“Oh, how I would really like a poor Church, and for the poor,” he instructed reporters quickly after his election as pope.
He visited islands off Italy and Greece the place refugees have been making the perilous journey from Libya, Syria and surrounding international locations. He helped resettle a number of refugee households in Italy and inspired different Catholics to arise for migrants.
“As folks of religion, we want to be part of our voices to talk out in your behalf,” Francis stated, addressing migrants. “We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and certainly determined want, and reply in a method worthy of our frequent humanity.”
He additionally spoke out towards the Donald Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts within the U.S. In a letter despatched to U.S. bishops in early 2025, he requested “to not give in to narratives that discriminate towards and trigger pointless struggling to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters” whereas likening at the moment’s migrants to Jesus, Mary and Joseph fleeing violence to Egypt.
As he labored to encourage Catholics’ outreach to the world, the pope additionally confronted criticism inside his personal flock. Within the U.S., a small wing of doctrine-minded conservatives pushed again towards Francis’ welcoming model of Catholicism, insisting that the pope’s method to some points ― reminiscent of distributing the Eucharist to divorced, remarried {couples} ― may have the impact of muddying long-standing church teachings.
Francis acknowledged his conservative opponents in 2019, saying, “For me, it’s an honor if the People assault me.” He lamented that individuals selling schisms have allowed ideology to turn into “indifferent” from Catholic doctrine.
“Doing this, you lose the true custom and also you flip to ideologies to have help. In different phrases, ideologies exchange religion,” Francis instructed Portuguese Jesuits of the U.S. Catholic Church in a non-public assembly in August 2023.
