Since his election to the papacy, he has shown a simpler and less formal approach to the office, choosing to live in theVatican guesthouse and not the papal residence.
Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani met on 6 March 2021 for at most 40 minutes, part of the time alone except for interpreters, in the Shiite cleric’s modest home in the city ofNajaf. Every detail was scrutinized ahead of time in painstaking, behind-the-scenes preparations that touched on everything from shoes to seating arrangements.[21] Pope Francis said in a statement that there should be "unity" between followers of different religions.[22]
Cardinal Bergoglio waselected on 13 March 2013. He chose the name "Francis" to honor St. Francis of Assisi.[6][23] Just after he was elected, Francis told a newspaper how he chose the new name:
"Let me tell you a story," he said. He then [explained] how during theconclave he had sat next to Cardinal Cláudio Hummes ofBrazil, whom he called "a great friend." After the voting, Cardinal Hummes "hugged me, he kissed me and he said, 'Don't forgetthe poor!' And that word entered here," the pope said, pointing to his heart. "I thought ofwars, while the voting continued, though all the votes," he said ... "And Francis is the man ofpeace. And that way the name came about, came into my heart: Francis of Assisi."[24]
Pope Francis is the first pope to speak to a session of theUnited States Congress. He spoke there during his visit to theUnited States on 24 September 2015.[26]
When Pope Francis was a Cardinal, his views about thecelibacy of priests were recorded in the bookOn Heaven and Earth. The book is a record of conversations he had with a Buenos Airesrabbi.[32] In this book, he said that celibacy "is a matter ofdiscipline, not offaith. It can change." However, he added: "For the moment, I am in favor of maintaining celibacy, with all its [positive and negative parts], because we have tencenturies of good experiences rather than failures [...]Tradition has weight andvalidity."[33]
He also said that "in the Byzantine, Ukrainian,Russian, and Greek Catholic Churches [...] the priests can bemarried, but thebishops have to be celibate".[33][b] 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.[33] He states that "If, hypothetically, Western Catholicism were to review the issue of celibacy, I think it would do so forcultural reasons (as in the East), not so much as a universal option."[33] He emphasized that, in the meantime, the rule must be strictly followed, and any priest who cannot obey it "has to leave theministry."[33]
National Catholic Reporter Vatican analystThomas Reese, also a Jesuit, called Bergoglio's use of "conditional language" regarding the rule of celibacy "remarkable."[32] 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."[32]
Pope Francis supports the Catholic teaching thathomosexual acts are immoral. However, he has said that gay people should be treated with respect.[34][35] Bergoglio is againstsame-sex marriage. In 2011, he called it "theDevil's work".[36]
Argentina considered legalizing same-sex marriage in 2010. At that time, Bergoglio was against thislegislation.[37] He called it a "real and direanthropological throwback."[38] In July 2010, while the law was under consideration, he wrote a letter to Argentina'scloisterednuns in which he said:[39][40][41]
In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family…At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will bediscriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God's law engraved in our hearts.
Let's not benaive: This is not a simplepolitical fight; it is a destructive proposal toGod's plan. This is not a merelegislative proposal (that's just its form), but a move bythe father of lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God… Let's look toSt. Joseph,Mary, andthe 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.
AfterL'Osservatore Romano reported this, several priests expressed their support for the law.[40][c] Gay people believe that the church's opposition and Bergoglio's language actually helped the law get passed. They also think that Catholic officials reacted by taking a less harsh tone in laterdebates on social issues such as parentalsurrogacy.[43][44]
On 29 July 2013, Pope Francis gave an interview to some journalists who were traveling with him. When asked if there should be gay priests,[45] Pope Francis replied:
If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?
Afterwards, when asked if women should become priests,[45] Francis replied:
The Church has spoken and says no ... that door is closed.
Three days after being elected Pope, Pope Francis told thousands of newsreporters:
[Since] many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church, and others arenot believers, I give thisblessing from my heart, insilence, to each one of you,respecting theconscience of each one of you, but knowing that each one of you is a child of God. May God bless you.[24]
It is very rare for a Pope to bless people who are not Catholics. By doing this, the Pope was showing that he accepted people who belonged to different religions.[24]
“
We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.[46] – Pope Francis, 22 May 2013
”
In a speech on 20 March, Pope Francis said that some people do not follow any religion, but still search "for truth, goodness and beauty." He said these people are importantallies in protecting humandignity; makingpeace; and caring for theEarth.[47][48] This meant the Pope was sayingatheists could be allies of the Catholic Church, instead ofenemies.
In the same speech, the Pope said that Catholic andJewish people are connected "by a most special spiritual bond." ToMuslim leaders at the speech he said: "[To] Muslims, who worship God as one, living andmerciful, and [call on] him in prayer... I greatly appreciate your presence ... [In] it, I see a ... sign of a will to grow inmutualesteem and in cooperation for the common good ofhumanity."[48]
In September 2013, Francis wrote a letter that was published inLa Repubblicanewspaper. The letter said that atheists would beforgiven by God if they followed theirconsciences and did what they thought was right. The newspaper's editor, who is not a Catholic, wrote back with a list of questions. Francis wrote back:
You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don't believe and who don't seek the faith. I start by saying—and this is the [most important] thing—that God's mercy has no limits if you go to him with asincere and [truly sorry] heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is toobey their conscience. Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.[49]
↑Weiss, Jessica. "He Roots for ‘the Saints,’ on the Soccer Field and Off,"New York Times. 14 March 2013; excerpt, "He is No. 88,235 on the club’s member list"; retrieved 15 March 2013.
↑Press reports have provided a variety of translations for the phrase. According toVatican Radio: "Pope Francis has chosen the mottoMiserando 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 theVenerable Bede onSaint 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.'"[1]
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