Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not the pope!? | Father Altman

The headline in ny times "Young, confident and conservative: america's newly ordained catholic priests lean overwhelmingly to the political right in their theology, practice and politics." was ill-timed. I was just about to have an espresso with ..brina when the above post pops in...thought nice picture and who is Bishop J. E. Listecki? Googelchen immediately tells me that he is the priest who ordained James Altman. so what? Then Googelchen throws the YT movie "Jorge Bergoglio is not the Pope | Fr. James Altman" after me...I'm like: "wow" I can't do that!"...wife says "then someone else will do it!".
So- I'm just the bearer of the message! But Alexa Cloud calls out from the loudspeaker: "So people ask-what happens to the bearer of bad news?
Even in ancient times, the bearer of bad news was beheaded!
But then, as now, there were and are prudent people who reject this bad habit ("Don't kill the messenger", Sophocles ca. 420 BC)."

Thanks for that, I'm off for a walk in the woods - see you (hopefully!) later!
------------------Fr. James Altman
@FatherAltman
Catholic priest. Caritas in Veritate. Official account (working to get account verified)
La Crosse, WIlinktr.ee/fatheraltman
On Twitter since October 2020
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8.006 Follower------https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7RZp9V6tDw----------------------------------------
Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first to be born or raised outside Europe since the pontificate of Syrian Pope Gregory III in the 8th century.
Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and worked as a bouncer and janitor for a while as a young man before training as a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a serious illness with pneumonia and cysts, he was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969 and was Jesuit Provincial in Argentina from 1973 to 1979 . In 1998 he became Archbishop of Buenos Aires and in 2001 he was made Cardinal by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the unrest in Argentina in December 2001. The governments of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival.
After the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on February 28, 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on March 13. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been known for his humility, his emphasis on God's mercy, his international visibility as pope, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to interreligious dialogue. He is credited with a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors, for example, he chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guest house rather than the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace, which were used by previous popes. [2]
Francis has appointed women as full members of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. [3][4] He claims that the Catholic Church should be more understanding of members of the LGBT community. He made it clear that while blessings of same-sex unions are not allowed, individuals can be blessed as long as the blessings are not given in a liturgical context. [5] Francis is a critic of unbridled capitalism, consumerism and overdevelopment; [6] He has made action on climate change a major focus of his pontificate. [7] Widely interpreted as denouncing the death penalty as intrinsically evil,[8] he has called it an "attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person," "inadmissible," and has committed the Church to abolishing it,[9] saying that there can be "no turning back from this position." [10]
In international diplomacy, Francis has criticized the rise of right-wing populism, called for the decriminalization of homosexuality,[11] helped restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, negotiated an agreement with China to define how much influence the Communist Party would have. in the appointment of Chinese bishops, and the cause of refugees during the European and Central American migration crises, which called on the Western world to significantly increase the number of immigrants. [12][13] In 2022, he apologized for the church's role in the "cultural genocide" of Canada's Indigenous peoples. [14] On October 4, 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of the Synod on Synodality, which has been called the culmination of his pontificate and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.[4][15][16]
Early years
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (fourth boy from the left in the third row from the top) at the age of 12, Salesian College (c. 1948–49)
Pope Francis was born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936[17] in Flores,[18] a district of Buenos Aires. [17] He was the eldest[19] of five children of Mario José Bergoglio (1908–1959) and Regina María Sívori (1911–1981). Mario Bergoglio was an Italian accountant[20] born in Portacomaro (province of Asti) in the Italian region of Piedmont. Regina Sívori[21] was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian (Piedmontese-Genoese) origin. [22][23][24] Mario José's family left Italy in 1929 to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini. [25] According to María Elena Bergoglio (born 1948), the only living sister of the Pope, they did not emigrate for economic reasons. [26] His other siblings were Oscar Adrián (1938–deceased), Marta Regina (1940–2007) and Alberto Horacio (1942–2010). [27][28] Two great-nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic accident. [29][30] His niece, Cristina Bergoglio, is a painter living in Madrid, Spain. [31][32]
In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended the Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles, a school of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Ramos Mejía in the province of Buenos Aires. He attended the technical high school Escuela Técnica Industrial Nº 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen,[33] named after a former Argentine president, and graduated with a diploma as a chemical technician. [17][34][35] In this capacity, he worked for several years in the food department of the Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory,[36] where he worked under Esther Ballestrino. He used to be a bouncer and janitor. [37][38]
When he was 21 years old, Bergoglio had part of a lung cut out after a life-threatening bout of pneumonia and three cysts. [33][39]
Jesuit (1958–2013)
Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood as he was on his way to celebrate Spring Day in Europe. He passed by a church to go to confession and was inspired by the priest. [40] Bergoglio studied at the seminary of the archdiocese, the Seminary Inmaculada Concepción, in Villa Devoto in Buenos Aires, and after three years entered the Society of Jesus as a novice on March 11, 1958. [41] Bergoglio has said that as a young seminarian he had a crush on a girl he had met and briefly doubted whether he would continue his religious career. [42] As a Jesuit novice, he studied humanities in Santiago, Chile. [43] After his novitiate in the Society of Jesus, Bergoglio officially became a Jesuit on March 12, 1960, when he took the religious vows of the initial, perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience of a member of the order. [44][45]
In 1960, Bergoglio obtained a licentiate in philosophy at the Colegio Máximo de San José in San Miguel in the province of Buenos Aires. From 1964 to 1965 he taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción, a high school in Santa Fe. In 1966 he taught the same courses at the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires. [17][46]
Presbyterium (1969–1992)
In 1967, Bergoglio began his theological studies at the Facultades de Filosofía y Teología de San Miguel and was ordained a priest on December 13, 1969 by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. He served as novice master for the province there and became a professor of theology. [47]
Bergoglio completed his final stage of his spiritual formation as a Jesuit, tertiate, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and on April 22, 1973, he took his last, solemn vows as a Jesuit, including the fourth vow of obedience to the mission by the Pope. [45] In July of the same year, he was appointed Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina for a six-year term that ended in 1979.[17][48] In 1973, shortly after his appointment as Provincial Superior, he had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but his stay was shortened by the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. [49] After his term expired, he was appointed rector of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology of San Miguel, where he had studied, in 1980.[50] Before taking up this new position, he spent the first three months of 1980 in Ireland learning English and was at the Jesuit Centre of the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin. [51] He served in San Miguel for six years until 1986,[17] when, at the discretion of Jesuit Superior General Peter Hans Kolvenbach, he was replaced by someone more in line with the worldwide trend in the Society of Jesus to emphasize social justice rather than emphasize his emphasis on popular piety and direct pastoral work. [52]
He spent several months at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, Germany, to examine possible dissertation topics. [53] He decided to engage with the work of the German-Italian theologian Romano Guardini, in particular with his study of "contrast" published in 1925 in his work The Opposite. He returned to Argentina earlier than expected to serve as confessor and spiritual director of the Jesuit community in Córdoba. [54] It was believed that he had seen the painting of Maria, Untier of Knots in Augsburg during his stay in Germany and had brought a copy of the painting back to Argentina, but in an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit in 2017, Pope Francis stated that he had never been to Augsburg. [55][c] As a student at the Salesian school, Bergoglio was mentored by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest Stefan Czmil. Bergoglio often stood up hours before his classmates to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for Czmil. [58][59]
Bergoglio was asked by the Jesuit authorities in 1992 not to live in Jesuit homes because of ongoing tensions with Jesuit leaders and scholars, because of a sense of Bergoglio's "dissent," views on his Catholic orthodoxy, and his rejection of the theology of liberation, as well as his work as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. [60][61][62] As bishop, he was no longer subordinate to his Jesuit superior. [63] From then on, he no longer visited Jesuit houses and was in a state of "virtual alienation from the Jesuits" until after his election as pope. [52][60]
Pre-Papal Episcopate (1992–2013)
Bergoglio was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and consecrated titular bishop of Auca on 27 June 1992,[17][64] with Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as chief consecrator. [65] He chose Miserando atque eligendo as his episcopal motto. [66] It comes from St. Bede's homily on Matthew 9:9-13: "because he saw him with the eyes of mercy and chose him". [67]
On 3 June 1997, Bergoglio was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires with the right of succession. After Quarracino on February 28, 1998, Bergoglio became Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In this capacity, Bergoglio created new parishes and restructured the archdiocese's administrative offices, directed pro-life initiatives, and established a commission on divorce. [17][68] One of Bergoglio's most important initiatives as archbishop was to strengthen the Church's presence in the slums of Buenos Aires. Under his leadership, the number of priests working in the slums doubled. [69] This work led to him being referred to as a "Slumbischof". [70]
At the beginning of his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio sold the archdiocese's shares in several banks and converted their accounts into those of a normal customer at international banks. The shares in banks had led the local church to a propensity for high spending, and the archdiocese was almost bankrupt as a result. As a normal customer of the bank, the church was forced to exercise greater budgetary discipline. [71]
On 6 November 1998, during his tenure as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was appointed ordinary for those Eastern Catholics in Argentina who did not have a prelate of their own Church. [65] Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said Bergoglio understands the liturgy, rites and spirituality of Shevchuk's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and has always "cared for our Church in Argentina" during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. [59]
In 2000, Bergoglio was the only church representative to reconcile with Jerónimo Podestá, a former bishop who was suspended as a priest in 1972 after opposing the military dictatorship of the Argentine revolution. He defended Podestá's wife from the Vatican's attacks on their marriage. [72][73][74] In the same year, Bergoglio said that the Argentine Catholic Church must "put on vestments of public penance for the sins committed during the years of dictatorship" in the 1970s, during the dirty war. [75]
Bergoglio made it a habit to celebrate Maundy Thursday with the ritual washing of the feet in places such as prisons, hospitals, retirement homes or slums. [76] In 2007, just two days after Benedict XVI issued new rules for the use of the liturgical forms that preceded the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Bergoglio established a fixed place for a weekly Mass in this extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. [77] There was a weekly celebration.[78]
On November 8, 2005, Bergoglio was elected President of the Argentine Bishops' Conference for a three-year term (2005–08 ). [79] On 11 November 2008, he was re-elected for another three-year term. [80] He remained a member of the permanent governing body of this commission, president of the Committee for the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, and a member of the Liturgy Committee for the Care of the Shrines. [65] As chairman of the Argentine Catholic Bishops' Conference, Bergoglio collectively apologized for his church's failure to protect people from the junta during the dirty war.[81] When he turned 75 in December 2011, Bergoglio handed in his resignation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires to Pope Benedict XVI, as required by canon law. [49] However, since he did not have a coadjutor archbishop, he remained in office and waited for a possible successor appointed by the Vatican. [82]
Cardinal (2001–2013)
Bergoglio on 18 June 2008 during a catechesis
At the consistory of February 21, 2001, Archbishop Bergoglio was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II and received the title of cardinal-priest of San Roberto Bellarmino, a church cared for by Jesuits and named after a Jesuit. he was officially installed in this church the following October 14. 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. [26] As a cardinal, Bergoglio was appointed to five administrative offices 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 after the September 11 attacks, Bergoglio replaced him as a speaker (recorder) in the Synod of Bishops,[83] leaving a positive impression, according to the Catholic Herald, "as a man open to communion and dialogue." [84][85]
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2008
Cardinal Bergoglio became known for his personal humility, doctrinaire conservatism and commitment to social justice. [86] A simple lifestyle contributed to his reputation for modesty. He lived in a small apartment and not in the elegant bishop's residence in the suburb of Olivos. He took public transport and cooked his own meals. [87] He limited his time in Rome to "lightning visits". [88] He was devoted to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and included a small picture of her in the letters he wrote, in which he described her as "a great missionary saint". [89]
After the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005, Bergoglio attended his funeral and was considered one of the popes for the succession in the papacy. [90] 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.that Bergoglio was a top candidate in the 2005 conclave. [86][91] In September 2005, the Italian magazine Limes published claims that Bergoglio had been the runner-up and main challenger to Cardinal Ratzinger in this conclave, and that he had received 40 votes in the third ballot, but had fallen back to 26 in the fourth and decisive ballot. [92][93] The claims were based on a diary that allegedly belonged to an anonymous cardinal who had been present at the conclave. [92][94] According to the Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, this number of votes had no precedent for a Latin American papabile. [94] La Stampa reported that Bergoglio was in close struggle with Ratzinger during the election until he made an emotional plea that the cardinals should not vote for him. [95] According to Tornielli, Bergoglio made this request to prevent the conclave from delaying the election of a pope too much. [96]
As a cardinal, Bergoglio was associated with Communion and Liberation, a lay Catholic evangelical movement known as Associations of the Faithful. [86][97] He sometimes appeared at the annual meeting known as the Rimini Meeting, which took place in Italy in the late summer months. [86] In 2005, Cardinal Bergoglio approved the request for beatification – the third step towards holiness – for six members of the Pallottine community murdered in the massacre in the church of San Patricio.[98][99] 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. [99]
Relations with the Argentine Government
Dirty War
See also: Dirty War
Bergoglio was the subject of allegations regarding the kidnapping of two Jesuit priests, Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, by the Argentine Navy in May 1976, during the dirty war in Argentina. [100] He feared for the safety of the priests and had tried to change their work before their arrest; contrary to reports, he did not try to expel them from the Jesuit order. [101] In 2005, Myriam Bregman, a human rights lawyer, filed a criminal complaint against Bergoglio as Superior of the Society of Jesus of Argentina, accusing him of involvement in the kidnapping. [102] Her complaint did not specify how Bergoglio was involved; Bergoglio's spokesman flatly rejected the accusations. The appeal was ultimately dismissed. [100] The priests were tortured,[103] but five months later found alive, drugged and half-naked. Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads by refusing to tell authorities that he supported their work. Yorio, who died in 2000, said in an interview in 1999 that he believed Bergoglio had done nothing "to free us, on the contrary". [104] Jalics initially refused to speak about the complaint after he had gone to the seclusion of a German monastery. [105] Two days after Francis' election, Jalics issued a statement confirming the kidnapping and attributing the cause to a former lay colleague who became a guerrilla, was captured, and then named Yorio and Jalics when he was interrogated. [106] The following week, Jalics made a second, clarifying statement: "It is wrong to claim that our arrest took place on the initiative of Father Bergoglio (...) The fact is that Orlando Yorio and I were not denounced by Father Bergoglio." [107][108]
Bergoglio told his authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, that after the priests were imprisoned, he worked behind the scenes for their release; Bergoglio's intercession with dictator Jorge Rafael Videla for them may have saved their lives. [109] Bergoglio also told Rubin that he often housed people on church properties before the dictatorship and once gave his own identity papers to a man who looked like him so that he could flee Argentina. [103] The interview with Rubin, recounted in the biography El jesuita, is the only time Bergoglio speaks to the press about these events. [110] Alicia Oliveira, a former Argentine judge, has also reported that Bergoglio helped people flee Argentina during the junta rule. [111] Since Francis became pope, Gonzalo Mosca[112] and José Caravias[113] have told journalists how Bergoglio helped them escape the Argentine dictatorship.
Oliveira described the future pope during the Dirty War as "tormented" and "very critical of the dictatorship." [114] Oliveira met with him at the time and urged Bergoglio to speak out – he told her that "he couldn't. That it wasn't an easy thing." [104] The artist and human rights activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, said: "Maybe he didn't have the courage of other priests, but he never collaborated with the dictatorship. … Bergoglio was not an accomplice of the dictatorship." [115][116] Graciela Fernández Meijide, a member of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, also said that there is no evidence linking Bergoglio to the dictatorship. She told the newspaper Clarín: "There is no information and the judiciary has not been able to prove it. I was in the APDH during all the years of dictatorship and received hundreds of testimonies. Bergoglio was never mentioned. This was also the case in CONADEP. No one mentioned him as an instigator or as anything." [117] Ricardo Lorenzetti, president of the Argentine Supreme Court, has also said that Bergoglio is "completely innocent" of the accusations. [118] The historian Uki Goñi pointed out that the military junta still had a good image in society at the beginning of 1976 and that the extent of political repression only became known much later; Bergoglio would have had little reason to believe that the imprisonment of Yorio and Jalics could lead to their deaths. [119]
When Bergoglio became pope, an alleged photo of him handing over sacramental bread to dictator Jorge Rafael Videla became popular on social networks. It was also used by the newspaper Página/12. [120] The photo soon proved to be false. It turned out that the priest, whose face is not visible in the photo, was Carlos Berón de Astrada. The photo was taken in 1990 in the church "Pequeña Obra de la Divina Providencia Don Orione", not during the Dirty War and after Videla's pardon by the president. The photo was produced by the AFP agency and initially published by the Crónica newspaper . [121]
Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa replaced Carlos Menem as President of Argentina in 1999. As archbishop, Bergoglio celebrated the annual mass in the cathedral of Buenos Aires on the first national government holiday, May 25. In 2000, Bergoglio criticized society's perceived apathy. [122] Argentina was facing an economic depression at the time , and the Catholic Church criticized the government's austerity measures, which increased poverty. De la Rúa called on the Church to promote a dialogue between economic and political leaders in order to find a solution to the crisis. He claims that he spoke to Bergoglio and proposed to attend the meeting, but Bergoglio told him that the meeting was canceled due to a misunderstanding by De la Rúa's assistant, who may have refused the president's help. Bishop Jorge Casaretto considers this unlikely, since De la Rúa has only made the request in newspaper interviews, but has never made a formal request to the Church. [123]
The Justicialist Party won the 2001 elections and received a majority in Congress, appointing Ramón Puerta as president of the Senate. Since Vice President Carlos Álvarez had resigned shortly before, an opposing party remained in second place in the ranking. Bergoglio asked for an interview with Puerta and had a positive impression of him. Puerta told him that the legalist party does not plan to overthrow De la Rúa and promised to help the president push through the laws that may be necessary. [124]
During the police suppression of the riots in December 2001, he turned to the Ministry of the Interior and asked the police to distinguish rioters and vandals from peaceful demonstrators. [125]
Néstor und Cristina Kirchner
Francis with Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with traditional Argentine mate drinkware
When Bergoglio celebrated mass in the cathedral for the first national government holiday in 2004, President Néstor Kirchner was present and heard Bergoglio call for more political dialogue, reject intolerance and criticize exhibitionism and shrill announcements. [126] Kirchner celebrated the national holiday elsewhere the following year, and mass in the cathedral was suspended. [127] In 2006, Bergoglio helped fellow Jesuit Joaquín Piña win the elections in the province of Misiones and prevent a change in the local constitution that would allow for indefinite re-elections. Kirchner intended to use this project to make similar changes in other provinces and eventually to the national constitution. [128] Kirchner regarded Bergoglio as a political rival until his death in October 2010. [129] Bergoglio's relations with Kirchner's widow and successor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were similarly strained. In 2008, Bergoglio called for national reconciliation during the unrest in the country's agricultural regions, which the government interpreted as support for anti-government protesters. [129] The campaign to pass a law on same-sex marriage was a particularly tense time in their relationships. [129]
When Bergoglio was elected pope, the first reactions were mixed. Most of Argentine society cheered him, but the pro-government newspaper Página/12 published new accusations about the Dirty War, and the president of the National Library described a global conspiracy theory. It took the president more than an hour before congratulating the new pope, and he did so only in a passing mention within a routine speech. Because of the pope's popularity in Argentina, Cristina Kirchner carried out what political analyst Claudio Fantini called a "Copernican shift" in her relations with him, fully embracing the Francis phenomenon. [130] The day before his inauguration as pope, Bergoglio, now Francis, had a private meeting with Kirchner. They exchanged gifts and had lunch together. This was the new pope's first meeting with a head of state, and there was speculation that the two would improve their relations. [131][132] Página/12 removed her controversial articles on Bergoglio, written by Horacio Verbitsky, from her website as a result of this change. [133]
Javier Milei
Before the election of Javier Llei as Argentine president, he was very critical of Francis, calling him a "moron" and a "communist." His derogatory comments sparked a controversy among Catholics. [134] After his inauguration, however, Milei softened his position and officially invited Francis to Argentina. Milei visited the Vatican on February 11, 2024, the day Francis canonized María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, the first female Argentine saint. [135]
Papsttum (2013–heute)
See also: Theology of Pope Francis § The Second Vatican Council Reissued and Theology of Pope Francis § Church Governance
Coat of arms of Pope Francis

As a cardinal

As Pope
The golden 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. [136][137][138]
Francis, who was elected at the age of 76, has been deemed healthy and his doctors have said that his missing lung tissue, which was removed in his youth, does not significantly affect his health. [139] The only concern would be a reduced respiratory reserve if he had a respiratory infection. [140] In the past, a bout of sciatica in 2007 prevented him from attending a consistory and delayed his return to Argentina for several days. [88]
Francis is the first Jesuit pope. This was an important appointment, as relations between the Society of Jesus and the Holy See were sometimes strained. [141] He came second to Cardinal Ratzinger on all ballots of the 2005 conclave and appeared at the time as the only other viable candidate. [142] He is also the first from America,[143] and the first from the southern hemisphere. [144] Many media outlets reported him as the first non-European pope, but in reality he is the 11th; the previous was Gregory III of Syria, who died in 741. Moreover, although Francis was not born in Europe, he is ethnically European; his father and maternal grandparents come from northern Italy. [145]
As pope, his demeanor is less formal than that of his immediate predecessors: a style that reporting has described as "no-frills," noting that it is "his shared touch and accessibility that proves to be the greatest inspiration." [146] On the night of his election, he took the cardinals by bus back to his hotel instead of being driven in the papal car. [147] The next day, he visited Cardinal Jorge María Mejía in the hospital and talked to patients and staff. [148] In his first media audience, on the Saturday after his election, the Pope explained his choice of papal name by quoting St. Francis of Assisi as "the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor," adding, "I want a poor Church and for the poor." [149]
In addition to his native Spanish, he is fluent in Italian (the official language of Vatican City and the "everyday language" of the Holy See) and German. He is also familiar with Latin (the official language of the Holy See),[150] French,[151] Portuguese,[152] and English,[153][154] and understands the Piedmontese language and some Genoese. [155]
Francis chose not to live in the official papal residence in the Apostolic Palace, but to stay in the Vatican guest house, in a suite where he can receive visitors and hold meetings. He is the first pope since Pope Pius X to live outside the papal apartments. [156] Francis still appears at the window of the Apostolic Palace for the Sunday Angelus. [157]
As Jesuit Pope, he had "made it clear that a fundamental task of the faithful is not so much to follow rules, but to recognize what God calls them to do. He is changing the culture of the clergy by turning away from what he has called "clericalism" (which focuses on priestly status and authority) and toward an ethics of service (Francis says the pastors of the Church must have the "smell of the sheep" and always remain close to the people of God)." [158]
On December 13, 2023, Francis said in an interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa that his "great veneration" was for the icon of the Salus populi Romani in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Francis also told the news agency that his tomb in the basilica near the icon has already been prepared. Francis will be the first pope since Pope Leo XIII to be buried outside the Vatican. [159]
Election
Main article: 2013 Pontifical Conclave and Papal Inauguration of Pope Francis
Francis will appear in public for the first time as pope on March 13, 2013 on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013,[17][160][161] on the second day of the 2013 papal conclave, and took the papal name Francis. [17][162] Francis was elected in the fifth round of the conclave. [163] The announcement of Habemus papam was delivered by the Cardinal Protodeacon Jean-Louis Tauran. [164] Cardinal Christoph Schönborn later said that Bergoglio was elected on the basis of two supernatural signs, one in the conclave - and therefore confidential - and a Latin American couple, friends of Schönborn's in Vatican City, who whispered Bergoglio's name in the Elector's ear; Schönborn commented: "When these people say Bergoglio, it is a reference to the Holy Spirit". [165]
Instead of receiving the congratulations of his cardinals while sitting on the papal throne, Francis received them standing up, supposedly an immediate sign of a change in the Vatican's approach to formalities. [166] In his first appearance as pontiff on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he wore a white cassock rather than the red ermine-trimmed mozzetta[166][167] used by previous popes. [168] He also wore the same iron pectoral cross that he had worn as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and not the gold one that his predecessors had worn. [167]
After his election and the choice of his name, his first official act was the blessing of Urbi et Orbi to thousands of pilgrims who had gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before blessing the crowd, he asked the people 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". [169]
Francis held his papal inauguration on March 19, 2013 in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. [17] He celebrated Mass in the presence of various political and religious leaders from around the world. [170] In his homily, Francis focused on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the liturgical day on which Mass was celebrated. [171]
Name
Francis in St. Peter's Square, two months after his election
At his first audience on March 16, 2013, Francis told journalists that he had chosen the name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi because he cared about the well-being of the poor. [172][173][174] He explained that when it became clear during the vote in the conclave that he would be elected as the new bishop of Rome, Brazilian Cardinal Cláudio Hummes embraced him and whispered to him: "Do not forget the poor", which made Bergoglio think of the saint. [175][176] Bergoglio had previously expressed his admiration for St. Francis, declaring: "He brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride and vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time. He changed history." [177]
This is the first time that a Pope has been called Francis. On the day of his election, the Vatican clarified that his official papal name was "Francis," not "Francis I," meaning no government number is used for him. A Vatican spokesman said that the name would become Francis I if there is a Francis II. [173][178] It is the first time since Lando's pontificate in 913–914 that a sitting pope bears a name that was not used by a predecessor. [d]
Francis also said that some cardinal electors jokingly suggested that he choose either "Adrian," since Adrian VI was a reformer of the Church, or "Clement," to settle scores with Clement XIV. who had oppressed the Jesuit order. [149][180] In February 2014, it was reported that if Bergoglio had been elected in 2005, he would have chosen the papal name "John XXIV" in honor of John XXIII. It is said that he said to Cardinal Francesco Marchisano: "John, I would have called myself John, like the good Pope; I would have been completely inspired by him." [181]
Curia
Inauguration of Pope Francis, 19 March 2013
On March 16, 2013, Francis asked all those in leading positions of the Roman Curia to remain in office for the time being. [182] He appointed Alfred Xuereb as his personal secretary. [183] On 6 April, he appointed José Rodríguez Carballo Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, a position that had been vacant for several months. [184] Francis abolished the multi-million euro bonuses paid to Vatican employees when a new pope was elected, and instead chose to donate the money to charity. [185] He also abolished the annual bonus of 25,000 euros paid to the cardinals who served on the supervisory board of the Vatican Bank. [186]
On April 13, 2013, he appointed eight cardinals to a new Council of Cardinal Advisers to advise him on the revision of the organizational structure of the Roman Curia. The group included several known critics of the Vatican's operations, and only one member of the Curia. [187] He is Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa from Chile; Oswald Gracias from India; Reinhard Marx from Germany; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya from the Democratic Republic of Congo; George Pell from Australia; Seán O'Malley from the United States; and Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga from Honduras. He appointed Bishop Marcello Semeraro as secretary of the group and scheduled its first meeting for October 1-3. [188]
Early editions
In March 2013, 21 British Catholic peers and MPs of all parties called on Francis to allow married men in Britain to be ordained priests and to maintain celibacy as a rule for bishops. They demanded this on the grounds that it would be unusual for married Anglican priests to be admitted into the Catholic Church and ordained priests either by the Pastoral Decree of June 20, 1980, or the Anglican Ordinariate of 2009, but married Catholic men could not do the same. [189]
Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, called on the Pope to visit Jerusalem in his Easter homily in 2013 . [190] Louis Raphael I, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, asked the Pope to visit the "embattled Christian community" in Iraq. [191] In March 2021, Pope Francis traveled to Iraq for a first papal visit to Mesopotamia's shrinking Christian communities, which have fallen apart after years of conflict. [192]
On the first Holy Thursday after his election, Francis washed and kissed the feet of ten male and two female juvenile offenders, not all of whom were Catholic, aged 14 to 21, who were incarcerated in Rome's Casal del Marmo prison, telling them that the ritual of washing the feet was a sign that he was serving them. [193] This was the first time that a pope had included women in this ritual, although he had already done so when he was archbishop. [193] One of the male and one female prisoners were Muslims. [193]
On March 31, 2013, Francis used his first Easter homily to make an appeal for peace throughout the world, mentioning in particular the Middle East, Africa, and North and South Korea. [194] He also spoke out against those who give in to "easy profit" in a world full of greed, and appealed to humanity to become a better custodian of creation by protecting the environment. [194] He said, "We ask the risen Jesus, who transforms death into life, hatred into love, revenge into forgiveness, war into peace." [195] In 2019, he stated that ecocide was a sin and "should be made a fifth category of crimes against peace that should be recognized as such by the international community." [196][197][198]
Although the Vatican had prepared greetings in 65 languages, Francis chose not to read them. [154] According to the Vatican, the Pope "feels comfortable, at least for the moment, in Italian, the everyday language of the Holy See." [199]
Thousands greeted Francis on July 6, 2015 in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
In 2013, Francis first reaffirmed the program of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to reform the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious,[200] which had been initiated under his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI. The New York Times reported that in 2012 the Vatican formed the opinion that the "sisters" were shaped by feminist influences, focused too much on ending social and economic injustice and not enough on ending abortion, and allowed speakers at their meetings who questioned church teaching. [201][202] In April 2015, the investigation was closed. While the timing of the closure may have anticipated a visit by Francis to the United States in September 2015, it has been noted that the focus of the Sisters is close to that of Francis. [203]
On May 12, Francis conducted his first canonizations of candidates canonized during the reign of Benedict XVI: the first Colombian saint, Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena, the second Mexican saint, María Guadalupe García Zavala, both from the 20th century, and the 813 martyrs of Otranto from the 15th century. He said: "As we venerate the martyrs of Otranto, we ask God to support the many Christians who are still suffering from violence, giving them the courage and fate to respond to evil with kindness." [204]
Cinaudel Kirche
See also: Theology of Pope Francis § Decentralization
Francis has presided over synods on the family (2014), on youth (2018) and on the Church in the Amazon (2019). In 2019, Francis' Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis communio allowed the final document of a synod to become magisterial teaching simply with papal approval. The Constitution also allowed lay people to report directly to the Secretary General of the Synod. [205] Some analysts see the creation of a truly synodal Church as the greatest contribution of Francis' pontificate. [206]
Consultation with Catholic laity
Franziskus in Quito, Ecuador, 2015
A February 2014 World Values Survey poll cited in the Washington Post and Time shows how the unity Francis had created could be called into question. Although views of Francis were personally positive, many Catholics disagreed with at least some of his teachings. The survey found that members of the Catholic Church are deeply divided on abortion, artificial contraception, divorce, the ordination of women and married priests. [207][208] In the same month, Francis asked parishes to respond to an official questionnaire[209] described as a "much broader consultation than just a survey"[210] on the opinions of the laity. He continued to assert Catholic doctrine, in a less dramatic tone than his recent predecessors, who claimed that the Catholic Church was not a democracy of public opinion. [211]
Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University wrote of the survey initiated by Francis: "It is in no way a survey that a social scientist would acknowledge." Woodhead said that many ordinary Catholics have difficulty understanding the theological jargon there. Nevertheless, she suspected that the poll could be influential. [212]
The Catholic Church in England and Wales in April 2014 had refused to publish the results of this survey; A church spokesman said a senior Vatican official had specifically requested that the summaries remain confidential and that the pope had ordered that the information not be released until after October. This disappointed many Reformers, who had hoped that 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 large gap between church teaching and the behavior of ordinary Catholics. [210]
In a column he wrote for the Vatican's semi-official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, the then Prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signatura, American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who has long been known as one of the Church's most vocal conservative hardliners, said that Francis was against both abortion and gay marriage. [213] The Vatican's top spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, stated during the 2014 consistory sessions in the Vatican Press Office that Francis and Cardinal Walter Kasper would not change or redefine dogmas regarding doctrinal theology in doctrinal matters. [214]
Institute of Religious Works
In the first months of Francis' pontificate, the Institute for the Works of Religion, informally known as the Vatican Bank, declared that it would become more transparent in its financial dealings. 215] There have long been allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the bank. [216][217] Francis appointed a commission to advise him on the reform of the bank,[216][217] and the financial advisory firm Promontory Financial Group was commissioned to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all the bank's client contacts on these facts. [218] As a result of this affair, at the beginning of August 2013, the Advocate of Justice at the Vatican Court of Justice requested a request for mutual legal assistance for the first time in the history of the Republic of Italy . [219] In January 2014, Francis replaced four of the five cardinal seers of the Vatican Bank who had been confirmed in their offices by Benedict XVI in the final days of the pontificate. [220] Lay experts and clerics investigated how the bank was run. Ernst von Freyberg was entrusted with the management. Moneyval believes that further reforms are needed, and Francis may be willing to close the bank if the reforms prove too difficult. [221] There is uncertainty as to the extent to which reforms can succeed. [222]
Papal Documents
On June 29, 2013, Francis published the encyclical Lumen fidei, which was largely the work of Benedict XVI but is awaiting a final draft upon his retirement. [223] On November 24, 2013, Francis published his first major letter as pope, the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,[224] which he described as the program of his pontificate. [225] On 18 June 2015, he published his first original encyclical Laudato Si' on the care of the planet. [226] On 8 April 2016, Francis published his second Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia,[227] in which he speaks of love in the family. Controversy arose in late 2016 when four cardinals formally asked Francis for clarifications, particularly on the issue of giving Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. [228]
His motu proprios include Ai nostri tempi and De concordia inter codices. Francis issued another one entitled Maiorem hac dilectionem, which opened a new path to canonization for specific purposes.
Francis established two new secretariats (superior departments) in the Roman Curia: the Secretariat for Economy and the Secretariat for Communication. He simplified the procedure for declaring marriage nullity. [229]
On December 8, 2017, Francis signed a new Apostolic Constitution on Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties Veritatis Gaudium, which was published on January 29, 2018. [230]
On 19 March 2018, another Apostolic Exhortation entitled Gaudete et exsultate (Rejoice and rejoice) was published, which deals with the "vocation to holiness in today's world" for all people. He contradicts contemporary versions of the Gnostic and Pelagian heresies and describes how Jesus' Beatitudes call people to "swim against the tide." [231]
In February 2019, Francis admitted that priests and bishops sexually abused religious sisters.[232] He addressed this and the scandal of clergy sexual abuse by convening a summit on clergy sexual abuse in Rome on February 21-24, 2019. [233] Following this summit, Francis promulgated the motu proprioVos estis lux mundi on May 9, 2019, which established responsibilities, including reporting directly to the Holy See on the bishops and superiors, while at the same time involving another bishop in the archdiocese of the accused bishop. [234]
On September 30, 2020, he published the Apostolic Exhortation Scripturae sacrae affectus to celebrate the 16th anniversary of Jerome's death. [235][236]
On October 4, 2020, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Francis published the encyclical Fratelli tutti on fraternity and social friendship, in which he describes our universal fraternity and sisterhood in the words of St. Francis. [237]
On December 8, 2020, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis published the Apostolic Exhortation Patris corde ("With the Heart of a Father"). [238] On this occasion, the Pope proclaimed a "Year of St. Joseph" from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021, on the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as patron saint of the universal Church.[239]
On June 1, 2021, Francis published the Apostolic Constitution Pascite gregem Dei. [240]
Pope Francis issued the motu proprio Traditionis custodes on July 16, 2021 . The document revoked the permits for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass that had previously been introduced by Benedict XVI in the 2007 Summorum Pontificum, with the Traditionis custodes restricting the use of the 1962 Roman Missal more. Pope Francis explained in a letter on the motu proprio that the emphasis on the Mass of Paul VI "would bring the unity that I would like to restore throughout the Church of the Roman Rite". [241] On February 11, Pope Francis met with two priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and assured them that the Traditionis Custodes did not interfere with their communion, and gave them permission in writing to use all the 1962 liturgical books. He also suggested that Traditionis Custodes does not apply to all traditional Catholic communities, not just the FSSP. [242]
Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue
Main article: Pope Francis: Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue
The stamp is dedicated to the pastoral visit of Francis to Azerbaijan on 2 October 2016.
Pope Francis continued the tradition of the Second Vatican Council and the popes since the Council by promoting ecumenism with other Christian denominations and promoting dialogue with the leaders of other religions; He has also supported peace with those who claim not to believe religious.
Clerikale Titel
See also: Theology of Pope Francis § Clericalism
In January 2014, Francis said he would appoint fewer monsignors, assigning only the honorees to the lowest of the three surviving ranks of Monsignor, Chaplain to His Holiness. It would only be awarded to diocesan priests who are at least 65 years old. During his 15 years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis has never sought the title of one of his priests. He is believed to associate them with clerical careerism and hierarchy, although he did not apply this restriction to clergy working in the Roman Curia or the diplomatic corps, where careerism is an even greater problem. [243]
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
Francis presided over the first canonizations of his pontificate on May 12, 2013, in which he canonized the martyrs of Otranto. Antonio Primaldo and his 812 companions, executed by the Ottomans in 1480,[244] as well as the nuns Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena and María Guadalupe García Zavala – in this first canonization, he surpassed Pope John Paul II's record of canonizing the most saints in a pontificate. [204] Francis approved the equal canonization of Angela of Foligno the following October 9, and then of the Jesuit Peter Faber the following December 17. [245][246]
On 3 April 2014, the Pope approved further canonizations of the Jesuit José de Anchieta and the Ursuline Sister Marie of the Incarnation and Bishop François de Laval. [247] Francis canonized his two predecessors, John XXIII and John Paul II, on April 27, 2014, and six more saints the following November 23. [248][249] The Pope canonized Joseph Vaz during his visit to Sri Lanka on 14 January 2015 and canonized four other saints on the following 17 May; he canonized Junípero Serra on 23 September during a visit to the United States, and then canonized four saints on 18 October, including the first married couple, who was named as a saint. [250][251][252][253] Francis canonized Maria Elisabeth Hesselblad and Stanislaus Papczyński on June 5, 2016, and then canonized Teresa of Calcutta on September 4 ; on October 16, he canonized seven other saints. [254][255][256] The Pope canonized the two children's seers, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, during his visit to Fátima in mid-2017, and canonized 35 more saints on October 15. [257][258] Francis recognized seven saints on October 14, 2018, most notably his predecessor Pope Paul VI and Óscar Romero. [259] Francis later confirmed the equal canonization of Bartholomew of Braga in mid-2019. [260] On October 13, 2019, Francis canonized five new saints, including Cardinal John Henry Newman. [261] The Pope confirmed the equal canonization of Margherita della Metola on April 24, 2021. [262]
The Pope has also continued the practice of having beatifications celebrated in the person's place of origin, although he himself presided over beatifications three times: for Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions on August 16, 2014, for his predecessor Pope Paul VI on October 19, 2014, and for two Colombian martyrs on September 8, 2017. [263][264][265] The Pope has authorized beatifications for a number of men and women, including Álvaro del Portillo of Opus Dei (27 September 2014), martyr Archbishop Óscar Romero (23 May 2015), prominent Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński (12 September 2021), and several large groups of Spanish martyrs. [266]
Francis also confirmed his predecessor John Paul I. on 8. November 2017,[267] and blessed on 4 September 2022. [268]
Doctor of the Church
On February 21, 2015, Francis signed a decree congratulating St. Gregory of Narek on the 36th anniversary of his birth. Doctor of the Church; He formally conferred the title on the saint at a ceremony held on April 12, 2015 in St. Peter's Basilica, which was attended by delegations from the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church.[269] On January 20, 2022, Francis agreed to the proposal to appoint Saint Irenaeus of Lyon as the 37th Doctor of the Church, formally conferring on him the title and additional title of Doctor unitatis ("Doctor of Unity") in a decree dated January 21.[270]
Consistories
→ Main article: Cardinals of Francis
At the first consistory of his pontificate on February 22, 2014, Francis created 19 new cardinals. At the time of their elevation to this rank, 16 of these new cardinals were under eighty years old and thus entitled to vote in a papal conclave.[271] The new appointees included prelates from South America, Africa, and Asia, including appointees from some of the world's poorest countries, such as Chibly Langlois of Haiti and Philippe Nakellentuba Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso. [272] The consistory was a rare occasion in which Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI appeared together in public. [272]
Benedict XVI also participated in the second consistory on February 14, 2015, at which Francis raised 20 new cardinals, 15 of whom were under eighty and five over eighty years old. 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. [273]
Francis presided over the third consistory of his pontificate on November 19, 2016, at which 17 new cardinals were appointed. Of this total, 13 were under eighty years old and four over eighty years old at the time of their collection. Francis continued his previous practice of elevating cardinals from the peripheries, with an emphasis on Asia and Africa, such as Patrick D'Rozario of Bangladesh and Dieudonné Nzapalainga of the Central African Republic, while also making the first three American cardinals of his pontificate and only one Curia appointment appointee. [274]
On the afternoon of June 28, 2017, the Pope presided over a fourth consistory for the elevation of five new cardinals. Each of the five was under eighty years old and thus entitled to vote in a papal conclave. This consistory was notable for the fact that the pope continued the trend of elevating cardinals from a variety of areas, but no cardinals belonged to the Roman Curia and one was only an auxiliary bishop. [275]
Francis presided over his fifth consistory on June 28, 2018, for the elevation of 14 new cardinals. The first eleven were under eighty years of age and therefore eligible to vote in a future papal conclave, while the last three were over eighty years of age and therefore were not eligible to vote in a papal conclave. [276] The Pope continued the practice of appointing the Vicar of Rome and a Curia Prefect as cardinals, while appointing his deputy for the Secretariat of State in anticipation of his transfer to a Curia department. The Pope also continued his practice of awarding the red hat to people from peripheries such as Madagascar, Pakistan and Iraq, creating a priest as a cardinal, as he did in 2016. The consistory was also remarkable because Francis appointed the papal almsmaster Konrad Krajewski as cardinal, thus appointing the consistory cardinal for the first time. Francis himself later said that he wanted the office of almsgiver to receive the red hat in the future, as it is an important arm of the Vatican. [277]
On September 1, 2019, Francis unexpectedly announced the appointment of 13 new cardinals after his weekly Sunday Angelus address. Of these, 10 appointees were under 80 years old and would therefore become cardinal electors, in addition to three over 80. The new cardinals were officially installed at the consistory on October 5, 2019. [278] Most of the new cardinals come from the peripheries of the Church and from the developing countries. Two new appointees came from Muslim-majority countries (Morocco and Indonesia), while two others were known for their work on refugee and migration issues. [279] This action increased the number of cardinal electors Francis had appointed to the College of Cardinals to about 70 out of nearly 130. [278]
Francis created thirteen new cardinals on November 28, 2020; Nine appointees were under 80 years old and could therefore vote in a future papal conclave. [280] The Pope also appointed four cardinals who were over 80 years old. Most of these new appointments continued the trend that Francis adhered to, appointing the first cardinals to represent Brunei and Rwanda. Francis also appointed the first African-American cardinal (Gregory), while he appointed the first Franciscan (Gambetti) in nearly 160 years and the first from Siena (Lojudice) since 1801. [281] Three of his appointees were only priests when they were appointed, so two (Gambetti and Feroci) received their episcopal ordination, while one (Cantalamessa) was granted a papal dispensation.
Year of Mercy
Francis opens the Holy Door, marking the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
Main article: Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
With his papal bull of indication Misericordiae Vultus (Latin: "The Face of Mercy") of April 2015, Francis inaugurated a special Jubilee Year of Mercy, which runs from December 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the last Sunday before Advent and the Solemnity of Christ, the King of the Universe, on November 20, 2016.
The Holy Doors of Rome's major basilicas (including the Great Door of St. Peter's Basilica) have been opened, and special "Gates of Mercy" have been opened in 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. [282][283] During this year's Lent, special 24-hour penitential services will be celebrated, and throughout the year, in each diocese, specially qualified and experienced priests, called "Missionaries of Mercy", will be available to forgive even grave sins in special cases normally reserved for the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See. [284][285]
Francis introduced the World Day of the Poor in his Apostolic Exhortation Misericordia et Misera, published on 20 November 2016 on the occasion of the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. [286][287]
COVID-19 pandemic
See also: COVID-19 pandemic in Vatican City
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis canceled his regular general audiences in St. Peter's Square to prevent crowds from gathering and spreading the virus that has hit Italy hard. [288] He encouraged priests to visit patients and medical personnel; [289] urged the faithful not to forget the poor in the time of crisis; [290] prayed for people with the virus in China; [291] and invoked the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title Salus Populi Romani, since the Diocese of Rome observed a time of prayer and fasting in recognition of the sacrifices. [292] On March 13, 2020, the pontiff reacted with displeasure to the news that the Vicar General had closed all churches in the diocese of Rome. Although Italy is under quarantine, Francis asked that "the ... People alone" and worked to partially reverse the closures.
On March 20, 2020, Francis asked the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) to establish a Vatican COVID-19 Commission to express the Church's concern about the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to propose responses to the potential socio-economic challenges it poses.[293][294]
On March 27, Francis pronounced an extraordinary blessing Urbi et Orbi. [295] In his homily on the calming of the storm in the Gospel of Mark, Francis described the environment: "Dense darkness has condensed in our squares, streets and cities; He looks over our lives and fills everything with a deafening silence and a desolate emptiness that paralyzes everything in his path: you can feel it in the air, you can feel it in his gestures. ... In the face of suffering, where the true development of our peoples is measured, we discover and experience the priestly prayer of Jesus: 'May they all be one'." [296]
Francis claims that COVID vaccination is a moral obligation. Francis explained that people have a responsibility to take care of themselves, "and that means respect for the health of the people around us. Health care is a moral obligation." [297]
In response to the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis stated that now is the time to consider the introduction of a universal basic wage. [298]
Russian-Ukrainian war
Francis and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva both tried to find a peaceful solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Francis visited the Russian embassy in Rome, which was described as an "unprecedented step". [299] Francis called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and expressed his "sorrow" that the Vatican was working to find "space for negotiations." [300] When the invasion began, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, canceled a trip to visit Francis in Florence. [301] On February 25, the day after the invasion began, Francis assured Shevchuk in a phone call that he would "do everything in his power to help end the Ukraine conflict." [302] During the Angelus address on February 27, Francis called for peace and said: "Silence the weapons!" [303] Francis also sent two high-ranking cardinals to Ukraine with help in early March. [304] These special envoys were the papal almsgiver, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, who is head of the papal office that deals with migration, charity, justice and peace. This mission, which included several trips,[305][306] was considered a highly unusual step in Vatican diplomacy. [307] Pope Francis consecrated both Russia and Ukraine on March 25, 2022 (see Consecration of Russia). [308]
In mid-May 2022, Francis described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented." [309] Francis explained that this remark does not mean that he is "pro-Putin": "It would be simplistic and wrong to say something like that. I'm simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good and evil, without thinking about roots and interests, which are very complex." [309]
On August 24, 2022, Pope Francis described the murder of Darya Dugina as a case in which innocent people pay for the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the same day, the Ukrainian envoy to the Holy See protested against such a description of the murder, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po