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ Pope Francis ( 17 March 2013 ). `` Holy mass in the parish of St. Anna in the Vatican ''. Holy See. Retrieved 19 February 2015. Jump up ^ El Jesuita. Conversaciones con el cardenal Jorge Bergoglio, SJ., Sergio Rubín y Francesca Ambrogetti, Vergara editor, pp. 45 -- 47. Archived 18 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` The future Pope Francis : additional interviews and writings ''. catholicculture.org. Jump up ^ On Forgiveness, Pope Francis, Vatican City, 17 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Catholic news from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and around the world ''. Jump up ^ `` The Pope Francis Effect : Confession Boom Continues ''. CatholicVote.org. Jump up ^ Reilly, Patrick ( 28 July 2016 ). `` American Jesuits Are in a Free Fall, and the Crisis is Getting Worse ''. National Catholic Register. Retrieved 16 June 2017. Jump up ^ Pope Francis ( 20 May 2018 ). `` Opening of the works of the 71st General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference ( C.E.I. ) in the presence of the Holy Father, 20.05. 2018 ''. vatican.va. New Synod Hall. Retrieved 23 May 2018. The first thing that troubles me is the crisis of vocations. And it is our paternity that is at stake here... this concern, rather, this haemorrhage of vocations. Jump up ^ Pope Francis : homily with announcement of Year of Mercy. Official Vatican Network ( 13 March 2015 ). Retrieved on 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope reduces sanctions against some paedophile priests ''. Catholic Herald. Jump up ^ `` Vatican scrambles after pope appears to deny existence of hell '', by Angela Giufridda, The Guardian Jump up ^ `` Does Hell Exist ? And Did the Pope Give an Answer ? '', by Jason Horowitz, The New York Times Jump up ^ Pope Francis greets Cardinals : Full text, Vatican Today 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Missa Pro Ecclesia '' With The Cardinal Electors : Homily Of The Holy Father Pope Francis Vatican website, 14 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` The early signs are clear. Pope Francis is a reformer ''. Catholicculture.org. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` The future Pope Francis on apostolic courage and the danger of ' spiritual worldliness ' '', Catholic Culture, 14 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Scalfari, Eugenio ( 1 October 2013 ). `` The Pope : how the Church will change ''. la Repubblica. Retrieved 22 June 2017. Jump up ^ Yeo, Sophie ( 8 May 2014 ). `` UN to back Pope Francis statement on `` human ecology '' ``. Responding to Climate Change. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Jump up ^ Tara Isabella Burton ( 11 July 2014 ). `` Pope Francis 's Radical Environmentalism ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : Starvation in a world of plenty `` scandalous '' ``. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ Zachary Davies Boren ( 21 November 2014 ). `` Pope Francis says greed will ' destroy the world ' ''. The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ Withnall, Adam ( 28 December 2014 ). `` Pope Francis to issue climate change call to arms for world 's Catholics in measures that will anger Vatican conservatives ''. The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Francis : Encyclicals ''. Holy See. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Guardian view on Laudato Si ' : Pope Francis calls for a cultural revolution ''. The Guardian. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015. Jump up ^ Vidal, John ( 27 December 2014 ). `` Pope Francis 's edict on climate change will anger deniers and US churches ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ Pope Francis : The Earth, our home, is beginning to look like an immense pile of filth. The Guardian. 18 June 2015. Jump up ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie ( 28 April 2015 ). `` Vatican official calls for moral awakening on global warming ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Lack of Christ the ' greatest poverty, ' Pope tells movement ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Lent 2014 : He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich ( cf. 2 Cor 8 : 9 ) - Francis ''. Holy See. Retrieved 21 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : Allen, Jr., John L. ( 3 March 2013 ). `` Profile : New pope, Jesuit Bergoglio, was runner - up in 2005 conclave ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Latin American Episcopal Conference ( 1992 ). `` Documento de Santo Domingo '' ( Santo Domingo Document ) ( PDF ). Nueva evangelización, promoción humana, cultura cristiana : documento de consulta : IV Conferencia General del Episcopado Latinoamericano, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, 1992, Conclusiones. Cuarta Conferencia General del Episcopado Latinoamericano ( in Spanish ). Bogotá : CELAM. OCLC 29289158. Retrieved 9 March 2013. Jump up ^ Bergoglio, Jorge Mario ( 30 September 2009 ). Seminario : las deudas sociales de nuestro tiempo : la deuda social según la doctrina de la iglesia ( Seminar : social debts of our time : the social debt according to the doctrine of the church ) ( presented seminar ). Posgrado internacional del bicentenario. Políticas públicas, soluciones para la crisis de nuestro tiempo. ( in Spanish ). Buenos Aires : EPOCA - USAL. OCLC 665073169. Jump up ^ Rouillon, Jorge ( 1 October 2009 ). `` Bergoglio : `` Los derechos humanos también se violan con la pobreza '' '' ( Bergoglio : `` Human rights are also violated in poverty '' ). La Nación ( in Spanish ). Retrieved 9 March 2013. Citó a los obispos latinoamericanos que en 1992 dijeron que `` los derechos humanos se violan no sólo por el terrorismo, la represión, los asesinatos, sino también por condiciones de extrema pobreza y estructuras económicas injustas que originan grandes desigualdades ''. Jump up ^ `` Extreme poverty is also a violation of human rights, says Argentinean cardinal ''. Catholic News Agency. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Argentines protest against pay cuts ''. BBC News. 8 August 2001. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ Popper, Helen ; Karina, Grazina ( 14 March 2013 ). `` Argentina 's pope stood up to power, but has his critics ''. Reuters. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bergoglio criticó a `` los que no tienen en cuenta a los más pobres '' ``. La Nación. Retrieved 13 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Bangladesh factory collapse : pope condemns ' slave labour ' conditions ''. The Guardian. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis hits out at global ' cult of money ' ''. BBC News. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Squires, Nick ( 18 May 2013 ). Pope blames tyranny of capitalism for making people miserable. The Age. Retrieved 18 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis -- in his own words ''. The Guardian. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2017. The socioeconomic crisis and the resulting increase in poverty has its origins in policies inspired by forms of neoliberalism that consider profit and the laws of the market as absolute parameters above the dignity of people or of peoples. Jump up ^ Lizzy Davies in Rome ( 17 May 2013 ). `` Pope Francis attacks ' cult of money ' in reform call ''. London : The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Philip Pullella ( 9 May 2014 ). U.N. should encourage redistribution of wealth, pope says. Reuters. Retrieved 10 May 2014. Jump up ^ Unbridled capitalism is the ' dung of the devil ', says Pope Francis. The Guardian, 9 July 2015. Jump up ^ Krever, Mick ( 2 December 2014 ). `` Pope Francis : Modern slavery is ' becoming worse and worse every day ' ''. CNN. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ Miller, Nick ( 3 December 2014 ). `` Australian Grace Forrest inspires Pope Francis and other world religious leaders to sign pledge to eradicate slavery by 2020 ''. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis urges people to unite to fight modern slavery and seek peace in first mass of 2015 ''. ABC. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015. ^ Jump up to : Pullella, Philip ( 18 May 2013 ). `` Church must help the poorest, not dissect theology, pope says ''. Reuters. Retrieved 28 May 2015. ^ Jump up to : Donadio, Rachel ( 25 May 2013 ). `` Francis ' Humility and Emphasis on the Poor Strike a New Tone at the Vatican ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2013. It was so hard to sell anything under Benedict. This pope attracts huge crowds, and they all want to bring back home something with his smiling face on it. ^ Jump up to : Koba, Mark ( 6 August 2013 ). `` A blunt Pope Francis targets free market economics ''. CNBC. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ Joshua Holland ( 26 November 2013 ). Pope Francis Calls Unfettered Capitalism ' Tyranny '. Moyers & Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013. Jump up ^ ' Not to share wealth with poor is to steal ' : Pope slams capitalism as ' new tyranny '. RT, 26 November 2013. ^ Jump up to : Davies, Lizzy ( 15 December 2013 ). `` Pope says he is not a Marxist, but defends criticism of capitalism ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2015. Jump up ^ Pope Francis : Communists ' stole ' the flag of Christianity. RT, 30 June 2014. Jump up ^ Ivereigh, Austen ( 2014 ), The Great Reformer : Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope ( Kindle ed. ), New York : Henry Holt and Co., locations 1887 -- 1888, ISBN 978 - 1 - 62779 - 158 - 8 ^ Jump up to : Gregg, Samuel ( 28 May 2013 ), Pope Francis and Liberation Theology, National Review, archived from the original on 3 June 2013 ^ Jump up to : `` Pope Francis, the Pope of Surprises '', Personal Update, Dublin : Family & Life ( 126 ), 2 June 2013, archived from the original on 28 May 2015 Jump up ^ Phillips, Francis ( 14 June 2013 ). `` Pope Francis was all too familiar with Liberation Theology. That 's why he opposed it ''. Catholic Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Bergoglio, a Revolutionary His Own Way '' ( in Italian ). Chiesa. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : Allen, John L., Jr. ( 12 April 2013 ). `` Hard questions about Francis in Argentina and a lesson from Chile ''. National Catholic Reporter. Jump up ^ Transcript of 2010 judicial inquiry, `` Bergoglio Declara ante el TOF N 5 Archived 11 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine., '' translated in Ivereigh, Austen ( 2014 ), The Great Reformer : Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope ( Kindle ed. ), New York : Henry Holt and Co., locations 1897 -- 1903, ISBN 978 - 1 - 62779 - 158 - 8, The option for the poor comes from the first centuries of Christianity. It 's the Gospel itself. If you were to read one of the sermons of the first fathers of the Church, from the second or third centuries, about how you should treat the poor, you 'd say it was Maoist or Trotskyist. The Church has always had the honor of this preferential option for the poor.... At the Second Vatican Council the Church was redefined as the People of God and this idea really took off at the Second Conference of the Latin - American bishops in Medellín. Jump up ^ Speciale, Alessandro ( 9 September 2013 ). `` Liberation theology finds new welcome in Pope Francis ' Vatican ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Tracy ( 28 May 2015 ). `` Romero beatification signals Pope Francis ' plan for Catholic Church ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 May 2015. ^ Jump up to : Doino Jr., William ( 22 July 2013 ). `` Five Myths About Pope Francis ''. First Things. Retrieved 3 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Papież pozdrowił organizatorów Marszu dla życia ze Szczecina. `` Niech ta inicjatywa przypomina wszystkim o potrzebie szacunku dla życia '' s ``. Wpolityce. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Pope Francis denounces abortion after decrying church 's focus on rules ''. CBS News. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013. Jump up ^ Goldman, Russell ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Francis Becomes First Latin American Pope ''. ABC News. Retrieved 16 February 2015. Jump up ^ Kington, Tom ( 12 January 2014 ). `` Let them drink milk : Pope encourages mums to breastfeed in Sistine Chapel ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2017. Jump up ^ Misericordia et Misera, paragraph 12, published 20 November 2016, accessed 20 April 2017 Jump up ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta ; Stack, Liam ( 21 November 2016 ). `` Pope Francis Extends Priests ' Ability to Forgive Abortion ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : Hume, Tim ; Moisescu, Cristiana ; Burke, Daniel. `` Pope extends power to forgive abortion ''. CNN. Jump up ^ Kirchgaessner, Stephanie ( 21 November 2016 ). `` Pope Francis cements priests ' power to forgive abortion ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2017. Jump up ^ O'Leary, Naomi ( 3 April 2013 ). `` Pope Francis stresses `` fundamental importance '' of women in Catholic Church ``. Reuters. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ Fox, Thomas C. ( 3 April 2013 ). `` Francis talks about women and the faith ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Audience : The fundamental role of women in the Church ''. Vatican Radio. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Talks to Press About Benedict XVI, Vatican Bank and ' Gay Lobby ' ''. Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : There Will Be No Women Cardinals ''. CNS News. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ Hooper, John. `` Pope Francis jokes ' woman was from a rib ' as he avoids vow to reform church ''. the Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2014. Jump up ^ Erin Saiz Hanna ( 29 July 2013 ). `` Pope Francis slams door on women 's ordination ''. Women 's Ordination Conference. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2015. Jump up ^ Rothkopf, Joanna ( 22 December 2014 ). `` Pope Francis slams Vatican : Clergy suffers from `` spiritual Alzheimer 's '' ``. Salon. Retrieved 16 February 2015. Jump up ^ Glatz, Carol. `` Pope Francis : Priests should be ' shepherds living with the smell of the sheep ' ''. The Catholic Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` International Clergy Conference participants commit themselves to Pope Francis ' call to evangelisation ''. Vatican Radio. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015. Jump up ^ Allen, John L. ( 10 August 2012 ). `` Australian priest, advocate for women 's ordination excommunicated ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ Michelle Boorstein & Abby Ohlheiser ( 10 June 2015 ). `` Pope Francis approves new tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up sex abuse ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2015. Jump up ^ Squires, Nick ( 10 June 2015 ). `` Pope Francis creates Vatican tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up sex abuse ''. London : The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2015. ^ Jump up to : Gibson, David, `` Book reveals new pope 's views on celibacy, abuse, crisis '', USA Today ( from Religion News Service ), 20 March 2013, Retrieved 21 March 2013 Jump up ^ Rice - Oxley, Mark ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : the humble pontiff with practical approach to poverty ''. London : The Guardian ( UK ). Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Feiden, Douglas ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis, the new leader of the Catholic Church, praised by many for practicing what he preaches, his humble nature and his empathy for the poor ''. New York Daily News. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Allen, Jr., John L. ( 3 March 2013 ). `` New pope, Jesuit Bergoglio, was runner - up in 2005 conclave ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Argentina 's Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis ''. CNN. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Pope Francis. `` Sri Lanka -- Filipinas : Encuentro con las familias en el Mall of Asia Arena ( Manila, 16 de enero de 2015 ) ''. Holy See. Retrieved 29 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope 's most insistent message ''. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : No Catholic need to breed like ' rabbits ' ''. BBC News. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015. Jump up ^ Pullella, Philip ( 19 January 2015 ). `` Pope says birth control ban does n't mean breed ' like rabbits ' ''. Reuters. Retrieved 1 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : Who am I to judge gay people ? ''. BBC. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` NEW POPE : Who is this man named Bergoglio ? ''. Catholic Online. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Pentin, Edward ( 8 July 2010 ). `` Cardinal Bergoglio Hits Out at Same - Sex Marriage ''. National Catholic Register. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Clashing Pope Francis, Argentine president meet in Vatican ''. CBC News. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ Feder, J. Lester ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis Brings Lessons of Argentina 's Marriage Fight To Rome ''. Buzzfeed. Retrieved 14 March 2013. Jump up ^ McClam, Erin ( 13 March 2013 ). `` Meet the new pope : Francis is humble leader who takes the bus to work ''. NBC News. Jump up ^ `` El cura suspendido : `` A la Iglesia le preocupa más la cama de los argentinos que su mesa '' ( in Spanish ). Perfil. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ De Vedia, Mariano ( 16 July 2010 ). `` La carta de Bergoglio, un error estratégico '' ( in Spanish ). Retrieved 14 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Romero, Simon ; Schmall, Emily ( 19 March 2013 ). `` On Gay Unions, a Pragmatist Before He Was a Pope ''. New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Claims that Pope supported gay civil unions disputed ''. Catholic News Agency. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013. Jump up ^ Allen, Jr., John L. ( 12 April 2013 ). `` Hard questions about Francis in Argentina and a lesson from Chile ''. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 12 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Press Conference of Pope Francis during the return flight ''. Holy See. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Romo, Rafael, and Rodriguez, Jose Manuel, `` Behind closed doors, pope supported civil unions in Argentina, activist says '', CNN, 21 March 2013, Retrieved 27 March 2013. Jump up ^ Grindley, Lucas ( 16 December 2013 ). `` The Advocate 's Person of the Year 2013 ''. The Advocate Magazine. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Pullella, Philip ( 5 January 2014 ). `` Vatican denies pope is open to recognition of gay civil unions -- World News ''. NBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2014. Jump up ^ Kington, Tom ( 5 January 2014 ). `` Vatican says pope 's comments on gay couples do n't mark policy change ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ Tufft, Ben ( 18 January 2015 ). `` Pope Francis warns that same - sex marriage ' threatens the family ' and ' disfigures God 's plan for creation ' ''. The Independent. London. Jump up ^ Richinick, Michele ( 16 January 2015 ). `` Pope Francis suggests gay marriage threatens traditional families ''. MSNBC. Jump up ^ J Lester Feder. `` Pope Endorses Referendum Denying Marriage And Adoption Rights To Same - Sex Couples ''. Buzzfeed. As quoted by Ring, Trudy ( 5 February 2015 ). `` Pope Has Kind Words for Backers of Anti-Equality Measures in Slovakia ''. The Advocate. Jump up ^ Wyatt, Caroline Gay priest decries ' inhuman ' treatment of homosexual Catholics, 23 October 2015 ; http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34654581 Jump up ^ Philipson, ALice Church Makes Life Hell For Homosexuals Says Priest, The Telegraph 28 October 2015 ; https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/11960356/Church-makes-life-hell-for-homosexuals-says-priest.html Jump up ^ Cindy Wooden ( 2 October 2016 ). `` Gay & Transgender People Deserve Pastoral Care, Pope Says ''. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ Nicole Winfield ( 2 October 2016 ). `` Pope Francis Urges Pastoral Care For Gay & Transgender People, Draws Line Between Ministry and Indoctrination ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ John Newsome ( 4 October 2016 ). `` Pope warns of ' ideological colonization ' in transgender teachings ''. CNN. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ Mike McPhate ( 3 August 2016 ). `` Pope Francis Remarks Disappoint Gay and Transgender Groups ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Says Jesus Would Not Abandon Transgender People ''. The Advocate. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-tells-gay-man-god-made-you-like-this/ Jump up ^ https://www.advocate.com/religion/2018/5/20/pope-gay-man-god-made-you Jump up ^ https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/europe/pope-francis-gay-comments-intl/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_term=image&utm_content=2018-05-21T09%3A41%3A21&utm_medium=social Jump up ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/20/pope-juan-carlos-cruz Jump up ^ https://www.teenvogue.com/story/pope-francis-reportedly-told-a-gay-man-god-made-you-like-this Jump up ^ https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/05/21/lgbt-community-cheers-pope-francis-god-made-you-remark Jump up ^ Hooper, John ( 10 August 2014 ). `` Pope Francis : Isis violence against minorities in Iraq must be stopped ''. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Lackey, Katharine ( 10 August 2014 ). `` Pope condemns religious persecution in Iraq ''. USA Today. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Winfield, Nicole ( 18 August 2014 ). `` Pope Francis Endorses Use Of Force Against ISIS In Iraq ''. Business Insider. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Siegel, Joel ( 19 August 2014 ). `` Pope Francis supports use of force to stop Islamic extremists from attacking religious minorities in Iraq ''. Daily News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Schumann, Rebecka ( 18 August 2014 ). `` Pope Endorses Use Of Force, US Airstrikes To Stop ISIS Amid Plans To Visit Iraq ''. International Business Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Samaan, Magdy ; Walsh, Declan ( 9 April 2017 ). `` Egypt Declares State of Emergency, as Attacks Undercut Promise of Security '' -- via NYTimes.com. Jump up ^ Francis X. Rocca ( 23 October 2014 ). `` Pope Francis calls for abolishing death penalty and life imprisonment ''. Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015. Jump up ^ Tornielli, Andrea ( 28 January 2014 ). `` Pope Francis ' ecumenism -- Vatican Insider ''. Vatican Insider. Retrieved 27 September 2015. Jump up ^ C, B ( 17 February 2015 ). `` Blood and ecumenism ''. The Economist. Retrieved 27 September 2015. Jump up ^ Wooden, Cindy ( 25 May 2015 ). `` The devil knows Christians are one, says Pope Francis ''. The Catholic Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope sends greetings for US Christian Unity event Vatican Radio ''. Vatican Radio. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` 500 years after Reformation, pope knocks on Lutherans ' door ''. The Japan Times. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016. At a service Monday in Rome, Francis asked forgiveness for the way Catholics had treated other Christian believers over the years, and also invited Catholics to pardon those who had persecuted them. Jump up ^ Wooden, Cindy ( 25 January 2016 ). `` Pope asks mercy, pardon for ways Christians have harmed one another ''. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 27 January 2016. After walking across the threshold of the Holy Door with an Orthodox metropolitan and an Anglican archbishop, Pope Francis invoked God 's mercy upon divided Christians and apologized for times that Catholics may have hurt members of other denominations. `` As bishop of Rome and pastor of the Catholic Church, I want to beg for mercy and forgiveness for un-Gospel - like behavior on the part of Catholics against Christians of other churches, '' the pope said Jan. 25 at a prayer service concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. `` We ask most of all for forgiveness for the sin of our divisions, which are an open wound on the body of Christ, '' Pope Francis said. `` At the same time, I ask all my Catholic brothers and sisters to forgive if, today or in the past, they were hurt by other Christians, '' he said. `` We can not erase what happened, but we do not want to allow the burden of past faults to continue to poison our relationships. '' Jump up ^ Pullella, Philip ( 25 January 2016 ). `` Pope asks Protestants for forgiveness for persecution ''. MSN. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016. Pope Francis asked Protestants and other Christian Churches for forgiveness for past persecution by Catholics as the Vatican announced on Monday he would visit Sweden later in the year to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Speaking at an annual vespers service in St. Paul 's Basilica in Rome attended by representatives of other religions, he asked `` forgiveness for the un-gospel like behavior by Catholics towards Christians of other Churches. '' He also asked Catholics to forgive those who had persecuted them. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis reaches out to schismatic Old Catholic Church ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope meets with leaders of Old Catholic Bishops Conference ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope meets with leaders of Old Catholic Bishops Conference ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` To a delegation of the Old Catholic Bishops ' Conference of the Union of Utrecht ( 30 October 2014 ) - Francis ''. Holy See. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ Ritter, Karl, `` Pope Francis reaches out to Jews '', huffingtonpost.com, 16 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013 Jump up ^ Faustova Milena, `` Orthodox flock of Rome : hopes are high for the new pope '', Radio, the Voice of Russia ( english.ruvr.ru ), 16 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Demacopoulos, George E., `` The extraordinary historical significance of His Holiness ' presence at Pope Francis ' installation as Bishop of Rome '', Archon News ( Order of St. Andrew the Apostle ), 19 March 2013, Retrieved 19 March 2013 Jump up ^ Pelowski, Alton J. ( May 2013 ). `` Our Eastern Brothers ''. Columbia. pp. 20 -- 23. Jump up ^ `` Tomorrow, Mass of Inauguration of Bishop of Rome 's Petrine Ministry ''. Vatican News Service. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013. Jump up ^ Kamil, Mariam. `` Pope receives Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa ''. Jump up ^ `` Pope receives Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa ''. Jump up ^ `` Unity call as Pope Francis holds historic talks with Russian Orthodox Patriarch ''. BBC. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis welcomes Egypt 's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ Terheyden, Michael. `` Historic Meeting between Pope Francis and Coptic Patriarch, Tawadros II, Fosters Christian Unity - Europe - International - News - Catholic Online ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` We have a common witness, Pope Francis tells Coptic Orthodox patriarch ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Blood and Water Unite Catholics and Copts, Pope Francis Tells Egyptian Church ''. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis to receive Syrian Orthodox Patriarch ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope, Orthodox patriarch express commitment for unity ''. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Francis and Armenian Orthodox patriarch say churches are one in prayer, action ''. 26 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Prays for Full Unity with Armenian Apostolic Church ''. 26 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis prays in Armenian Apostolic Cathedral ''. Jump up ^ `` Egypt : Pope Francis to meet with persecuted Coptic Christians ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ Affairs, Religious ( 15 March 2013 ). `` The Telegraph newspaper : Pope Francis ' dismissed Anglican branch as quite unnecessary ', 31 May 2013 ''. London : The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis meets Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Rome ''. The Independent. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Archbishop meets Pope Francis in Rome ''. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Papal greetings for newest Anglican archbishop ''. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ Paggioli, Sylvia. `` The Pope Commemorates The Reformation That Split Western Christianity ''. npr.org. Retrieved 29 October 2016. Jump up ^ Anderson, Christina ( 31 October 2016 ). `` Pope Francis, in Sweden, Urges Catholic - Lutheran Reconciliation '' -- via NYTimes.com. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis to visit Sweden for Reformation commemoration - CatholicHerald.co.uk ''. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Lutheran World Federation ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ Both the Ecumenical commemoration and the Catholical mass were aired live and commentated at Swedish national, commercial free, television distributor, SVT Jump up ^ `` New pope has ties to Lutherans, says ELCA presiding bishop, '' ELCA news service, 13 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope says Salvationists and Catholics meet at peripheries of society ''. Jump up ^ `` United Methodist layman to meet Pope Francis The United Methodist Church ''. Umc.org. Retrieved 21 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Catholics and Methodists : Walking together in service to the world ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Catholics and Methodists can learn from one another, pope says ''. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis addresses Methodist guests : full text ''. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope meets with Swiss Protestant leader ''. ^ Jump up to : Stefan, Melissa, `` Luis Palau : Why it matters that Pope Francis drinks mate with Evangelicals, '' Christianity Today, 14 March 2013, Retrieved 15 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Weber, Jeremy, `` Argentine Evangelicals say Bergoglio as Pope Francis ' answer to our prayers ' '', Christianity Today, 14 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : Moon, Ruth, `` Why Pope Francis excites ( most ) Evangelical leaders, '' Christianity Today, 14 March 2013, Retrieved 15 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Three Leaders Represented LDS Views on Family at Vatican - Church News and Events ''. Jump up ^ Walch, Tad ( 3 November 2014 ). `` LDS leader to join Vatican conference on ' complementary union of man and woman ' ''. Jump up ^ Fletcher Stack, Peggy. `` Pope, Mormon leader make history with a handshake ''. The Salt Lake Tribune. ^ Jump up to : Lefebure, Leo D., `` Pope Francis and Interreligious Relations, '' Archived 17 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. parliamentofreligions.org, Retrieved 16 March 2013 ^ Jump up to : `` Argentine Jews praise Pope Francis for interfaith dialogue '', foxnews.com ( from AP ), 18 March 2013, Retrieved 19 March 2013 ^ Jump up to : Povoleto, Elisabetta, `` Pope Francis Urges More Interreligious Dialogue '', New York Times, 22 March 2013, Retrieved 26 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis begins Middle East tour -- Middle East ''. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 24 May 2014. Jump up ^ Wyatt, Caroline ( 27 March 2016 ). `` Pope Francis 's reforms polarise the Vatican ''. BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` New pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, has Jewish connections ''. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` New Pope 's Relationship with Jews : Lit menorah during 2012 Hanukkah celebration in Argentina '' ( VIDEO ), algemeiner.com, 16 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013. The newscaster in this Argentinian television video notes that Bergoglio was the `` guest of honor '' and includes names and images of some of the other religious representatives who participated. Jump up ^ `` Foundation stone laid at Polish righteous museum ''. Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy. ^ Jump up to : `` Francis and the Jews in Jerusalem Post 14 March 2013 ''. Jpost.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. Jump up ^ Goldman, Ari L., `` Rome 's chief rabbi in the spotlight '', The Jewish Week, 28 March 2013, Retrieved 1 April 2013 Jump up ^ West, Ed ( 24 June 2013 ). `` Pope Francis condemns anti-Semitism ''. Catholic Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Remembering Pope Francis ' encounters with Shimon Peres ''. Rome Reports. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope invites Israeli and Palestinian leaders for Vatican peace prayers ''. The Telegraph. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Pope Francis ' a friend of the Islamic community '', Buenos Aires Herald, 14 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013 Jump up ^ Ghosh, Palash, `` Pope Francis : A friend to Muslims ? '', International Business Times, 15 March 2013, Retrieved 16 March 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Tawadros II thanks cardinals and Pope Francis for the `` blessed choice '' ``. Asia News. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope 's call for interfaith amity '' Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine., Saudi Gazette, 25 March 2013, Retrieved 26 March 2013 Jump up ^ `` ' Our meeting is the message ' : Pope Francis embraces senior imam ''. theguardian.com. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Not my Pope ' hashtag highlights French divisions ''. BBC. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope declines Dalai Lama meeting in Rome ''. 12 December 2014 -- via www.bbc.com. Jump up ^ Cheng, Kris ( 6 October 2017 ). `` Pope Francis does not understand the Chinese Communist Party, says Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen ''. Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 7 October 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis changes schedule to visit Sri Lankan Buddhist temple ''. Associated Press. 14 January 2015 -- via The Guardian. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis makes surprise visit to Buddhist temple ''. 14 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis `` Beaming '' as he leaves meeting with American Buddhist leaders ``. 26 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Buddhists, Catholics begin new dialogue on ' suffering, liberation, fraternity ' ''. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis meets with Buddhist leaders : `` these small gestures are seeds of peace '' ``. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Jump up ^ Donadio, Rachel ( 16 March 2013 ). `` With Blessing, Pope Shows an Openness to Other Faiths ''. New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Address of the Holy Father Pope Francis ''. Holy See. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Speciale, Alessandro ( 20 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis says atheists can be ' allies ' for the church ''. Washington Post. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Duke, Barry ( 26 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis extends a hand of friendship to atheists, even though we 're disastrous for the world ''. The Freethinker. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Wilde, Sara Lin ( 22 March 2013 ). `` Pope Francis Reaches Out To the ' Nones ' : Can We Be The Pope 's Allies ? ''. Patheos. Retrieved 15 April 2013. Jump up ^ Gibson, David ( 22 May 2013 ). `` Pope Francis : God redeemed everyone, ' not just Catholics ' ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2015. Jump up ^ Olson, Carl E. ( 23 May 2013 ). `` Pope Francis teaches that everyone is saved ! Wow ! ( Hold on. Wait a second. ) ''. Catholic World Report. Retrieved 25 January 2016. If he indeed ' rocked ' the minds of some Catholics, it only suggests that they are n't paying attention to Scripture and Church teaching. Jump up ^ Longenecker, Dwight ( 23 May 2013 ). `` Did Pope Francis Preach Salvation by Works ? ? ''. Patheos. Retrieved 25 January 2016. ( Francis ) explains that it does no good to exclude and scapegoat atheists or other non believers. Instead they too should be expected to do good and that is where we encounter them and the dialogue begins. This is too much for some, and the Pope is being accused of Pelagianism and Universalism. ( Salvation by works and ' Everyone will be saved. ' ) Jump up ^ Cheryl K. Chumley ( 30 May 2013 ). `` Not so fast : Vatican says Pope Francis got it wrong, atheists do go to hell ''. The Washington Times. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Hertzberg, Hendrik. `` The Truth about Pope Francis and Atheists ''. The New Yorker. Retrieved 23 June 2013. Jump up ^ Pope Francis ( 4 September 2013 ). `` Letter to a non-believer ''. Holy See. Retrieved 4 July 2017. Jump up ^ Pope Francis ( 11 September 2013 ). `` Pope Francisco writes to La Repubblica : `` An open dialogue with non-believers '' ``. la Repubblica. Retrieved 4 July 2017. Jump up ^ Paul Richter and Tom Kington, `` Bridge to Cuba Via Vatican '', Los Angeles Times 19 December 2014, p. A1. Jump up ^ Nadeau, Barbie Latza ( December 17, 2014 ). `` The Pope 's Diplomatic Miracle : Ending the U.S. -- Cuba Cold War ''. The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 18, 2014. Jump up ^ Richter and Kington, LA Times, 17 December 2014, p. A6. Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Tracy ( 22 April 2015 ). `` Pope Francis to stop in Cuba en route to U.S., Vatican announces ''. Los Angeles Times. Mexico City, Mexico. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015. ^ Jump up to : Wilkinson, `` Pope will visit Cuba. '' Jump up ^ Eliott C. McLaughlin ( 14 May 2015 ). `` Raul Castro may join Catholic Church, he says after Pope Francis meeting ''. CNN. Retrieved 3 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : Jim Yardley, `` Praising Pope, Cuban President Says He might return to church. '' New York Times 11 May 2015, A4 Jump up ^ Alan Cowell, `` Pope Declines to Meet with Dalai Lama '', New York Times 13 December 2014, p. A8 Jump up ^ `` Pope Declines to Meet with Dalai Lama '', New York Times 13 December 2014, p. A8. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis meets with 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winners from Tunisia ''. Vatican Radio. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis to tread careful path on Mid-East visit '', David Willey. BBC. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2017 Jump up ^ `` Holy Land : Vandal tries to set fire to Dormition Abbey ''. Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 11 December 2016. Jump up ^ `` Fire breaks out at Nativity Church shortly after Francis visits Bethlehem ''. Novus Ordo Watch. 2014. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Pentin, Edward ( 18 May 2015 ). `` The Pope, Mahmoud Abbas, and the ' Angel of Peace ' ''. Retrieved 18 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Vatican signs treaty recognizing State of Palestine ''. The Times of Israel. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015. Jump up ^ Elisabetta Povoledo, `` At Vatican, Abbas is Praised as ' Angel of Peace ' ''. New York Times Sunday, 17 May 2015, A11. Jump up ^ Robertson, Nic ; Smith - Spark, Laura ; Karimi, Faith ( 6 June 2015 ). `` Pope Francis urges peace on visit to Sarajevo, ' Jerusalem of Europe ' ''. CNN. Retrieved 6 June 2015. Jump up ^ Times, The New York ( 25 September 2015 ). `` Pope Francis Addresses the U.N. : Live Updates ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2015. Jump up ^ Pope Francis visits Lesbos. The Guardian. Published : 16 April 2016 Jump up ^ correspondent, Henry McDonald Ireland ( 28 November 2016 ). `` Pope Francis to visit Ireland in 2018 ''. The Guardian. ISSN 0261 - 3077. Retrieved 28 November 2016. Jump up ^ Horowitz, Jason ( 28 January 2017 ). `` Ten Centuries Later, a Pope and Knights Do Battle ''. The New York Times. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved 30 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Trump : Meeting Pope Francis ' the honor of a lifetime ' ''. FOX News. New York. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017. Jump up ^ Waters, John ( 20 July 2014 ). `` Does Pope Francis have a cunning plan ? ''. Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2014. Jump up ^ Binelli, Mark ( 28 January 2014 ). `` Pope Francis Cover Story : The Times They Are A-Changin ' ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Vatican spokesman : media manipulated Pope 's family comments ''. Catholic News Agency. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Saletan, William ( 19 September 2013 ). `` Pope Francis Is a Liberal ''. Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 20 May 2014. Jump up ^ Coppen, Luke ( 11 January 2014 ). `` Sorry -- but Pope Francis is no liberal ''. The Spectator. Retrieved 24 May 2014. Jump up ^ O'Loughlin, Michael ( 28 January 2014 ). `` Catholics Urge Pope Francis to Speak Out for LGBT Rights ''. Advocate. Retrieved 24 May 2014. Jump up ^ Thomson, T.J. ; Perreault, Gregory ; Duffy, Margaret ( 17 January 2017 ). `` Politicians, Photographers, and a Pope ''. Journalism Studies. 0 : 1 -- 18. doi : 10.1080 / 1461670X. 2016.1268929. ISSN 1461 - 670X. Jump up ^ McGough, Michael ( 1 January 2014 ). `` Pope Francis named Esquire 's ' Best Dressed Man of 2013 ' -- but why ? ''. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ Webb, Sam ( 29 December 2013 ). `` A divine sense of style : Pope Francis is named Esquire 's Best Dressed Man of 2013 ''. Daily Mail. London. Jump up ^ `` Person of the Year 2013 ''. Time. 11 December 2013. Jump up ^ Colvin, Geoff ( 20 March 2014 ). `` Fortune ranks the World 's 50 Greatest Leaders ''. CNN. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Jump up ^ Communications, Corporate ( 11 May 2014 ). `` 2014 Ranking Of The World 's Most Powerful People ''. Forbes. Retrieved 3 June 2015. Jump up ^ M. Ewalt, David. `` The World 's Most Powerful People 2016 ''. Forbes. Retrieved 3 March 2017. ^ Jump up to : Ho, Erica, `` Argentina : Town renames street after Pope Francis '', Time, 28 March 2013, Retrieved 28 March 2013 Jump up ^ Catherine E. Shoichet ( 28 November 2013 ). `` Argentina weighs putting Pope Francis ' face on a coin ''. CNN. Retrieved 27 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope marries 20 cohabiting couples in sign of papacy shift ''. BBC News. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2015. Jump up ^ Glatz, Carol ( 29 August 2014 ). `` Pope Francis to preside over joint September wedding at Vatican ''. Catholic News Service. Retrieved 23 May 2018. Jump up ^ Vivarelli, Nick ( 13 January 2015 ). `` Battle of the Pope Francis Biopics Begins With Two Films Shooting In Buenos Aires ''. Variety. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Jump up ^ Ahiza Garcia ( 19 March 2016 ). `` Pope Francis gains 1 million Instagram followers in under 12 hours ''. CNNMoney. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ Rebecca Hersher ( 9 January 2017 ). `` Pope Francis Reiterates Support For Public Breastfeeding ''. National Public Radio. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ Samantha Schmidt ( 9 January 2017 ). `` Go Ahead And Breastfeed Pope Francis Tells Mothers In Sistine Chapel ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2017. Jump up ^ Letter to the bishops on the bread and wine for the eucharist, Radio Vaticana, 7 July 2017. Jump up ^ Shahan, Thomas Joseph ( 1907 ). `` Ecclesiastical Abbreviations ''. In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. 1. New York : Robert Appleton Company. Jump up ^ `` Pope ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013. Jump up ^ Cappelli, Adriano. `` Lexicon Abbreviaturarum ''. p. 283. Retrieved 18 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` Contractions and Abbreviations ''. Ndl.go.jp. 4 August 2005. Retrieved 21 November 2011. Jump up ^ `` What Does PP Stand For ? ''. Acronyms.thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 21 November 2011. Jump up ^ Parker, Alan ( 15 March 2013 ). `` A Few Things You Might Not Know About Pope Francis ''. Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Presidente Evo Morales distingue con el Cóndor de Los Andes al Papa Francisco ''. ^ Jump up to : `` Photographic image '' ( JPG ). D2jkk5z9de9jwi.cloudfront.net. Retrieved 22 March 2017. Jump up ^ SA, PAP. `` Pope Francis receives Order of the Smile -- Francis -- Catholic Church -- Faith -- Pope in Poland 2016 -- press center ''. pope2016.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016. Jump up ^ Daniel White, `` Pope Francis is PETA 's Person of the Year, '' TIME, 1 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Awarded Honorary Sommelier Diploma, Debunks `` Teetotaler '' Rumor ``. Jump up ^ `` Palo 's Pope Francis Center now houses abandoned elderly, orphans ''. Catholic 's Bishop Conference of the Philippines. Jump up ^ `` Oscar - winning composer pens Mass for the Pope ''. EWTN. Published : 12 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Oscar award winner, Ennio Morricone composes ' Mass ' for Pope ''. Rome Reports. Published : 12 June 2015. Jump up ^ Missa Papae Francisci ( Morricone ). RAI 5. ( Napolitano appears at 32 : 41 and greets Morricone at 33 : 07 ) ( in Italian ) Jump up ^ In : Offenbarungen -- Tage Neuer Kirchenmusik. Begleitheft, München 2015, S. 15. Jump up ^ Reulein, Peter ; Schlegel, Helmut ( 2016 ). Laudato si ' / Ein franziskanisches Magnificat. Limburg an der Lahn : Dehm Verlag. p. 230. ISBN 978 - 3 - 943302 - 34 - 9. ISMN 979 - 0 - 50226 - 047 - 7. Jump up ^ `` Festkonzert zum Jubiläum des Referates Kirchenmusik / Laudato si ' -- Oratorium von Peter Reulein ( Uraufführung ) '' ( in German ). Liebfrauen, Frankfurt. 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016. Jump up ^ `` Wedvick of Jarlsby -- Religious / Francis, H.H. Pope 3 ''. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Lo Stemma di Papa Francesco '' ( in Italian ). L'Osservatore Romano. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : `` Miserando atque eligendo ''... '' Vatican Information Service. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION AMORIS LÆTITIA OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS '' ( PDF ). Holy See. Retrieved 22 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis : `` Wake Up ! '' ``. All Music. Retrieved 2 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis has released a rock album ''. BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Pope Francis Wake Up ! Music Album with His Words and Prayers ''. Popefranciswakeup.believedigital.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017. Bibliography Allen, John L. ( 2015 ). The Francis Miracle : Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church. New York : Time. ISBN 978 - 1618931313. Ivereigh, Austen ( 2014 ). The Great Reformer : Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope. New York : Henry Holt. ISBN 978 - 1627791571. Lanser, Amanda ( 2014 ). Pope Francis : Spiritual Leader and Voice of the Poor. United States : ABDO publishing company. ISBN 978 - 1 - 61783 - 704 - 3. Retrieved 6 May 2014. Reato, Ceferino ( 2015 ). Doce noches ( Twelve nights ) ( in Spanish ). Argentina : Sudamericana. ISBN 978 - 950 - 07 - 5203 - 9. Rosales, Luis ; Olivera, Daniel ( 2013 ). Francis : A pope for our time. United States : Umanix Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 63006 - 002 - 2. Retrieved 6 May 2014. Rubin, Sergio ; Ambrogetti, Francesca ( 2010 ). El Jesuita ( The jesuit ) ( in Spanish ) ( 1 ed. ). Argentina : Vergara Editor. ISBN 978 - 950 - 15 - 2450 - 5. Vallely, Paul ( 2015 ). Pope Francis : Untying the Knots : The Struggle for the Soul of Catholicism ( Revised and expanded ed. ). London : Bloomsbury. ISBN 978 - 1472903709. Willey, David ( 2015 ). The Promise of Francis : The Man, the Pope, and the Challenge of Change. New York : Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978 - 1476789057. External links External media Images White smoke after election Video White smoke on YouTube Habemus Papam on YouTube First appearance and speech on YouTube Vatican : the Holy See -- Vatican web site ( ) Vatican Web site : Official biography of Jorge Mario Bergoglio published on the occasion of the Conclave by the Holy See Press Office with the information provided by the cardinals themselves Pope Francis on Twitter ( Official Twitter account ) Pope Francis on Instagram ( Official Instagram account ) Pope Francis 's channel on YouTube ( Official Vatican YouTube page, covering the Pope and related interests ) Pope Francis at Curlie ( based on DMOZ ) Appearances on C - SPAN Catholic Church titles Preceded by Antonio Quarracino Archbishop of Buenos Aires 1998 -- 2013 Succeeded by Mario Aurelio Poli Preceded by Benedict XVI Pope 13 March 2013 -- present Incumbent Pope Francis Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936 Archbishop of Buenos Aires ( 1998 -- 2013 ) Pope ( 2013 -- present ) Events Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI 2013 conclave Inauguration People declared venerable People beatified Canonizations Meeting with Patriarch Kirill Cardinals created 2014 Synod of Bishops U.S. -- Cuban Thaw Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy Women 's Diaconate Order of Malta leadership Constitutions ( selected ) Vultum Dei quaerere ( Seeking the Face of God ) Veritatis gaudium ( The Joy of Truth ) Exhortations Evangelii gaudium ( The Joy of the Gospel ) Amoris laetitia ( The Joy of Love ) Gaudete et exsultate ( Rejoice and Be Glad ) Encyclicals Lumen fidei ( The Light of Faith ) Laudato si ' ( Praise Be to You ) Letters ( selected ) Magnum principium ( The Great Principle ) Misericordia et misera ( Mercy and Misery ) Related books Pope Francis : Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio : His Life in His Own Words On Heaven and Earth Pope Francis : Life and Revolution The Dictator Pope Visits Philippines North America Kenya People Benedict ( Pope emeritus ) Alfred Xuereb ( former first personal secretary ) Fabián Pedacchio ( first personal secretary ) Yoannis Lahzi Gaid ( second personal secretary ) Guido Marini ( Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations ) Georg Gänswein ( Prefect of the Papal Household ) Sergio Rubin ( biographer ) Antonio Quarracino ( preceding Archbishop of Buenos Aires ) Related Coat of arms Eponyms Theology Domus Sanctae Marthae ( residence ) Wake Up ! ( 2015 album ) Francis : Pray for Me ( 2015 film ) Chiamatemi Francesco ( 2015 film ) Pope Francis : A Man of His Word ( 2018 film ) Pope portal Catholicism portal Category Popes of the Catholic Church List of popes graphical canonised Papal names Tombs extant non-extant Antipope Pope emeritus Papal resignation Pope - elect 1st -- 4th centuries During the Roman Empire ( until 493 ) including under Constantine ( 312 -- 337 ) Peter Linus Anacletus Clement I Evaristus Alexander I Sixtus I Telesphorus Hyginus Pius I Anicetus Soter Eleutherius Victor I Zephyrinus Callixtus I Urban I Pontian Anterus Fabian Cornelius Lucius I Stephen I Sixtus II Dionysius Felix I Eutychian Caius Marcellinus Marcellus I Eusebius Miltiades Sylvester I Mark Julius I Liberius Damasus I Siricius Anastasius I 5th -- 8th centuries Ostrogothic Papacy ( 493 -- 537 ) Byzantine Papacy ( 537 -- 752 ) Frankish Papacy ( 756 -- 857 ) Innocent I Zosimus Boniface I Celestine I Sixtus III Leo I Hilarius Simplicius Felix III Gelasius I Anastasius II Symmachus Hormisdas John I Felix IV Boniface II John II Agapetus I Silverius Vigilius Pelagius I John III Benedict I Pelagius II Gregory I Sabinian Boniface III Boniface IV Adeodatus I Boniface V Honorius I Severinus John IV Theodore I Martin I Eugene I Vitalian Adeodatus II Donus Agatho Leo II Benedict II John V Conon Sergius I John VI John VII Sisinnius Constantine Gregory II Gregory III Zachary Stephen II Paul I Stephen III Adrian I Leo III 9th -- 12th centuries Papal selection before 1059 Saeculum obscurum ( 904 -- 964 ) Crescentii era ( 974 -- 1012 ) Tusculan Papacy ( 1012 -- 1044 / 1048 ) Imperial Papacy ( 1048 -- 1257 ) Stephen IV Paschal I Eugene II Valentine Gregory IV Sergius II Leo IV Benedict III Nicholas I Adrian II John VIII Marinus I Adrian III Stephen V Formosus Boniface VI Stephen VI Romanus Theodore II John IX Benedict IV Leo V Sergius III Anastasius III Lando John X Leo VI Stephen VII John XI Leo VII Stephen VIII Marinus II Agapetus II John XII Benedict V Leo VIII John XIII Benedict VI Benedict VII John XIV John XV Gregory V Sylvester II John XVII John XVIII Sergius IV Benedict VIII John XIX Benedict IX Sylvester III Benedict IX Gregory VI Clement II Benedict IX Damasus II Leo IX Victor II Stephen IX Nicholas II Alexander II Gregory VII Victor III Urban II Paschal II Gelasius II Callixtus II Honorius II Innocent II Celestine II Lucius II Eugene III Anastasius IV Adrian IV Alexander III Lucius III Urban III Gregory VIII Clement III Celestine III Innocent III 13th -- 16th centuries Viterbo ( 1257 -- 1281 ) Orvieto ( 1262 -- 1297 ) Perugia ( 1228 -- 1304 ) Avignon Papacy ( 1309 -- 1378 ) Western Schism ( 1378 -- 1417 ) Renaissance Papacy ( 1417 -- 1534 ) Reformation Papacy ( 1534 -- 1585 ) Baroque Papacy ( 1585 -- 1689 ) Honorius III Gregory IX Celestine IV Innocent IV Alexander IV Urban IV Clement IV Gregory X Innocent V Adrian V John XXI Nicholas III Martin IV Honorius IV Nicholas IV Celestine V Boniface VIII Benedict XI Clement V John XXII Benedict XII Clement VI Innocent VI Urban V Gregory XI Urban VI Boniface IX Innocent VII Gregory XII Martin V Eugene IV Nicholas V Callixtus III Pius II Paul II Sixtus IV Innocent VIII Alexander VI Pius III Julius II Leo X Adrian VI Clement VII Paul III Julius III Marcellus II Paul IV Pius IV Pius V Gregory XIII Sixtus V Urban VII Gregory XIV Innocent IX Clement VIII 17th -- 20th centuries Revolutionary Papacy ( 1775 -- 1848 ) Roman Question ( 1870 -- 1929 ) Vatican City ( 1929 -- present ) World War II ( 1939 -- 1945 ) Cold War ( 1945 -- 1991 ) Leo XI Paul V Gregory XV Urban VIII Innocent X Alexander VII Clement IX Clement X Innocent XI Alexander VIII Innocent XII Clement XI Innocent XIII Benedict XIII Clement XII Benedict XIV Clement XIII Clement XIV Pius VI Pius VII Leo XII Pius VIII Gregory XVI Pius IX Leo XIII Pius X Benedict XV Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II 21st century Benedict XVI Francis History of the papacy Antiquity and Early Middle Ages During the Roman Empire ( until 493 ) Under Constantine ( 312 -- 337 ) Ostrogothic Papacy ( 493 -- 537 ) Byzantine Papacy ( 537 -- 752 ) Frankish Papacy ( 756 -- 857 ) Saeculum obscurum ( 904 -- 964 ) Crescentii era ( 974 -- 1012 ) High and Late Middle Ages Tusculan Papacy ( 1012 -- 1044 / 1048 ) Imperial Papacy ( 1048 -- 1257 ) Wandering Papacy Viterbo, 1257 -- 1281 Orvieto, 1262 -- 1297 Perugia, 1228 -- 1304 Avignon Papacy ( 1309 -- 1378 ) Western Schism ( 1378 -- 1417 ) Early Modern and Modern Era Renaissance Papacy ( 1417 -- 1534 ) Reformation Papacy ( 1534 -- 1585 ) Baroque Papacy ( 1585 -- 1689 ) Revolutionary Papacy ( 1775 -- 1848 ) Roman Question ( 1870 -- 1929 ) Vatican City ( 1929 -- present ) WWII ( 1939 -- 1945 ) Book Category Pope portal Catholicism portal Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Italy Region of Abruzzo - 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Question: who is the current pope of the world
Answer: Pope Francis