Ten quotes that defined Pope Francis's papacy:
- Humility -
"Pray for me" -- pronounced at the end of every speech, because, he once explained, "I am a sinner too." His first tweet and first post on Instagram were versions of the mantra.
- The poor -
"How I would like a poor church for the poor" -- setting the tone for his pontificate, three days after his election in March 2013.
- Tolerance -
"If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?" -- groundbreaking signal of a more tolerant Church, July 2013.
- Inequality -
"The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose" -- opposition to economic inequality spelled out in an Apostolic Exhortation in 2013.
- Environment -
"The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth" -- from his June 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si.
- Developing world -
"The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse" -- advocating the cause of the southern hemisphere in Laudato Si.
- Migrants -
"In this world of globalisation, we have fallen into a globalisation of indifference. We are accustomed to the suffering of others, it doesn't concern us, it's none of our business" -- railing against the world closing its eyes to the plight of migrants, on the Italian island of Lampedusa in July 2013.
- Shooting from the hip -
"Some people think, and excuse the term, that to be good Catholics, they must be like rabbits" -- typically pithy, improvised comment to reports on the papal plane, January 2015.
- Church reform -
"A Curia that is not self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that does not seek to better itself, is an ailing body… It is the sickness of the rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity..." -- from his December 2014 attack on the Vatican establishment, which he accused in the same speech of suffering from "spiritual Alzheimer's".
- Mercy -
"There is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father" -- extending permanently his decree allow priests to grant absolution to women who have had abortions, at the end of his Jubilee Year of Mercy in November 2016
Ten quotes that defined Pope Francis’s papacy:
– Humility –
“Pray for me” — pronounced at the end of every speech, because, he once explained, “I am a sinner too.” His first tweet and first post on Instagram were versions of the mantra.
– The poor –
“How I would like a poor church for the poor” — setting the tone for his pontificate, three days after his election in March 2013.
– Tolerance –
“If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?” — groundbreaking signal of a more tolerant Church, July 2013.
– Inequality –
“The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose” — opposition to economic inequality spelled out in an Apostolic Exhortation in 2013.
– Environment –
“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth” — from his June 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si.
– Developing world –
“The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse” — advocating the cause of the southern hemisphere in Laudato Si.
– Migrants –
“In this world of globalisation, we have fallen into a globalisation of indifference. We are accustomed to the suffering of others, it doesn’t concern us, it’s none of our business” — railing against the world closing its eyes to the plight of migrants, on the Italian island of Lampedusa in July 2013.
– Shooting from the hip –
“Some people think, and excuse the term, that to be good Catholics, they must be like rabbits” — typically pithy, improvised comment to reports on the papal plane, January 2015.
– Church reform –
“A Curia that is not self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that does not seek to better itself, is an ailing body… It is the sickness of the rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity…” — from his December 2014 attack on the Vatican establishment, which he accused in the same speech of suffering from “spiritual Alzheimer’s”.
– Mercy –
“There is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father” — extending permanently his decree allow priests to grant absolution to women who have had abortions, at the end of his Jubilee Year of Mercy in November 2016
