Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, aged 88.
Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, was elected pope in March 2013. Holding the office for 12 years, he has been recognized as a groundbreaking reformer, offending the conservatives by introducing changes – even if they may be considered small – to ensure the making of a “poor church and church for the poor”.
During his papacy, he put a spotlight on (among others):
- capitalism that he called the “dung of the devil“
- environmental preservation
- need to help refugees
Particular to the LGBTQIA+ community, Francis was quoted as saying “Who am I to judge?” when asked about gay people in priesthood. In another interview, he said that “giving more importance to the adjective (i.e. ‘gay’) than the noun — this is not good.”
Francis also always called out the hypocrisy of the religious – e.g. when he was criticized for his openness to having the Roman Catholic Church bless same-sex couples, and/or people in it, he said that critics are guilty of hypocrisy. “No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people: and that is a most serious sin… This is hypocrisy! We all have to respect each other.”
Francis also declared his support for the legal protection of LGBTQIA+ people in relationships by calling for the passage of civil union laws, the first such position for the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
And yet Francis was also limited by many of the Roman Catholic Church’s antiquated doctrines – e.g. in 2018, he reportedly instructed bishops to keep gay men out of the priesthood; reportedly criticized trans-inclusive education, arguing instead that children be taught to “accept their own body as it was created”; and objected to marriage equality (even if he signaled he was okay with civil unions).
There are 138 cardinals from around the world who may succeed Francis to become the 268th head of the Roman Catholic Church. A conclave, the secret, complex election ritual held in the Sistine Chapel, will be held within 15-20 days of Francis’s death.
