
'Who am I to judge?' Pope Francis had an informal, lighthearted speaking style
Some of his memorable quotes:
A simple, initial greeting
'Brothers and sisters, good evening!' -- Francis' first words delivered from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after his election as pontiff on March 13, 2013.
___
A plea to remember the poor
'When the votes reached two-thirds, there was the usual applause, because the pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss and said: 'Don't forget the poor!' And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!' — Francis, speaking to journalists on March 16, 2013, recounting how Cardinal Claudio Hummes gave him the idea of choosing the name Francis.
___
A plea for mercy
'In these days, I've been able to read a book by a cardinal — Cardinal Kasper, a good theologian — about mercy. And this book has done me a lot of good, though don't think I'm just doing publicity for my cardinals' books! It's not like that. But it's done me so much good. Cardinal Kasper said that feeling 'mercy,' this word changes everything. It's the best thing we can feel: It changes the world. A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.' — Francis' First Angelus prayer from his studio window, March 17, 2013. ___
A greeting for Benedict
'We are brothers.' — Francis, upon meeting Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI for the first time after the election, at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, March 23, 2013. ___
A welcoming phrase
'Who am I to judge?' — Francis, responding to a question about a purportedly gay priest, in a comment that set the tone for a papacy more welcoming to LGBTQ+ Catholics, July 28, 2013. ___
A greeting for the patriarch
'We are brothers.' — Francis, to Patriarch Kirill during the first-ever papal meeting with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Havana airport, Feb. 13, 2016. ___
A message on the sacraments
'In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. Hence, 'I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord's mercy.' I would also point out that the Eucharist 'is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.'' — Footnote 351 in encyclical 'Amoris Laetitia' ('The Joy of Love'), referencing Francis' writings about access to the Eucharist, April 8, 2016. ___
An outreach to Islam
"The meeting is the message.' — Francis, upon meeting Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, after a long freeze in relations, May 23, 2016.
___
On criticism
'It's an honor if the Americans attack me.' — Francis' quip to French journalist-author Nicholas Seneze, referring to U.S. conservative criticism, aboard the papal plane about Seneze's book 'How America Wants to Change the Pope,' Sept. 4, 2019.
___
On the pandemic
'We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time, important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other.' — Francis, praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic in St. Peter's Square, March 27, 2020.
___
On Indigenous people
'I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.' — Francis, apologizing for abuses of Indigenous peoples in Canada's residential schools, at the site of a former school in Maskwacis, Alberta, July 25, 2022.
___
On Argentina
'I don't know if you're familiar with this theological-cultural history, that the guardian angels of some countries got mad with God and told him: 'Father, you were unfair to us … you gave each of our countries a wealth: cattle, agriculture, mining. And to the Argentines you gave them everything. Everything! They have all the wealth.' And it is said that God thought a little. 'But to balance it out, I gave Argentina Argentines.'" — Francis, in an interview with The Associated Press, Jan. 24, 2023.
___
On homosexuality
'Being homosexual is not a crime.'— Francis, in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to countries that criminalize homosexuality, Jan. 24, 2023.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Pope calls for end to 'barbarity' after deadly Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church
The church was watched over closely by the late Pope Francis, who spoke daily with its parish priest and once gifted his popemobile to the children there. In a rare and risky visit to Gaza — largely sealed off from foreign officials — Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, led a delegation into the territory on Friday to show their support. Video footage captured their arrival at the church, greeted by cheers and ringing bells. 'On behalf of all the Christians of our land, all the churches all over the world are united with us in this moment,' said Pizzaballa, who also led Sunday morning mass at the church. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the strike. White House spokesperson Tammy Bruce said it was an understatement to say Trump was not happy with Netanyahu during the call, adding that the U.S. had asked Israel to investigate the strike and 'ensure that all civilians, including Christian civilians, remain safe.' "Everyone is appalled," she said. On Friday, staunch Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a bill to strip $500 million in U.S. military funding to Israel, a measure that was overwhelmingly rejected but marked a rare rebuke. Netanyahu said that Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church" and called Pope Leo on Friday night. The Israel Defense Forces said it was reviewing the incident. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the results of the investigation would be published. Bruce called the prime minister's response 'an appropriate start' and reiterated Israel's framing of the strike as an accident. But admissions of regret have not satisfied the grieving Catholic community, which has amplified its calls for a ceasefire. The Jerusalem branch of the Vatican's Caritas federation named two of the dead as Saad Salameh, 60, the church's janitor, and Fumayya Ayyad, 84, who had been sitting inside a Caritas psychosocial support tent when the blast sent shrapnel and debris flying. The pope named the other as Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for peace and an 'immediate ceasefire' following the strike, echoing Pope Leo and renewing calls made so often under Francis. 'With the Holy Father, the Catholic bishops of the United States are deeply saddened to learn about the deaths and injuries at Holy Family Church in Gaza caused by a military strike,' Broglio said in a statement. "May there be peace in Gaza." Pax Christi International, a Christian peace organization, condemned the strike, and called for "an immediate and permanent ceasefire." Yet while those calls may have intensified in the wake of the attack, there was little sign of one this weekend. Since Pizzaballa visited the Holy Family Church on Friday, Israeli air strikes had killed more than 100 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities. On Sunday, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders that suggested its ground offensive may be about to extend into new areas at the heart of the enclave, while the United Nations said that civilians were starving and in urgent need of aid. Pizzaballa, closer to the carnage than most foreigners have managed since the current conflict began, once again called for peace. "Churches all over the world, especially the church in the Holy Land, the Greek Orthodox, and all the churches, will never abandon and neglect you," he said, addressing the church. 'We are working in the diplomatic world in order for a ceasefire, to stop this war, this tragedy,' he said.


The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Syria's leader urges Bedouin tribes to commit to a ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturday to 'fully commit' to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country's post-war transition. Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouins against the Druze were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted late Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence has also drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before a truce was reached. In his second televised address since the fighting started, al-Sharaa blamed 'armed groups from Sweida' for reigniting the conflict by 'launching retaliatory attacks against the Bedouins and their families.' He also said Israeli intervention 'pushed the country into a dangerous phase." Israel had launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus, saying it was in support of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel and are seen as a loyal minority, often serving in the Israeli military. Reports had surfaced of Syrian government-affiliated fighters executing Druze civilians and looting and burning homes over the four-day violence. The U.S. envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire early Saturday. Al-Sharaa made no direct reference to the agreement in his speech, but said 'American and Arab mediations stepped in' to restore calm. Addressing the Bedouins, al-Sharaa said they 'cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country's affairs and restoring security.' He also said: 'We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders." Meanwhile, a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who opposes the current government and has distanced himself from the two ceasefires announced on Tuesday and Wednesday, said that an agreement brokered under the sponsorship of guarantor states contained several measures aimed at de-escalating tensions in Suweida. They include the deployment of checkpoints outside the province's administrative borders to contain clashes and prevent infiltration, a 48-hour ban on entry by any party into border villages, and safe, guaranteed passage for remaining members of the Bedouin tribes still inside the province. Sharaa reiterated that Suweida 'remains an integral part of the Syrian state, and the Druze constitute a fundamental pillar of the Syrian national fabric," vowing to protect all minorities in Syria. He also thanked the United States for its 'significant role in affirming its support for Syria during these difficult times,' as well as Arab countries and Turkey, which mediated Wednesday's truce. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. The U.N. estimates more than 87,000 people have been displaced in Sweida province since July 12 due to heavy shelling, sniper fire and abductions. Entire communities have fled on foot, with many now crammed into overcrowded schools, churches and public buildings under dire conditions, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report. Infrastructure damage has cut electricity, water and telecommunications in much of the area, it said. The main hospital in Sweida was operating at just 15% capacity due to staff shortages and a lack of fuel. The security situation is also endangering humanitarian workers. The White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense, reported that one of their emergency team leaders went missing on July 16 while responding to a call for help from a U.N. team, OCHA said.


The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Syrian government declares ‘comprehensive' ceasefire in Sweida
The Syrian presidency has declared an 'immediate and comprehensive' ceasefire in Sweida, saying internal security forces have been deployed in the southern province after almost a week of fighting in the predominantly Druze area which has killed more than 700 people. Armed tribes had clashed with Druze fighters on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure. In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency warned that any breaches of the ceasefire would be a 'clear violation to sovereignty', and urged all parties to commit to the ceasefire and end hostilities in all areas immediately. Syria's internal security forces had begun deploying in Sweida 'with the aim of protecting civilians and putting an end to the chaos', the ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said in a statement on Telegram. A statement on Saturday by one of the three religious leaders of the Syrian Druze community, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, said the ceasefire would guarantee safe exit for tribe members and the opening of humanitarian corridors for besieged civilians to leave. Hours earlier, the US envoy announced that Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire, after Israel sided with the Druze factions and joined the conflict, including by bombing a government building in Damascus. The UN had also called for an end to the 'bloodshed' and demanded an independent investigation of the violence, which has killed at least 718 people from both sides since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The SOHR reported on Friday that the humanitarian situation in Sweida had 'dramatically deteriorated' owing to an acute shortage of food and medical supplies. All hospitals were out of service because of the conflict and looting was widespread in the city. 'The situation in the hospital is disastrous. The corpses have begun to rot, there's a huge amount of bodies, among them women and children,' a surgeon at Sweida national hospital told the Guardian over the phone. The renewed fighting raised questions about the authority of the Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose interim government faces misgivings from the country's minorities after the slaughter of 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians on the Syrian coast in March. It was Sharaa who ordered government forces to pull out of Sweida, saying that mediation by the US and others had helped to avert a 'large-scale escalation' with Israel. A number of sources told Reuters that Sharaa had initially misread how Israel would respond to him deploying troops to the country's south earlier this week, encouraged by the US special envoy Thomas Barrack saying Syria should be centrally governed as 'one country'. When Israel targeted Syrian troops and Damascus on Wednesday, bombarding the Syrian defence ministry's headquarters in central Damascus and striking near the presidential palace, it took the Syrian government by surprise, the sources said. Druze people are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military, and an Israeli military spokesperson said the strikes were a message to Syria's president regarding the events in Sweida. But the Syrian government mistakenly believed it had a green light from both the US and Israel to dispatch its forces south despite months of Israeli warnings not to do so, according to the Reuters sources, which included Syrian political and military officials, two diplomats and regional security sources. The violence erupted last Sunday after the kidnapping of a Druze vegetable merchant by local Bedouin triggered tit-for-tat abductions, the SOHR said. The government sent in the army, promising to put a halt to the fighting, but witnesses and the SOHR said the troops sided with the Bedouin and committed many abuses against Druze civilians as well as fighters. The organisation reported that 19 civilians were killed in an 'horrific massacre' when Syrian defence ministry forces and general security forces entered the town of Sahwat al-Balatah. After the Israeli bombardment, a truce was negotiated on Wednesday, allowing Druze factions and clerics to maintain security in Sweida as government forces pulled out. In a speech on Thursday, the Syrian president said Druze groups would be left to govern security affairs in the southern province, in what he described as a choice to avoid war. Sharaa said: 'We sought to avoid dragging the country into a new, broader war that could derail it from its path to recovery from the devastating war … We chose the interests of Syrians over chaos and destruction.' But clashes resumed on Thursday as Syrian state media reported that Druze groups had launched revenge attacks on Bedouin villages. Bedouin tribes had fought alongside government forces against Druze fighters earlier in the week. On Friday, about 200 tribal fighters clashed with armed Druze men from Sweida using machine guns and shells, an Agence France-Presse correspondent said, while the SOHR reported fighting and 'shelling on neighbourhoods in Sweida city'. Sweida has been heavily damaged in the fighting and its mainly Druze inhabitants have been deprived of water and electricity, while communication lines have been cut. Rayan Maarouf, the editor-in-chief of the local news outlet Suwayda 24, said the humanitarian situation was 'catastrophic'. 'We cannot find milk for children,' he told AFP. The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, has demanded 'independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations' adding that 'those responsible must be held to account'. The International Committee for the Red Cross said 'health facilities are overwhelmed, medical supplies are dwindling and power cuts are impeding the preservation of human remains in overflowing morgues'. 'The humanitarian situation in Sweida is critical. People are running out of everything,' said Stephan Sakalian, the head of ICRC's delegation in Syria. Syria's minority groups have been given what many see as only token representation in the interim government since the former president Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Bassam Alahmad, the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice, a civil society organisation. 'It's a transitional period. We should have a dialogue, and they [the minorities] should feel that they're a real part of the state,' Alahmad said. Instead, the incursion into Sweida sent a message that the new authorities would use military force to 'control every part of Syria'. 'Bashar Assad tried this way' and failed, he added. Government supporters, however, fear its decision to withdraw could signal to other minorities that it is acceptable to demand their own autonomous regions, which they say would fragment and weaken the country. If Damascus ceded security control of Sweida to the Druze, 'of course everyone else is going to demand the same thing', said Abdel Hakim al-Masri, a former official in the Turkish-backed regional government in north-west Syria before Assad's fall. 'This is what we are afraid of,' he told the Associated Press.