The 10 years of Pope Francis in ten sentences

In his almost ten years of pontificate, Pope Francis has spoken on virtually every topic religious, social or political relevance. From abortion and sexual abuse in the Catholic Church to the war in Ukraine and the possibility of his resignation, the pontiff’s views have sparked resonance and debate, both among his supporters and his critics.

Here, a selection of his ten sentences on the hottest topics in the world today.

“Who am I to judge a homosexual person?”

The phrase, uttered by the Pope in a chat with journalists on board a return journey from Brazil in 2013, was perhaps the first sign that the pontiff was willing to contest some positions of the Catholic Church on sexuality, one of its sharpest edges criticized for his strong conservative stance.

“If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to criticize him?. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very beautifully. He says these people cannot be marginalized for this. They must be integrated into society”, the Pope said at the time.

It is not the only time that the Pope has intervened on the issue of homosexuality. In his latest interview with the Associated Press, Francis criticized laws criminalizing homosexuality as “unfair.”

“Being homosexual is not a crime,” he said in the interview. “It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a pity. Well, first let’s distinguish sin from crime. But the lack of charity towards one’s neighbor is also a sin.

Francis has come under heavy criticism from the LGBTQ Catholic community over a 2021 decree from the Vatican’s office of doctrine that said the Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God cannot bless sin.

“I have already signed my resignation”

Speculations about a possible resignation of Pope Francis have flown to him practically from the moment he took office. Added to his age and health problems is the fact that he is the pontiff who followed Benedict, the first pope to resign after 600 years they fueled a constant cycle of rumours and versions.

It was at the end of 2022 that Pope Francis came forward at the crossroads of these versions and affirmed that his resignation was already available in case of health problems that prevented him from continuing to carry out his office.

“I have already signed my resignation”, said the Pope in an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC. “It was Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State. I signed and told him: ‘In case of impediment for health or other reasons, here is my resignation. they already have it‘” the pope added, referring to the Italian cardinal who held the position of Vatican “number two” until October 2013.

Francisco has difficulty walking due to an inoperable knee problem that has forced him to use a wheelchair in recent months. He has also had to cancel or cut back on activities several times in the last year due to pain.

He also had 10 inches (33 centimeters) of his large intestine removed in 2021, which the Vatican described as an inflation caused by a narrowing of the colon.

“The abuse by men and women of the Church is a monstrosity”

Although the Pope has had cases where he showed insensitive to the claims of victims of sexual abuse by members of the Church (for example, the incident in Chile in 2018 in which he supported a bishop despite allegations that he supported a molester), his position in recent years has been one of strong condemnation and “zero tolerance” for these crimes .

“I want to be very clear about this: abuse, whether it is an abuse of authority or of a sexual nature, it’s an eyesorebecause religious are called to serve and create unity, to grow, and abuse always destroys,” he said in an interview with CNN Portugal in 2022.

In 2019, Francis issued a papal directive ordering “public, stable and easy access for filing” reports of sexual abuse in dioceses around the world.

“We have to fight against all cases. As a priest, I have to help people raise and save them. If you abuse them, I kill them. This is terrible. Zero tolerance,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

“Abortion is murder”

Perhaps the most burning issue on which the Pope has been inflexible and absolutely in line with the position of the Church has been that of abortion. While he has been open to forgiving women who have performed abortions, his position has always been that of absolute prohibition.

Francis spoke numerous times about abortion. On a flight back to Rome from Slovakia, the Pope told a group of journalists bluntly “Abortion is murder”.

In 2020, just a month before abortion was legalized in Argentina, Francisco spoke out vehemently against abortion, comparing it to “hire a hitman to solve a problem”.

On that occasion, he ensured that abortion “is not a primarily religious issue”, but “of human ethics, before any religious denomination”.

“Any act of war aimed at the destruction of entire cities is a crime against humanity”

The position of Pope Francis on the war in Ukraine is one of the areas where the pontiff has received more criticism. His apparent initial reluctance to criticize Putin and to condemn the invasion outright has sparked controversy, but in recent months the pontiff has spoken of the conflict in much harsher terms, as well as always calling for negotiations to establish peace.

In a speech last September before ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, the Pope denounced the “wave of death and destruction” spawned by the invasion and described the war in Ukraine as a crime against God and humanity.

“Every act of war aimed at the indiscriminate destruction of entire cities or large areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and against humanity which deserves firm and unequivocal condemnation“Francis said.

“The wounds of climate change are comparable to those of a global conflict”

The consequences of climate change have been an integral part of the Pope’s agenda practically from the moment he took over the leadership of the Catholic Church. His strongest statement came at the COP 26 climate summit in November 2021, where he compared the effects of the climate crisis and the pandemic with a war.

“The wounds inflicted on our human family by the COVID-19 pandemic and the phenomenon of climate change are comparable to those resulting from a global conflict“, he said in his speech, which was read by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

“There is corruption in the Vatican”

For decades the The financial reports of the Vatican leadership are suspected of corruption and unclear management. During a flight back to Rome from Japan in 2019, Pope Francis did not shy away from the issue, acknowledging that the handling of the Catholic Church’s finances was a matter of concern for him.

“There is corruption in the Vatican, that’s clear. With the interrogations we will see if they are guilty or not. It’s a bad thing, it’s not right for it to happen in the Vatican,” the pontiff explained, while acknowledging that there has been an investigation into the possible use of a charitable fund to purchase a luxury property in London.

Days before his conversation with reporters on the plane, Francis had already called the episode a “scandal,” his first public acknowledgment of Vatican corruption.

“Some think that to be good Catholics you have to be like rabbits. You have to maintain responsible parenting”

The position regarding the use of contraceptive methods within the Catholic Church is that only natural methods are permitted. In January 2015, however, the Pope seemed to highlight that position when he stated that not allowing artificial contraceptives was not an invitation to “be like rabbits” and that the Church has encouraged “responsible fatherhood”.

“Some think that to be good Catholics you have to be like rabbits. No it does not. Responsible parenthood must be upheld. This is clear,” the pope told a group of journalists on board a flight back from one of his trips.

“Women, in the Church, are more important than bishops and priests”

The role of women in the Catholic Church It has been hotly debated for decades.but centuries. The fact that priests cannot be consecrated, unlike in other religions where it is allowed, is a very controversial issue that Francisco has tried to put a cold cloth on.

Speaking with journalists on board an airplane in 2013, the Pope insisted on the fundamental importance of women in the Church.

«Women, in the Church, are more important than bishops and priests; the how is what we must try to explain better,” the pontiff said at the time.

The Pope, however, has not taken significant steps to promote the status of women within the Church hierarchy, and it was not open to the proposal of the Church of Germany allow women access to the priesthood.

In his latest interview with the agency Associated pressthe Pope warned of the danger that the German Church is taking a “very, very ideological” path.

“The migration crisis in Europe is sinful, aberrant and criminal”

The migration crisis in Europe has been a central theme of the Pope practically from the beginning. His first trip after the settlement was to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, known in Italy and throughout Europe for being the main point of arrival and detention of waves of immigrants and refugees trying to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East.

On that occasion, Francis threw a wreath into the sea to remember the thousands of people who died trying to cross the Mediterranean.

In a speech given in St. Peter’s Square in 2022, he called the migration crisis “sinful, aberrant and criminal”.

“Indeed, the situation of migrants is criminal. They are left to die in front of us, transforming the Mediterranean into the largest cemetery in the worldor,” the pontiff said.