Latest news with #SalwanGeorges
IOL News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Trump administration plans to rescind roadless protections for national forests
The Tongass National Forest on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Image: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post The Trump administration has announced plans to rescind a decades-old rule that protects nearly 59 million acres of pristine national forest land, including 9 million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. This controversial move, revealed during a meeting of Western governors in New Mexico, has ignited a fierce debate over environmental conservation and the future of logging in the United States. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that the administration would begin the process of rolling back protections for these roadless areas, which have been safeguarded since the late 1990s. If the rollback survives potential court challenges, it could open vast swaths of untouched land to logging and road construction. According to the Agriculture Department, this would affect approximately 30 percent of the land in the National Forest System, including 92 percent of Tongass, one of the last remaining intact temperate rainforests in the world. Critics of the rollback have expressed deep concern over the environmental implications of such a decision. Environmental groups have condemned the administration's plans and vowed to challenge the decision in court. Drew Caputo, vice president of litigation for lands, wildlife, and oceans at Earthjustice, stated, 'The roadless rule has protected 58 million acres of our wildest national forest lands from clear-cutting for more than a generation. The Trump administration now wants to throw these forest protections overboard so the timber industry can make huge profits from unrestrained logging.' The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, established during President Bill Clinton's administration, aimed to preserve increasingly scarce roadless areas in national forests. Conservationists argue that these lands are vital for protecting wildlife habitats that are threatened by development and large-scale timber harvests. Since the rule's implementation in 2001, it has been the subject of numerous court battles and political disputes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In contrast, the logging industry has welcomed the administration's decision. Scott Dane, executive director of the American Loggers Council, argued that federal forests are overgrown and unhealthy. He stated, 'Our forests are extremely overgrown, overly dense, unhealthy, dead, dying, and burning. To allow access into these forests, like we used to do prior to 2001, will enable forest managers to practice sustainable forest management.' Monday's announcement follows Trump's March 1 executive order instructing the Agriculture and Interior Departments to boost timber production, aiming to reduce wildfire risks and reliance on foreign imports. The administration frames the decision as a necessary step to enhance local management of forests and mitigate wildfire threats. Rollins claimed, 'This misguided rule prohibits the Forest Service from thinning and cutting trees to prevent wildfires. And when fires start, the rule limits our firefighters' access to quickly put them out.' However, critics argue that the administration's approach could exacerbate wildfire risks. They point out that the roadless rule already contains provisions for removing dangerous fuels, which the Forest Service has effectively utilised for years. Chris Wood, chief executive of the conservation group Trout Unlimited, remarked that the administration's decision 'feels a little bit like a solution in search of a problem.' As the debate continues, the fate of the roadless rule remains uncertain. The implications of this decision extend beyond logging and timber production; they touch upon the broader issues of environmental conservation and climate change. The outcome of this policy shift could have lasting effects on the nation's forests and the ecosystems they support.
Yomiuri Shimbun
31-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Most New Cars in Norway Are Evs. How a Freezing Country Beat Range Anxiety.
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post New cars parked at a port in Drammen, Norway. FINNMARK, Norway – Just a few years ago, almost no one drove electric vehicles up here. In this remote region north of the Arctic Circle – where reindeer outnumber people, avalanches can bury roads in winter and sunlight disappears for weeks – 'range anxiety' takes on a new meaning. Today, however, nearly all new car sales in Norway are electric. That's true even in Finnmark, the northernmost region in Europe's northernmost country. Norway is 'an unlikely place for a transportation revolution,' acknowledged Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. At the Skoda dealership in Alta, Finnmark's largest city, salesman Orjan Dragland marveled at the transformation – how five years ago, every car on the showroom floor had a combustion engine, and now the inventory is all EVs. In 2024, nearly 90 percent of new passenger cars sold in Norway were fully electric. Of the cars sold last month, the EV share was 97 percent. By comparison, EVs last year accounted for 8 percent of new car sales in the United States, 13 percent in the euro zone and 27 percent in China. 'What happened' in Norway? Dragland said. 'The government happened.' Norway has one of the world's most ambitious climate targets. It is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2030, and cutting emissions from road traffic is an important part of that. While the push for EVs has played to people's green sensibilities, the real driver, arguably, has been economic: Generous government incentives, supported at least indirectly by the country's fossil fuel profits, have brought down the cost of owning and operating an EV. 'It's very cheap to drive,' said Ailo Haetta, 43. He had just driven his sister and her new husband to their wedding – which explained his traditional Sami dress and the 'Just Married' sticker on his electric Volkswagen. More-affordable EVs helped accelerate other aspects of Norway's effort to decarbonize its car fleet. Private entities became more willing to take the risk of installing charging stations. And as charging stations began to blanket the country, Norwegians grew more comfortable with EVs. 'The Norwegian experience is really about building confidence,' said transportation research scientist Simen Rostad Saether. Making EVs the more affordable choice It has taken 25 years for Norway to get this far. The government began championing EVs in the early 1990s, with the hope of growing a domestic EV industry while cutting carbon emissions. The Norwegian EV-makers failed. Norway today imports all of its electric vehicles. But Norwegian drivers proved eager to buy EVs souped up by government incentives. Most significant, the government made EV purchases and leases exempt from a 25 percent value-added tax (VAT) – cutting thousands of dollars from the sticker prices – as well as from import and registration taxes. As EVs began to outnumber gas-powered cars on the road, the government scaled back some of the perks. VAT is now assessed over a certain purchase price. EV owners no longer get out of paying city parking fees and annual road taxes. Exemptions from highway tolls and ferry fares have been replaced by discounts. Still, many EVs in Norway are cheaper than or comparable in price to combustion cars – and they cost less to maintain, especially in the context of Europe's high fuel prices (which in Norway incorporate a carbon tax). Elsewhere on the continent, gas-powered cars tend to be subject to lower taxes, and EVs often remain the more expensive choice. Felipe Munoz, an automotive expert at JATO Dynamics, noted that the price of compact electric cars averaged 32,700 euros in the euro zone last year, vs. 19,000 euros for gas ones. 'When you have these big gaps, you understand why people make the decisions they do,' he said. Norway's EV experiment has been made possible by something of a paradox: The country is Europe's largest oil and gas producer, which helps support Norwegians' aspiration to live green. Norway has invested its fossil fuel profits into what has become the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, a nest egg worth $1.7 trillion. Returns from that fund help cover government expenses, which in turn makes it easier to accommodate climate-friendly tax exemptions. The government estimates that between 2007 and 2025, it will have forgone approximately 640 billion kroner (about $62 billion) in various vehicle-related taxes, mostly because of EVs. Norway's wealth means its EV model may not be easy to replicate everywhere. But countries seeking to boost EV adoption wouldn't have to spend as much now, said Rostad Sæther, who is part of the SINTEF research institute. With EV prices dropping globally, he said, other countries could focus less on the cost of cars and more on encouraging infrastructure and trust. Building the charging network Gjermund Pleym Wik is such an evangelizer for EVs that he has organized electric-car convoys through remote, mountainous areas in the far north to ease people's range concerns. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post A taxi driver charges his electric car at a station in Alta, Norway 'Yes, you need to stop and recharge, but it works,' he said, jabbing his finger at a map on a blue display board at Alta's largest charging station. Norway is a long, narrow country with 60,000 miles of roads that snake around fjords and mountainous terrain. Wik, who works in public health, admits that he once miscalculated the distance of a trip and had to unplug a stranger's Christmas lights to recharge. But EV fans say that shouldn't be any more of a deterrent than the prospect of running out of gas. Norway has worked to ensure that drivers are never far from a charging point. Most people charge their EVs at home, and a legal 'right to charge' guarantees access for apartment dwellers. The country also has an extensive charging network – powered almost entirely by renewables – with 9,771 fast chargers in 1,684 locations, according to Lars Lund Godbolt, who maintains the government's database. Godbolt said the longest distance between two fast-charging stations in Finnmark is about 80 miles, and officials say Norway easily bests the European Union target of 60 km (37 miles) between fast chargers on major roads. In one sense, that might not be so hard to achieve in a nation the size of New Mexico. But consider that New Mexico has only 419 fast charging ports, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In terms of population numbers, Norway is close to South Carolina. But when it comes to fast EV chargers, the gap is yawning: South Carolina has 633 fast charging ports, according to the federal database – around 11 per 100,000 people. Norway, on the other hand, boasts 174 fast chargers per 100,000. The lack of charging infrastructure remains a major barrier to EV adoption in the United States. And that hesitancy, in turn, is deterring private investment in infrastructure to support EVs. Building and maintaining chargers is expensive, and in many areas, there isn't enough driver demand to make stations profitable. To speed up deployment, the Biden administration launched the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, allocating $5 billion to help states build chargers along key highway corridors, with the goal of reaching 500,000 stations by 2030. The Trump administration, which opposes federal support for electric vehicles, has frozen funding for the program – a freeze that remains in effect although the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has said withholding the funds approved by Congress is unlawful. In Norway, the government played an active role in initially establishing the charging network. In some cases, to ensure that chargers were placed at regular intervals on main roads, it subsidized up to 100 percent of the installation costs through competitive tenders from 'charging operators.' But since June 2022, new passenger EV charging stations have been built entirely on a commercial basis. (The government continues to support the charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles.) As more charging stations appeared, consumer confidence grew. And as EV ownership expanded, more private entities were willing to take on the risk of building stations. With so many people driving EVs, charging operators could count on a healthy level of business. Some of the stations The Washington Post visited in Oslo offered WiFi and hot food in a small cafe – a place where customers charging their EVs could spend time, and money. Will Norway reach 100 percent? In 2017, Norway set a goal that by 2025 it would have 100 percent zero-emission new car sales. It is close but may fall a few percentage points short. Some climate advocates argue for a ban on imports of fossil fuel cars, like the one Ethiopia introduced last year. Others say reaching a percentage in the high 90s is good enough. 'There's a lot of debate over: 'Do we really need the last 2 or 3 percent? Could those people have a hybrid? Should we use our energy to fight the last percent?'' Rostad Sæther said. Norway still has a ways to go in transitioning its fleet of vehicles on the roads. Last year, it became the first country where EVs outnumber gas cars. But as a result of past encouragement of diesel as a transition fuel, diesel vehicles account for about a third of all cars and trucks – and those may last for years. Some Norwegians have bought an EV not as a replacement but as a second car – to test it out. Askill Halse, an economist at TØI, a transportation research center, said Norway has seen a 'big increase' in car ownership and a modest uptick in overall traffic, despite other policies aimed at reducing driving. Environmentalists argue that the goal should not be more electric cars, but simply fewer cars. In Finnmark – known for its northern lights, striking fjords and vast tundra expanses – there is lingering discomfort with EVs. Last year, 74 percent of new car sales in the region were electric, lagging the national numbers. Proposed copper mining projects, vital for EV batteries, have drawn criticism from Indigenous Sami communities and environmentalists. 'Maybe they should search somewhere where the people aren't as close to the nature,' said Ann-Kristine Bongo, 48, a reindeer herder who drives an EV. Interviews with locals highlighted other concerns: inconvenient charging apps, long waits at charging stations and reduced winter range. The Norwegian Automobile Federation determined that EVs have an average range loss of about 20 percent in cold weather. Opting for a heat pump to warm the cabin, rather than relying on the battery, can help. One driver said he wears a snowsuit on exceptionally cold days to save battery on cabin heat. Carpenter Tormod Simonsen, 21, said he didn't yet trust an EV for traveling to the mountains. 'I've gotten stuck many times – road closures, avalanches,' he said, filling up his gas-powered Volvo at a gas station in Alta. 'If I just drove in the city, okay. But in the mountains? You need to trust your ride.' A growing number of Norwegians, though, are being won over, with many citing cost as the primary motivator. Taxi driver Tommi Olsen estimated that switching to an EV has cut his expenses by about 20 percent. Alta's main taxi company is now 75 percent electric, aiming for 100 percent by October. Even electric snowmobiles are appearing. Tour guide Jørgen Wisløff tested one for northern lights tours at his 'ice hotel.' But it costs $6,000 more than the gas version. So he said he'd consider buying it if the government offered tax breaks to make the price more competitive. Wisløff said he's happy, though, with his white electric Ford Mustang, which he noted was cheaper to buy than its gas equivalent. It gets 400 km on a full charge in winter and 500 km in summer – or about 250 miles and 310 miles. With charging points every 70 km (45 miles) or so on his journeys, he said, he rarely worries. 'That's why it's working here in Norway,' he said.
Toronto Sun
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Ultraconservatives are pushing for a pope like them. It might not happen.
Published Apr 29, 2025 • 5 minute read People pray after visiting the tomb of Pope Francis at Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome on Monday. MUST CREDIT: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post ROME – In the crush of Catholic Church news in the week since Pope Francis died, a theme keeps appearing, in social media memes and quotes from the commentariat: hope, even optimism, that the next pontiff will be a true conservative, someone from the ranks of what was a passionate traditionalist opposition to Pope Francis. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'Conservative Wisconsin bishop who could become the first American pope,' the Daily Mail Online wrote of Raymond Burke, a staunch advocate for the traditional Latin Mass. The Rev. Gerald Murray, a conservative commentator, told Newsmax TV that the cardinals selecting the new pope are 'going to return to a more John Paul II-, Benedict-style and substance of governance in the church.' It may be so much wishful thinking. Some archconservatives are campaigning to propel one of their own to the forefront of discussions over Francis's successor. Burke is among those whose name has placed high on some circulating lists, for unspecified reasons. Other hard-line conservatives, including Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea and Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana have even managed to land among the favorites with the gambling firm William Hill. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But close Church-watchers say the rumor mill about a hard-right post-Francis turn rather reflects the built-up longings of a small but passionate, devoted and loud segment of the American church. After enduring a pope for more than a decade that some saw as damaging to the faith, American conservatives think this might be their moment. 'A large number of American conservative Catholics would basically dream of having Cardinal Burke as the next pope, but they're disconnected to reality,' said Alejandro Bermúdez, a longtime figure in American conservative Catholic media who is consulting to the news site Catholic Vote. A senior Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to frame internal discussions dismissed Burke and Sarah – and candidates like them – out of hand. 'There is no space for them in the [minds of] the vast majority of the cardinals. They've got zero chance.' Of Turkson, a senior cleric who speaks six languages and is a favorite of traditionalists, the official noted that his removal by Francis from a senior position in 2021 appeared to diminish his chances. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Several other Vatican-watchers agreed. The Rev. Thomas Reese, an American priest who has written several books about the inner workings of the Catholic Church and has closely followed papal conclaves, called reports of an ultraconservative front-runner 'nonsense.' Some 80 percent of the cardinals were appointed by Pope Francis, Reese told The Washington Post, 'and they are not going to elect someone who is then going to stand up and say that the Francis papacy was a disaster and we're going back to the old church. That is not going to happen.' Reese said he thinks cardinals will look this time for a moderate. But what does that word mean? To some U.S. conservatives, it means backing off things that seem to demote or dismiss traditional practices or doctrine: remove limitations Francis put in place on the Latin Mass; stop doing things like establishing special policies around blessing LGBTQ couples; stop futzing around with the rules and traditions – such as appointing so many cardinals that the number is now over the norm. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Rev. Robert Sirico, a Michigan-based priest-commentator who went from same-sex marriage advocate to free-market conservative, said he thinks most U.S. conservatives want a compromise on things like the traditional Latin Mass, the ancient form of Catholic worship which Francis strictly limited in 2021, saying it was becoming a sign of rebellion against the modern church. The Mass is said in Latin with the priest facing away from the congregation. 'Overall, conservative Catholics would just like some clarity and theological substance from Rome,' he wrote in an email to The Post. 'I have heard from 'folks in the pew' that they would also appreciate clear theological teaching on a host of matters (not all related to the hot button issues) rather than what appears to have been an obsession with politics.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a longtime Francis critic, said it was inappropriate to separate cardinals into 'these wrong categories, between conservative and liberal. Because Jesus didn't found two wings [of the church] … there's one church, and the church is united in the faith in Jesus Christ. And there is no conservative baptism or the progressive baptism,' he said in an interview with The Post. Yet some senior church conservatives have been extremely vocal in lobbying ahead of the conclave, seeing the coming election as crucial to their bid to redirect the church following 12 years of Francis's 'open door,' in which he reached out to groups including LGBTQ+ people, and divorced and remarried Catholics. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some relatively conservative cardinals are considered serious candidates, led by Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary. But Erdo was never seen as part of the anti-Francis set of archconservative bishops and cardinals who were extremely vocal in their criticism of the pope, and who Francis, in his last years, began to punish through demotions and removal of perks. Marco Politi, a longtime Vatican commentator, told The Post that 'behind the scenes' the 'low-level helpers of the conservatives are busy' promoting the idea around the conclave that Francis's papacy was 'a disaster,' he said. The point is to 'intimidate the reformers. We are in the first stage of the maneuvers.' 'As we say in Italy, 'It's just tricks for the stupid,'' Politi said, in response to the circulation of names like Sarah and Burke. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The promotion of conservative candidates, from some corners, started almost immediately after Francis's death was announced. 'Meet Cardinal Robert Sarah, who's in the running to be the next Pontiff. He's conservative, pro-life, anti-woke,' far-right influencer Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X on April 21, the day Francis died. 'Already Cardinal Robert Sarah is trending,' the Pillar, a popular U.S. Catholic news site, wrote of the Guinean cleric who strongly opposes priestly blessings of same-gender couples, noting the uptick in chatter while downplaying Sarah's prospects. Since then, some outlets have also sought to link Burke and President Donald Trump – apparently based on previous, flattering statements Burke has made about Trump, but also absent any evidence the president has expressed a papal preference. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Messages left for the White House press office as to the president's views on the conclave, and Burke, weren't returned. Social media campaigns are also running rampant. A 2019 video of one of the leading liberal contenders – Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines – singing John Lennon's ballad 'Imagine' has also gone viral. Some conservatives have shared it as evidence Tagle is unworthy of being selected pope because of the song's lyrics, which include the lines 'Imagine there's no heaven … and no religion, too.' In pre-conclave meetings among cardinals that began last week – known as congregations – some conservatives have been lobbying for a traditionalist pope. Bishop Athanasius Schneider, a conservative auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, has been advocating for a leader free from 'the materialistic, morally depraved and anti-Christian globalist agenda of this world' with a willingness to defend 'the integrity of … Church discipline.' 'May all true sons and daughters of the Church implore the miracle of the election of a new Pope, who will be fully Catholic, fully Apostolic and fully Roman,' Schneider wrote in an open letter. 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Yomiuri Shimbun
27-04-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Among the Meek and the Mighty, Catholics Bury Their ‘People's Pope'
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post Pope Francis's coffin is carried during his funeral at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on Saturday. VATICAN CITY – The Roman Catholic Church bid farewell to the first New World pope Saturday in a funeral attended by monarchs, presidents and cardinals but also a different group of guests – an honor guard of migrants, prisoners, the homeless and transgender faithful who offered white roses to the coffin of a leader who had placed the marginalized at the heart of his 'people's papacy.' Under crystal-clear skies in the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica, the nearly two-hour requiem Mass was a solemn spectacle of an ancient faith, an elaborate, multilingual ceremony modestly slimmed down at the behest of Pope Francis, who died the morning after Easter at 88. The most notable difference: a single wooden coffin lined with zinc as opposed to the three-tiered caskets of cypress, lead and oak used for previous popes. The changes, official said, were meant to honor the wishes of the first Jesuit pope, who had taken a vow of poverty and aimed to make the proceedings seem more like the funeral of a pastor than a 'sovereign' who had ruled the lofty Holy See. Before the closing of his coffin Friday night, Francis's well-worn black shoes peeked out from under the elegant ceremonial robes of a man who eschewed the finery of his office, including the red slippers of popes. As dawn broke Saturday over Vatican City, thousands of Catholic faithful poured into St. Peter's Square. Some wrapped themselves in national flags – Brazil, Lebanon, Australia – while others carried banners honoring Francis. Heather Salwach, a 34-year-old health-care professional from Philadelphia, heard about the pope's death just before boarding her flight to Rome. 'For me, the flight became a vigil,' she said. She arrived at 6:30 a.m. with her mother to say goodbye to a man she called 'the people's pope.' 'He was our holy father, and as Catholics we feel as if we lost our father. His pastoral approach sometimes got him in trouble, but for me it was beautiful. He was a man of mercy,' she said. The sprawling crowds spilled over the square through multiple blocks on the streets of Rome and marked the largest funeral-as-global-event since the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and the most significant in Vatican City since the emotional farewell to Pope John Paul II in 2005. The throngs radiated far beyond St. Peter's Square, with crowds thick down Via della Conciliazione, the Mussolini-era thoroughfare connecting Vatican City with Rome. They sat on ledges of Vatican office buildings, stood with obstructed views behind newsstands and on platforms normally used for restaurant service. Papal influence has waned over decades, but the still significant power of the church of 1.4 billion Catholics could be seen in the dignitaries the funeral rites drew, including President Donald Trump, Britain's Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, many of whom sat stoically as the sounds of Latin echoed through the square built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Trump sat in the front row of honored guests that included Macron and Zelensky. Unlike most dignitaries who wore black, Trump donned a navy suit with dark blue tie. In addition to the 164 national delegations, other faiths sent high-level representatives to Francis's funeral. The list includes Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Jains, as well as leaders of the Eastern Orthodox church, the Anglican Communion, Methodists, the World Evangelical Alliance and others. The Vatican said Saturday that authorities estimated the crowd size at the funeral to be around 250,000 people – far larger than the 50,000 people who attended Pope Benedict XVI's funeral in 2023, and nearing the 300,000 who attended John Paul II's in 2005. Another 150,000 onlookers viewed the coffin during its procession through Rome to Francis's burial site, the Vatican said. 'The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica,' said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, who presided over the service and led an unusual funeral Mass in which a multitude of clerics were invited to co-celebrate. 'Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life. He followed in the footsteps of his Lord,' he added. Francis, at his request, became the first pope in more than a hundred years to be buried outside the high walls of Vatican City. His funeral procession moved through the streets on the 3.4-mile route to St. Mary Major, one of the four papal basilicas in and around the Italian capital that serves as the epicenter of world's largest Christian faith. The circuitous procession traversed the Tiber River and symbols of the city's ancient power, the Roman Forum and Colosseum, as clusters of onlookers snapped images with their phones. The funeral day was a juxtaposition of the powerful and the weak. Leaving a square possessed of global leaders and monarchs, the white popemobile carrying Francis's coffin arrived at the entrance of St. Mary Major to be greeted by white-rose-bearing mourners. The final honor guard included Venezuelan, Kurdish, Egyptian and other migrants, as well as Muslims, transgender people, the homeless and others selected by the Vicariate of Rome as a symbol of the late pope's mission of inclusion and outreach. The guests were not brought into the church with the coffin, or for the burial. The presence of marginalized people, though, symbolized 'Pope Francis's fight on their behalf,' said Tamara Castro, 48, a transgender woman from Argentina currently living in Rome who has been aided financially by Vatican charities. She was among those who held roses for Francis's arrival. 'He was a person who was very generous with us; he opened the door for us, he was always there.' The Vatican's live stream cut out soon after the casket, set to be interned in a niche previously used for storage, was taken inside for a private burial, the costs of which Francis personally arranged to be covered by an undisclosed benefactor to avoid expenses for the church he served. As is customary in Vatican City for papal funerals, the presidents of Italy, which surrounds Vatican City, and Argentina, Francis's native land, sat in front-row seats to the north of the coffin during the funeral Mass. Reigning sovereigns filled other privileged seats. Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived at the Vatican about 9:30 a.m. They entered St. Peter's Basilica and stood side-by-side at the foot of Francis's casket, briefly paying their respects, before joining the other heads of state and government leaders gathered in the square. Trump has not been openly critical of Francis, but his arrival in Rome came as some in his MAGA camp have appeared to revel in the passing of a pro-migrant pope who sought to burst open the door of the church he led to everyone, including LGBTQ+, divorced and remarried Catholics. Francis and Vatican officials had criticized the Trump administration's migrant crackdown and aid cuts. During the funeral's homily, Battista Re highlighted the pope's journey to Lampedusa – an Italian island that has become a symbol of Europe's migration crisis and repeated Francis's call to 'build bridges, not walls,' a statement that echoed a criticism the pope had issued against Trump in 2016. One senior Vatican official and funeral attendee – Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life – said 'Francis was stronger' than politics. 'I myself am totally against those who will go: 'They should stay home, because they hindered him!' No. Pope Francis [would not be] against this.' He added, 'I don't know why Trump is coming, but certainly Pope Francis's testimony has touched him.' Francis was known for defending Israel before the war in the Gaza Strip, but the country's leaders were stung by his criticism of Israel's military response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Francis described Israel's actions as, responding to 'terror with terror.' Israel opted to skip sending a high-level delegation, dispatching its Vatican ambassador instead. Italy called thousands of medics and security officials into Rome for the funeral. Arriving pilgrims passed makeshift medical tents, police officers, hundreds of civil protection officials, and idled ambulances bearing district names from across the country. One officer showed off a backpack with a bazooka-like attachment for disabling drones. People inside the piazza said security was appropriately tight, but that organizers managed to keep people moving forward. 'This is not their first pope death,' said the Rev. Paul Alger, a theology student from Augusta, Georgia. To an astonishing degree, people of many nations gathered in the square seemed to share a united view of Francis, of a leader who sought to minister to the poor, of his humility, of his embrace of all. 'He was a king, but he didn't live like a king,' said Sister Faith Abugu, a nun from Enugu state in Nigeria. 'He didn't carry himself like a big person. He was available for all.' 'I am not sad at all,' she said. 'This is a celebration. He lived a good life.' The private burial rites Saturday were presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, and attended by cardinals, other clerics and Francis's relatives, and involved a blessing of the niche with holy water and ritual sealing of the coffin. A reproduction of the pectoral crucifix favored by Francis was affixed to the center of the niche, according to a video of the burial provided by Vatican. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a longtime conservative critic of Francis who served as the Vatican's chief doctrinal officer under Benedict, said it was perhaps too much to expect the kind of crowds or religious devotion evident during John Paul II's funeral. 'Now is another time … everybody is against everybody, when only the language of power and brutality [is spoken], and not of friendship, cooperation and respect,' he said. Müller said it would be for 'God' and the 'historians of the church' to judge Francis's papacy, one he frequently criticized. But, he conceded, 'a lot of people, observers, said that the last moral authority worldwide has remained the papacy, Pope Francis.' Lithuanian Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, the co-adjutor archpriest of St. Mary Major, said Francis had long been devoted to the 'Salus Populi Romani,' the church's treasured icon of the Virgin Mary with child. Francis often prayed at the icon, and Makrickas had suggested in 2022 that Francis consider burial at the church. Francis initially declined, believing it customary to be buried in the more lofty St. Peter's. But he changed his mind, Makrickas said, after claiming to receive guidance from the Virgin Mary. The pope chose a simple, single Latin word to mark his tomb – Franciscus, Makrickas said. 'He meant for his tomb to respect and speak about his life – that is, of simplicity and essential things.'
