The unconventional Pope Francis
With Pope Francis celebrating his 82nd birthday on Monday, check out the ways hehas changed the tone of the papacy.
Pope Francis blasted the Vatican's top bureaucrats at an annual Christmas gathering on Dec. 22, 2014 accusing the cardinals, bishops and priests who make up the Curia of "spiritual Alzheimer's" and of lusting for power at all costs.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper in January 2015, Pope Francis told a story of how he once encouraged a mother to not be ashamed to breastfeed her hungry baby in public.
In his encyclical on climate change released in June 2015, Francis challenged big business, stating, among many other things, "Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations?"
Pope Francis made headlines when he excommunicated members of the Mafia in June 2015 and then halted his motorcade on the way back home to the Vatican to bless a severely disabled young woman.
Pope Francis rocked the Catholic world on Sept. 1 by announcing that women who have had an abortion are not automatically excommunicated but can seek forgiveness from priests during the church's upcoming "Year of Mercy." The Pope's policy, which does not change church doctrine, technically applies only to Year of Mercy, a centuries-old Catholic practice during which believers may receive special indulgences for their sins. Vatican officials say it is possible the pontiff will allow the abortion policy to continue in perpetuity.
Pope Francis on Sept. 8, 2015 radically revised the process by which Catholics may annul their marriages, streamlining steps that many in the church considered too cumbersome and costly.
The move is the latest in a series of reforms by Francis as he seeks to make the church more responsive to the real needs of lay Catholics, especially those who have long felt marginalized by the hierarchy. Without the annulments, Catholics who remarry are not allowed to receive Holy Communion, which many describe as a painful exclusion from the church's chief sacrament.
Pope Francis suggested in February 2016 that contraceptives may be used to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, despite the church's longstanding ban on most forms of birth control. His comments may cheer health officials in Latin America but might upset conservative Catholics.
Pope Francis blasted the Vatican's top bureaucrats at an annual Christmas gathering on Dec. 22, 2014 accusing the cardinals, bishops and priests who make up the Curia of "spiritual Alzheimer's" and of lusting for power at all costs.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper in January 2015, Pope Francis told a story of how he once encouraged a mother to not be ashamed to breastfeed her hungry baby in public.
In his encyclical on climate change released in June 2015, Francis challenged big business, stating, among many other things, "Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations?"
Pope Francis made headlines when he excommunicated members of the Mafia in June 2015 and then halted his motorcade on the way back home to the Vatican to bless a severely disabled young woman.
Pope Francis rocked the Catholic world on Sept. 1 by announcing that women who have had an abortion are not automatically excommunicated but can seek forgiveness from priests during the church's upcoming "Year of Mercy." The Pope's policy, which does not change church doctrine, technically applies only to Year of Mercy, a centuries-old Catholic practice during which believers may receive special indulgences for their sins. Vatican officials say it is possible the pontiff will allow the abortion policy to continue in perpetuity.
Pope Francis on Sept. 8, 2015 radically revised the process by which Catholics may annul their marriages, streamlining steps that many in the church considered too cumbersome and costly.
The move is the latest in a series of reforms by Francis as he seeks to make the church more responsive to the real needs of lay Catholics, especially those who have long felt marginalized by the hierarchy. Without the annulments, Catholics who remarry are not allowed to receive Holy Communion, which many describe as a painful exclusion from the church's chief sacrament.
Pope Francis suggested in February 2016 that contraceptives may be used to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, despite the church's longstanding ban on most forms of birth control. His comments may cheer health officials in Latin America but might upset conservative Catholics.
Pope Francis blasted the Vatican's top bureaucrats at an annual Christmas gathering on Dec. 22, 2014 accusing the cardinals, bishops and priests who make up the Curia of "spiritual Alzheimer's" and of lusting for power at all costs.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper in January 2015, Pope Francis told a story of how he once encouraged a mother to not be ashamed to breastfeed her hungry baby in public.
In his encyclical on climate change released in June 2015, Francis challenged big business, stating, among many other things, "Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations?"
Pope Francis made headlines when he excommunicated members of the Mafia in June 2015 and then halted his motorcade on the way back home to the Vatican to bless a severely disabled young woman.
Pope Francis rocked the Catholic world on Sept. 1 by announcing that women who have had an abortion are not automatically excommunicated but can seek forgiveness from priests during the church's upcoming "Year of Mercy." The Pope's policy, which does not change church doctrine, technically applies only to Year of Mercy, a centuries-old Catholic practice during which believers may receive special indulgences for their sins. Vatican officials say it is possible the pontiff will allow the abortion policy to continue in perpetuity.
Pope Francis on Sept. 8, 2015 radically revised the process by which Catholics may annul their marriages, streamlining steps that many in the church considered too cumbersome and costly.
The move is the latest in a series of reforms by Francis as he seeks to make the church more responsive to the real needs of lay Catholics, especially those who have long felt marginalized by the hierarchy. Without the annulments, Catholics who remarry are not allowed to receive Holy Communion, which many describe as a painful exclusion from the church's chief sacrament.
Pope Francis suggested in February 2016 that contraceptives may be used to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, despite the church's longstanding ban on most forms of birth control. His comments may cheer health officials in Latin America but might upset conservative Catholics.