Classic Pope Francis

#Palestine #zionism #apartheid #FreePalestine #PopeFrancis #genocide #Christianity

Writing reveals who we are, says Pope Leo

Pope Leo has already urged reading good books on a few occasions, and now he is encouraging those who create them. While this advice might have been expected from the literature-teacher Pope Francis, for math-major Pope Leo, it underlines the importance of reading (and writing) for all personalities. (It is truth that Leo grew up Read More… Writing reveals who we are, says Pope Leo...

🔗 https://aleteia.org/2026/06/24/writing-reveals-who-we-are-says-pope-leo/

#Catholic #Aleteia #PopeFrancis

Jérôme Lejeune Foundation’s joyful visit to the Vatican

Dressed elegantly in a suit and tie, Jérôme appeared almost like a regular at the Vatican. Under the pontificate of Pope Francis, the young man, who has Down syndrome, had previously visited for a gathering of altar servers. “We were also supposed to meet him for the canonization of St. Carlo Acutis, but the Pope Read More… Jérôme Lejeune Foundation’s joyful visit to the Vatican...

🔗 https://aleteia.org/2026/06/23/jerome-lejeune-foundations-joyful-visit-to-the-vatican/

#Catholic #Aleteia #PopeFrancis

Cardinal Ruini’s spiritual testament reveals ‘unease’ over Pope Francis’ direction for the Church

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the influential Italian prelate and trusted collaborator of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI who died in Rome on Tuesday at the age of 95, gives

🔗 https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2026/06/22/cardinal-ruinis-spiritual-testament-reveals-unease-over-pope-francis-direction-for-the-church/

#Catholic #CatholicThing #PopeFrancis #John #Church

What did Pope say about migrants learning language, respecting law?

While Pope Francis was in the Canary Islands at a center that works for the integration of migrants, he spoke of the mutual responsibility faced on both sides. His invitation came from within a “city without walls.” “I was struck by what has been said about this city: It is without walls, an open city,” Read More… What did Pope say about migrants learning language, respecting law?...

🔗 https://aleteia.org/2026/06/20/what-did-pope-say-about-migrants-learning-language-respecting-law/

#Catholic #Aleteia #PopeFrancis

Pope Francis: The First Pope from the Global South

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — June 14, 2026

A Break from Europe

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, the Catholic Church did something it had never done before. It chose a pope from Latin America. That alone marked a turning point. For the first time, the leader of the Church came from a region where Catholicism was not declining, but alive, growing, and deeply tied to everyday life.

Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of Italian immigrants. His background reflected both tradition and change. He understood European Catholic roots, but he lived in a society shaped by inequality, political instability, and economic pressure. That perspective would define his papacy.

A Different Kind of Leadership

Francis did not present himself as a distant figure. From the beginning, he emphasized simplicity. He declined some traditional papal luxuries, chose modest living arrangements, and spoke in direct, accessible language. These choices were not just personal preferences. They signaled a shift in how the papacy would engage with the modern world.

His leadership focused less on doctrinal enforcement and more on pastoral presence. He spoke frequently about mercy, compassion, and the role of the Church as a support system for people facing hardship. This approach resonated with many Catholics who felt disconnected from institutional authority (Ivereigh, 2014).

At the same time, it created tension within the Church. Some leaders and believers expected a stronger emphasis on tradition and discipline. Francis’s tone did not change core doctrine, but it changed how that doctrine was presented and discussed.

The Global Church Comes into Focus

Francis’s election confirmed what had been developing for decades. The center of gravity in Catholicism had shifted. While Europe remained historically important, the majority of practicing Catholics now lived outside it.

Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia became central to the Church’s future. Francis understood those regions not as mission fields, but as the Church itself. His speeches and writings often reflected concerns that were more visible in those areas, including poverty, migration, and environmental stress (Francis, 2015).

This global perspective also influenced how he approached leadership within the Vatican. He sought to include more voices from outside Europe, reinforcing the idea that the Church was not owned by any one culture.

The Reality of His Papacy

Francis’s time as pope was not without controversy. His efforts to address internal Church issues, including clerical abuse and institutional accountability, drew both support and criticism. Some argued that reforms did not go far enough. Others believed he moved too quickly or challenged long-standing structures.

His emphasis on social issues, particularly economic inequality and environmental responsibility, also placed him in broader political conversations. While he framed these concerns in moral and theological terms, they were often interpreted through political lenses.

That tension reflects a larger truth about the papacy. The pope is not only a religious leader. He operates within a world shaped by governments, economies, and public opinion. Francis did not avoid that reality. He engaged with it directly.

Why Francis Matters

Francis represents a continuation of the Church’s move toward a truly global identity. His papacy reinforced the idea that Catholic leadership must reflect the lived experiences of its members, not just its historical center.

For many Catholics, especially those returning to the Church or observing it from a distance, Francis made the institution feel more accessible. He did not resolve every issue facing the Church. No pope does. But he shifted the tone and direction of the conversation.

In the context of this series, Francis stands as a clear marker. He is not the beginning of change, but he is a visible point where that change becomes undeniable.

If this work helps you understand what’s happening, help me keep it going: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WPSNews
For more from Cliff Potts, see https://cliffpotts.org

Francis. (2015). Laudato si’: On care for our common home. Vatican Press.
Ivereigh, A. (2014). The great reformer: Francis and the making of a radical pope. Henry Holt and Company.
O’Malley, J. W. (2019). A history of the popes: From Peter to the present. Rowman & Littlefield.

Magnificent Humanity

I am headed on retreat and off the grid for a couple of weeks starting tomorrow, but I couldn’t let a pope release a social encyclical without at least a quick skim before I left, and Pope Leo released Magnifica Humanitas this morning. So here I am.

I haven’t read any of the commentary already out there, and I’m sure there are already some excellent insights that I’m missing and other thoughts that others have already covered. But since I write mostly for those who are not really that into all this stuff, hopefully you’ll forgive me. So far I have only:

• Listened to Colleen Dulle’s 5-minute overview on the Inside the Vatican podcast, because I couldn’t resist.
• Listened to the remarks Pope Leo gave at the introductory press briefing, which I recommend (and are in English). They are not just a summation of the document but a really good 10-minute complement.
• Read the encyclical online. Had I had time, I would have made our printer churn out the 26 or so pages so I could mark it up and do a better job of analysis, but that can wait for another time.

I should also say since I mentioned in my earlier post that I was curious what the footnotes would look like, I read through those before I actually read a word of the document itself. Would not recommend to others, though it helped me.

Quick takeaways:

There’s no reason to believe that this last one was a shoutout to uber-Tolkien nerd Stephen Colbert, but I hope that, wherever he is, he is smiling nonetheless.

Two paragraphs I liked: 

This one, from the open, summarizes the narrative frame Leo uses throughout the document of Babel vs. Nehemiah:

#10: “We must, then, avoid the “Babel syndrome,” namely the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance. The risk of dehumanization — of building a future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means — is an ancient and ever-new temptation that today takes on a technical guise. Instead, let us choose the “way of Nehemiah,” which highlights the importance of working together to make the City of God a safe place for returning exiles. Rebuilding today means recognizing that, precisely from the plurality of voices and visions which, even though they sometimes remind us of the confusion caused by the diversity of spoken languages, a bright possibility emerges. Indeed, this is the possibility of building together, of transforming diversity into a resource and of making listening and dialogue the common ground upon which to cultivate justice and fraternity. Within this shared task, Christians discover their unique role of guiding actions toward God so that, in his light, pluralism does not dissipate into disorder, but instead, through the practice of synodality, it becomes the space in which humanity rediscovers its solid foundations and its final end. In the Book of Revelation, John sees the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:2) as a gift for all humanity. And this vision of grace is an invitation for us Christians to work together in order to foster a peaceful, just and dignified life in community within today’s ‘cities.’”

This one, from the section on what our role is in peacemaking, was particularly powerful:

#216: “There are times when, in order to remain human, we must set aside our reservations and take a stand. In some conflicts, it is unjust to remain neutral, nor is it enough merely to claim that we are not complicit. [192] When we witness the bombing of civilians, attacks on hospitals, schools or vital infrastructure, and violence that affects children, we are confronted with scandals that wound humanity itself. For this reason, we cannot limit ourselves to the level of abstract analysis. Pope Francis encouraged us to “touch the wounded flesh” [193] of those who suffer, look at their faces, listen to their stories and acknowledge their wounds. Painful events require both history and memory, the former to recount the facts, the latter to bear witness to lived experiences.”

See you in a few weeks!

British student tipped for sainthood after death from cancer

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/15/british-student-tipped-sainthood-death-cancer-28383036/