WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.700 Welcome back to the Deep Dive, where we take 00:00:01.700 --> 00:00:04.240 a monumental stack of sources, articles, historical 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:07.339 texts, and deep investigative reports and give 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:09.839 you the distilled insight in record time. And 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:12.539 today our mission is to trace the, well, the 00:00:12.539 --> 00:00:15.380 really improbable journey of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. 00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:18.559 A man who, for so many, was the definitive global 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:21.100 reformer of the Catholic Church. We're tracking 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:23.039 his life from his working class roots in Argentina 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:26.620 right up to his death in 2025. And what a papacy 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:29.140 it was, just defined by constant institutional 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:31.480 upheaval. That's right. We are unpacking the 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:35.020 full, intense history of Pope Francis. And he 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:37.259 wasn't just historic for being the first Jesuit 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:39.549 or the first Latin American. I mean, he was the 00:00:39.549 --> 00:00:42.810 first non -European born pope since the 8th century. 00:00:43.030 --> 00:00:46.289 Since Pope Gregory III, who was Syrian, that 00:00:46.289 --> 00:00:48.969 alone is staggering. It is. And his 12 -year 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:51.869 papacy starting in 2013. It was a period of, 00:00:51.869 --> 00:00:55.109 well, rapid institutional shifts, a massive change 00:00:55.109 --> 00:00:57.609 in tone on social justice. An intense controversy, 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:00.149 both inside and outside the Vatican walls. Let's 00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:03.409 not forget that. Absolutely not. Our source material 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:06.609 today is incredibly comprehensive. It covers 00:01:06.609 --> 00:01:10.719 his surprising early career. including some very 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:12.840 unconventional jobs. And the enduring shadow 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:16.019 of Argentina's dirty war. The conflicting narratives 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:19.180 there are just crucial to understanding him. 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:21.680 We'll also get into the dramatic details of his 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.359 election, his radical, no -frills approach to 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:26.959 governance, and the relentless diplomatic work 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.040 he undertook across the globe. Especially in 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.579 places like Ukraine, China, and the Middle East. 00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:34.650 So our goal is to extract the essential insights 00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:36.930 and those surprising facts that will get you 00:01:36.930 --> 00:01:39.230 up to speed on one of the most consequential 00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:42.049 popes in modern history. We want you to understand 00:01:42.049 --> 00:01:44.810 not just what he did. But why he felt he had 00:01:44.810 --> 00:01:47.290 to do it. Exactly. OK, let's unpack this. So 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:49.530 let's start in the very beginning. Flores, Buenos 00:01:49.530 --> 00:01:51.870 Aires. Right. Juan Mario Bergoglio was born there 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:54.750 in 1936. And this foundational story is so crucial 00:01:54.750 --> 00:01:57.349 because it speaks to an awareness of political 00:01:57.349 --> 00:02:00.170 and economic displacement that, you know, it 00:02:00.170 --> 00:02:02.030 really defined his entire career. career. His 00:02:02.030 --> 00:02:04.030 family was of Italian origin, but the key thing 00:02:04.030 --> 00:02:06.150 is they were immigrants. They came over from 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:08.830 the Piedmont region in 1929. Right. And they 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:11.650 came for a very specific, deeply political reason. 00:02:12.229 --> 00:02:15.469 They were fleeing the fascist rule of Benito 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:18.610 Mussolini. So that experience of political exile, 00:02:18.789 --> 00:02:22.030 of understanding what it means to be pushed out 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:25.870 by a dictatorial regime, that had to be formative 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:28.169 for him. It must have been. especially for a 00:02:28.169 --> 00:02:29.870 young boy who would grow up to preach a gospel 00:02:29.870 --> 00:02:32.669 of inclusion. His father was an accountant, so 00:02:32.669 --> 00:02:34.270 the family was stable, but they were certainly 00:02:34.270 --> 00:02:36.689 not wealthy. The background is fascinating, but 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:39.289 his early resume, I mean, that's where the story 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:41.330 gets really unique. Before he even thought about 00:02:41.330 --> 00:02:44.590 the seminary, he got a degree that, well, very 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.629 few future popes share. Indeed. The source confirms 00:02:47.629 --> 00:02:50.090 he graduated with a chemical technician's diploma. 00:02:50.210 --> 00:02:52.930 A chemical technician? Yep. From a technical 00:02:52.930 --> 00:02:55.689 high school. It suggests a mind that's, you know, 00:02:55.710 --> 00:02:58.289 grounded in practical application and precision. 00:02:58.490 --> 00:03:00.629 But wait, we have to talk about the jobs that 00:03:00.629 --> 00:03:03.710 came even before that. Yes. The jobs that immediately 00:03:03.710 --> 00:03:05.770 tell you everything you need to know about the 00:03:05.770 --> 00:03:09.009 common touch. He became famous for decades later. 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:11.949 You mean the man who would eventually wear the 00:03:11.949 --> 00:03:14.550 fisherman's ring was once literally working the 00:03:14.550 --> 00:03:16.900 door? He was a bouncer. He was a bouncer and 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:19.360 he also worked as a janitor. And look, these 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.539 details aren't just colorful anecdotes. They 00:03:21.539 --> 00:03:23.960 ground him. Right. This is a future pope who 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:26.000 understands what it's like to clean the floors, 00:03:26.099 --> 00:03:29.460 to manage unruly crowds. It gives him a real 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:31.819 world perspective that most of his predecessors, 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:34.819 you know, drawn from more aristocratic or purely 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:37.319 academic backgrounds, they just didn't have that. 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.120 A bouncer, a janitor, a chemical technician, 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:43.960 and then a pope. That level of transparency about 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:46.719 his past, it seems to be a key part of the image 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:48.860 he later cultivated. The leader who understands 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:52.310 the common person's struggle. Exactly. But his 00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:54.849 path to the priesthood, it was also nearly cut 00:03:54.849 --> 00:03:58.090 short by a severe lifelong health crisis. A huge 00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:00.909 one. At age 21, he developed a life -threatening 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:03.030 case of pneumonia and had three cysts on his 00:04:03.030 --> 00:04:05.189 lung. And it was serious enough that they had 00:04:05.189 --> 00:04:07.729 to operate. They did. It required the excision 00:04:07.729 --> 00:04:10.370 of a significant part of one lung. And that chronic 00:04:10.370 --> 00:04:13.520 lung damage, it never truly healed. The sources 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:16.019 show it resurfaced violently late in his life, 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:18.560 requiring extensive hospitalization and even 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:21.120 mechanical ventilation in his final year, 2025. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.459 So it's a powerful reminder that his entire adult 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:27.439 life was lived with this underlying physical 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.139 frailty. Absolutely. And his actual vocation. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.199 The decision to join the Jesuits, it came from 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.720 a really human and unexpected moment. Yeah, the 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:37.600 source material is very clear on this. He was 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.560 actually on his way to celebrate Spring Day with 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:41.740 friends. Such as a normal young guy. Exactly. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.519 And he stopped by a church and decided to go 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.660 to confession. He was so profoundly inspired 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:49.920 by the priest's insight and spiritual guidance 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.459 that right then and there, he felt the calling. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.759 He entered the Society of Jesus as a novice in 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:59.480 1958. He also confessed later on that as a young 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.759 seminarian, Marion, he briefly doubted his career 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.060 because he developed a crush on a girl. I think 00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:07.160 that tiny, deeply human detail immediately separates 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:10.519 him from the more, you know, ethereal image we 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.420 have of a pontiff. He was dealing with universal 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:15.839 human struggles, even while training for one 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:17.879 of the most demanding spiritual roles in the 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.240 world. And that ability to acknowledge frailty, 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:23.060 both physical and emotional, it seems so central 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:25.560 to his later message of mercy. It really is. 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:28.600 After he made his initial vows in 1960, he got 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:31.920 his licentiate in philosophy. And then for several 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.139 years, he actually taught literature and psychology 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:36.480 in secondary schools before his ordination as 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.600 a priest in 1969. And then we see his rise within 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.560 the Jesuit order was, well, pretty rapid. He 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.720 becomes the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.060 from 1973 to 1979. He was a major leader while 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:52.740 still in his 30s. He was. But this leadership 00:05:52.740 --> 00:05:55.050 role, it eventually led... to some really deep 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:57.449 friction with his own order. So it wasn't a smooth 00:05:57.449 --> 00:06:00.100 ride. Not at all. It created a fissure that lasted 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:02.860 for decades. After his term as provincial, he 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:04.639 was named rector of the theological faculty. 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:08.560 But by 1986, he was replaced. The new superior 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.540 general who came in, he favored emphasizing social 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:15.240 justice and direct political action. Ah, so elements 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:17.300 associated with liberation theology. Exactly. 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:19.899 And Bergoglio, by contrast, was focused more 00:06:19.899 --> 00:06:21.699 on traditional Catholic orthodoxy and what's 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.060 called popular religiosity. So there was already 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:26.819 a clear ideological split between his approach 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:30.399 and... and the sort of prevailing leftward shift 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.579 in the society of Jesus at the time. He was actually 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:34.620 out of sync with his own order. Which is extraordinary 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:37.199 when you think about it. He was replaced. He 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.699 went to Frankfurt to study, considering a dissertation 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:42.379 on the German -Italian theologian Romano Gardini's 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:45.660 work on contrast. Contrast. That's fitting. It 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:48.420 is. The focus was on theological tension and 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:51.060 opposition. He never finished the degree, but 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.680 the internal distance just grew and grew. So 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.879 you're saying the very first Jesuit pope was 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.139 fundamentally an outsider to his own order for 00:06:58.139 --> 00:07:01.740 decades. What did he sacrifice internally by 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.089 maintaining that distance? He sacrificed a great 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:07.089 deal of comfort and influence. By 1992, the relationship 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:09.750 was, for all intents and purposes, estranged. 00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:12.689 Jesuit authorities specifically asked him not 00:07:12.689 --> 00:07:15.350 to live in Jesuit residences because of the ongoing 00:07:15.350 --> 00:07:18.569 tensions. Wow. Yeah. Tensions over his views 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:21.290 on Catholic orthodoxy and his opposition to the 00:07:21.290 --> 00:07:23.310 political dimensions of liberation theology, 00:07:23.569 --> 00:07:26.310 which was very popular then. This virtual exile 00:07:26.310 --> 00:07:29.750 from his own spiritual family, the Jesuits. It 00:07:29.750 --> 00:07:31.930 lasted right up until the day he was elected 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:34.810 pope. That just underscores his political independence 00:07:34.810 --> 00:07:38.230 and I guess a stubborn adherence to his own pastoral 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:40.569 vision. Absolutely. Which brings us to his role 00:07:40.569 --> 00:07:44.050 as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013. 00:07:44.709 --> 00:07:48.209 This long tenure really cemented the persona 00:07:48.209 --> 00:07:50.610 that the world later came to know as Pope Francis. 00:07:50.850 --> 00:07:53.550 The man of radical simplicity, but also the man 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:56.370 who was completely unafraid of political or institutional 00:07:56.370 --> 00:07:59.449 pressure. And as archbishop, his life wasn't 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:02.189 just humble. It was deliberately ascetic. Oh, 00:08:02.189 --> 00:08:04.829 yeah. He famously lived in a small apartment 00:08:04.829 --> 00:08:07.389 instead of the elegant bishop's residence. He 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:09.649 rejected the chauffeur -driven car in favor of 00:08:09.649 --> 00:08:11.829 public transport. He cooked his own meals. And 00:08:11.829 --> 00:08:13.649 this wasn't just a quirky preference, was it? 00:08:13.670 --> 00:08:16.329 It was a consistent statement about prioritizing 00:08:16.329 --> 00:08:19.740 substance over status? Right. a statement and 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:22.399 that radical humility was paired with incredibly 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:25.540 strict financial discipline which was um urgently 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:27.639 needed in the archdiocese at the time why what 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:29.860 was the situation The archdiocese was nearing 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.419 bankruptcy, largely due to high internal spending 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:35.379 and really poor fiscal management. Bergoglio 00:08:35.379 --> 00:08:38.039 stepped in, enforced draconian fiscal discipline, 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:41.200 sold off the archdiocese's bank shares, and moved 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.139 their accounts to regular international banks 00:08:43.139 --> 00:08:46.179 to ensure transparency. So he was already practicing 00:08:46.179 --> 00:08:49.299 rigorous financial reform at a local level. long 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:51.399 before he was ever given the mandate to clean 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.779 up the Vatican. Precisely. The experience was 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:56.620 there. And this financial integrity was matched 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:59.759 by his deep commitment to the marginalized, which 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:02.789 earned him the nickname Slum Bishop. He was the 00:09:02.789 --> 00:09:05.929 Valero bishop. He was known for his major initiative 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:08.210 to dramatically increase the church's presence 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:10.429 in the villas, Missouri, the poor shanty towns 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:12.350 of Buenos Aires. And what did that look like 00:09:12.350 --> 00:09:15.070 in practice? He essentially doubled the number 00:09:15.070 --> 00:09:17.769 of priests working there and visited these areas 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:20.210 frequently himself. This wasn't just, you know, 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:22.190 outreach for the cameras. It was an effort to 00:09:22.190 --> 00:09:25.389 physically embed the church among the suffering. 00:09:25.870 --> 00:09:28.429 Reinforcing his later statement that the true 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:30.769 development of people is measured in the face 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:34.179 of suffering. Exactly that. However, this period, 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:37.159 specifically the 1970s, when he was the Jesuit 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:40.240 provincial, it cast the longest shadow over his 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.779 Argentine years. We're talking about the allegations 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:45.279 regarding his role during the brutal dirty war. 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:48.490 And this is where we see deeply conflicting narratives 00:09:48.490 --> 00:09:51.009 in the source material about his actions. It's 00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:53.769 very complex. So the controversy centers specifically 00:09:53.769 --> 00:09:56.409 on the disappearance and torture of two Jesuit 00:09:56.409 --> 00:10:00.710 priests, Orlando Iorio and Franz Jalix, in 1976. 00:10:01.350 --> 00:10:04.309 What was the accusation? The accusation was grave. 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:07.730 It was that Bergoglio, as their superior, failed 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.200 to protect them. Or worse, that he had effectively 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:14.100 dismissed them from the Society of Jesus right 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:16.899 before their arrest, which critics claimed was 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:19.039 a signal to the military junta that they were, 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:22.500 you know, fair game. But the defense, which is 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:24.360 detailed heavily in the sources, it paints a 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.200 completely different picture. A completely different 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.039 one. A portrait of a man quietly working behind 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:31.480 the scenes to save lives at immense personal 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:33.059 risk. But what's the evidence for that side of 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:35.320 the story? Well, Bergoglio himself claimed he 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:37.539 worked directly with the regime, interceding 00:10:37.539 --> 00:10:40.259 specifically with the dictator Jorge Rafael Videla 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:42.860 on the priest's behalf. He believed that may 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:44.919 have secured their release and saved their lives. 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:47.720 And there's more, right? Oh, yeah. Authorized 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.220 accounts state he sheltered dissidents on church 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:53.120 property. He once even gave his own identity 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:55.580 papers to a man who looked like him so that he 00:10:55.580 --> 00:10:58.600 could flee the country. A former judge, Alicia 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:02.000 Oliveira, she corroborated this, stating Bergoglio 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.720 was anguished by the dictatorship and actively 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.820 helped people escape. And what about the priests 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:09.559 themselves? Their testimony seems to have shifted 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:12.690 over time. It's complex. Initially, Yorio was 00:11:12.690 --> 00:11:15.049 definitely critical, accusing Bergoglio of doing 00:11:15.049 --> 00:11:17.649 nothing to free them. However, later testimony 00:11:17.649 --> 00:11:20.610 really altered the narrative. Friends Jalix, 00:11:20.870 --> 00:11:23.990 who spent five months in captivity, issued a 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:26.570 crucial clarifying statement after Francis's 00:11:26.570 --> 00:11:28.950 election. What did he say? He confirmed that, 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.649 and I'm quoting here, it is wrong to assert that 00:11:31.649 --> 00:11:33.690 our capture took place at the initiative of Father 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:36.029 Bergoglio and that Bergoglio did not denounce 00:11:36.029 --> 00:11:38.610 them. So while the situation remains politically 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:41.379 charged. The weight of later testimonies and 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:43.480 investigations seems to have defended his integrity. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:46.799 It does. And you have major human rights advocates 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.360 coming to his defense. Nobel Peace Prize laureate 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:53.840 Adolfo Perez Esquivel stated definitively that 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:56.200 Bergoglio never collaborated with the dictatorship. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:00.220 So the picture that emerges is one of a man navigating 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:03.120 a moral tightrope in a period where everyone 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.879 was under surveillance. I think that's fair. 00:12:05.289 --> 00:12:07.169 It's clear he was working against the regime 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:10.210 in secret, even if his public, non -confrontational 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:12.970 approach was later misinterpreted by some. So, 00:12:13.129 --> 00:12:15.490 having navigated the shadows of a dictatorship, 00:12:15.909 --> 00:12:18.529 Bergoglio was clearly unafraid of political pressure. 00:12:18.830 --> 00:12:22.250 And that grit was immediately tested by the democratically 00:12:22.250 --> 00:12:25.129 elected government, specifically the populist 00:12:25.129 --> 00:12:27.370 left -wing regime of the Kirchners. Oh, that 00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:29.529 relationship with Presidents Nestor and Christina 00:12:29.529 --> 00:12:32.269 Kirchner was notoriously tense. Nestor Kirchner 00:12:32.269 --> 00:12:34.529 even considered Bergoglio a political rival. 00:12:34.629 --> 00:12:37.629 A rival. He viewed the archbishop's popularity 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:40.210 and his moral authority as a direct threat to 00:12:40.210 --> 00:12:42.490 his own political power. And the ultimate friction 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:44.990 point was the 2010 same -sex marriage legislation. 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:48.559 That was the big one. Bergoglio vehemently and 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.200 publicly opposed the bill, which he called a 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:53.679 destructive pretension against the plan of God. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:57.539 It was a huge public clash. And that fiery public 00:12:57.539 --> 00:13:00.379 opposition was seen as a strategic error by some, 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:03.220 but the entire relationship changed. I mean, 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:05.840 overnight, when he was elected pope. It was what 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:08.580 political analysts called a dramatic Copernican 00:13:08.580 --> 00:13:12.519 shift. by christina kirchner suddenly francis 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.000 was a global phenomenon and she fully embraced 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.259 him she even met privately with him before his 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:19.940 inauguration a hugely important symbolic meeting 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:22.679 yeah it just demonstrated how his moral authority 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:25.360 now transcended national politics completely 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:28.000 we should also remember that his eventual election 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.919 in 2013 it wasn't entirely out of the blue he 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.179 had already been a major contender in the previous 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:36.360 conclave in 2005 a very reluctant contender but 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.110 yes he was made a cardinal in 2001 by John Paul 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:42.029 II, and reports from the 2005 conclave, which 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:44.809 rely on credible, though anonymous, cardinal 00:13:44.809 --> 00:13:47.309 sources, they claim that Bergoglio was the main 00:13:47.309 --> 00:13:49.350 challenger to Cardinal Ratzinger. Who became 00:13:49.350 --> 00:13:52.529 Benedict VI. Right. And supposedly, Bergoglio 00:13:52.529 --> 00:13:55.389 received 40 votes at one point in the third ballot, 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:57.870 which showed significant internal support. And 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:01.309 he performed this, well, extraordinary and selfless 00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:05.149 act to end what was seen as a deadlock between 00:14:05.149 --> 00:14:07.769 the two leading figures. He reportedly made an 00:14:07.769 --> 00:14:10.350 emotional plea to his fellow cardinals, asking 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:12.669 them to stop voting for him. Why would he do 00:14:12.669 --> 00:14:15.590 that? His motivation was to prevent the conclave 00:14:15.590 --> 00:14:18.090 from delaying the election of a clear pope any 00:14:18.090 --> 00:14:20.629 further. It speaks volumes about his character. 00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:23.190 He actively tried to suppress his own election 00:14:23.190 --> 00:14:25.909 to prioritize clarity and stability for the church. 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:28.549 It shows he was not a careerist. So all this 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:31.279 history... The humility, the financial discipline, 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:33.899 the political independence, it all culminated 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:36.139 in the 2013 election. He was elected on the fifth 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.220 ballot. And everything about that first appearance 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:40.500 on the balcony immediately signaled that the 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:42.580 status quo was over. Starting with the name, 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:45.580 Francis. After St. Francis of Assisi, it was 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:48.740 the first profound statement emphasizing concern 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:52.679 for the poor, for peace, for creation. The source 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:54.740 highlights he chose the name after Brazilian 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:57.720 Cardinal Claudio Hums embraced him and whispered, 00:14:58.029 --> 00:15:00.850 Don't forget the poor. And he insisted on being 00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:04.250 called simply Francis. Yeah. No Roman numeral. 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:06.789 Right. Another way of simplifying the ancient 00:15:06.789 --> 00:15:09.350 office from the very start. And the dismantling 00:15:09.350 --> 00:15:12.570 of formality was instant and intentional. He 00:15:12.570 --> 00:15:14.990 walked out in a simple white cassock, refusing 00:15:14.990 --> 00:15:17.519 the traditional red mazetta cape. That cape, 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:20.200 often trimmed with ermine, it symbolized all 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:22.299 the palm of the office. He wanted none of it. 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:24.980 He was trading symbolism for substance. He kept 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:27.279 the simple iron pectoral cross he had worn as 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.320 archbishop rather than accepting the traditional 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:32.120 gold one. And he used silver for his fisherman's 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:34.220 ring. All of it was sending a visual message 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:37.019 to the world. This papacy is about ministry, 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:39.580 not medieval ornamentation. I think the small 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:42.159 human moments speak the loudest here. He refused 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.559 the papal limousine and took the bus back with 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:46.600 the other cardinals. And he stood up to receive 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:48.580 their congratulations instead of sitting on the 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:51.000 papal throne. But the most famous anecdote, the 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:53.600 one that broke through the global news, was his 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.440 insistence on stopping by the guesthouse to collect 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:59.840 his things and, critically, to pay his bill before 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:01.879 officially moving into the Apostolic Palace. 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:04.820 It sounds like a charming story, but what did 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.559 that single act instantly communicate about his 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:10.870 view of the Vatican's traditional finances? It 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.429 was a clear, immediate statement against the 00:16:13.429 --> 00:16:16.149 traditional expectation of privilege and entitlement 00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:19.190 within the Vatican bureaucracy. So a rejection 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:21.710 of the idea that the Pope operates above mundane 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:24.529 rules. Exactly. It sent a shiver down the spine 00:16:24.529 --> 00:16:28.000 of the Roman Curia. The message was clear. the 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.179 financial cleanup has begun. And speaking of 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:32.539 residences, he never actually moved into the 00:16:32.539 --> 00:16:34.460 traditional home of the popes, the Apostolic 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:36.679 Palace. Correct. In a completely unprecedented 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.600 move for a modern pope, Francis chose to reside 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.320 in the Dome Sainte -Marthe guest house, just 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:44.120 a common suite where he could receive visitors. 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:47.419 Not the luxurious and often lonely Apostolic 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:50.350 Palace apartments. No, he was the first pope 00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:53.809 since Pius X, over a century earlier, to live 00:16:53.809 --> 00:16:56.730 outside those apartments. It signaled a permanent 00:16:56.730 --> 00:16:59.570 shift away from what he viewed as the isolating 00:16:59.570 --> 00:17:02.990 excesses of the papacy. This revolution in style 00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.230 was quickly followed by him laying the theological 00:17:05.230 --> 00:17:08.769 foundation for his entire papacy. Starting with 00:17:08.769 --> 00:17:12.210 his motto, Miserando atque elegendo. Which translates 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:16.069 as, By having mercy and by choosing. It's drawn 00:17:16.069 --> 00:17:17.970 from the story of St. Matthew the tax collector. 00:17:18.569 --> 00:17:21.329 It immediately set the core tone. The central 00:17:21.329 --> 00:17:24.049 theme of his papacy would be God's boundless 00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:26.569 mercy over any rigid adherence to institutional 00:17:26.569 --> 00:17:29.670 rules. And this emphasis on mercy and accessibility, 00:17:30.049 --> 00:17:32.970 it became the programmatic text of his papacy, 00:17:33.009 --> 00:17:35.710 Evangelii Gaudium, which was published only seven 00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:38.710 months after his election in 2013. That document 00:17:38.710 --> 00:17:41.029 was a comprehensive blueprint. It called for 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:44.599 a missionary and pastoral conversion. It advocated 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:46.960 for a church that fully includes the laity in 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.119 its mission. And critically, he coined that famous 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.220 phrase. That church shepherds must have the smell 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.920 of the sheep. Meaning they have to stay close 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:55.019 to the common people of God, deeply involved 00:17:55.019 --> 00:17:57.910 in their lives and struggles. And this was essentially 00:17:57.910 --> 00:18:01.230 his mandate to the clergy to move away from internal 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:05.109 focus and status, what he vehemently termed clericalism. 00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:08.670 Oh, he saw clericalism as a disease. He defined 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:10.990 it as dwelling excessively on priestly status 00:18:10.990 --> 00:18:13.930 and authority, and he believed it isolated priests 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:15.990 from the very people they were meant to serve. 00:18:16.210 --> 00:18:19.029 He warned repeatedly that poorly trained or self 00:18:19.029 --> 00:18:21.569 -serving priests could become little monsters. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:24.319 So this focus on service, radical simplicity 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.160 and inclusion, it formed the core ideological 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.119 identity of his decade -long tenure. And it positioned 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:32.619 him constantly against the internal forces of 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:34.859 tradition and bureaucracy. Now, Francis didn't 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:37.519 just redefine the role of the pope. He fundamentally 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:39.920 shifted the theological priorities of the church 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.640 outward toward global social justice concerns. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.980 We see this immediately with his focus on the 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:47.420 environment. Indicated by his name choice, Francis 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:50.019 of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology. And his 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:53.230 environmental focus wasn't just... It was codified 00:18:53.230 --> 00:18:56.150 in serious, high -level theological documents. 00:18:56.390 --> 00:19:00.609 Right. His 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si, Praise 00:19:00.609 --> 00:19:04.250 Be to You, was a monumental work. It called for 00:19:04.250 --> 00:19:06.509 swift and decisive action on climate change. 00:19:06.890 --> 00:19:09.549 This document fundamentally established the concept 00:19:09.549 --> 00:19:11.990 of integral ecology within Catholic teaching. 00:19:12.250 --> 00:19:14.369 And what does integral ecology mean, exactly? 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.119 It's the idea that the environmental crisis and 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.660 the social crisis of poverty are intrinsically 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:22.240 linked. You can't solve one without addressing 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.619 the other. So this wasn't just a general call 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:28.000 for conservation. He was condemning the economic 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:30.119 and political systems driving the destruction. 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.319 Absolutely. Laudato si' condemned indifference 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:35.900 to the ecosystem, the worship of technology, 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:39.339 and greed for short -term profit. He argued that 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:41.339 the earth itself is among the most abandoned 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:43.799 and mistreated of the poor. And he followed this 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:46.720 up. in 2023 with another document, Laudat Deum. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.900 Praise God. Yes, he released that ahead of the 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:51.519 COP28 conference, and it specifically and strongly 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.920 condemned climate change denial, warning that 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:56.039 the planet was near the breaking point. He also 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:58.140 elevated the environmental crisis to a moral 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:00.579 and legal issue of the highest order. He did. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.519 In 2019, he stated unequivocally that ecocide 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.319 The serious destruction of the natural environment 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:10.339 was a sin and that it should be classified as 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:13.259 a fifth category of crimes against peace under 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:16.420 international law. A huge push for global accountability. 00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:19.220 And he backed it up with gestures at the Vatican 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:22.220 itself. In June 2024, he ordered the Vatican 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:24.559 to construct an agrivoltaics facility on its 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:27.660 land holdings outside Rome. Combining solar energy 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:30.240 with agriculture. A practical, visible demonstration 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.980 of the principles of integral ecology. Beyond 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.259 the environment, he was relentless in his economic 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:38.359 criticism, consistently siding with the marginalized 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:40.720 and critiquing mainstream capitalist theories. 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:43.460 Especially those favored by political conservatives. 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:47.109 He was a staunch vocal critic of what he repeatedly 00:20:47.109 --> 00:20:50.150 termed trickle -down economics, consumerism, 00:20:50.210 --> 00:20:52.369 and unchecked overdevelopment. He used some very 00:20:52.369 --> 00:20:54.809 strong language, didn't he? He did. In one address, 00:20:54.990 --> 00:20:57.170 he stated that the current global economic model 00:20:57.170 --> 00:21:00.210 kills because it focuses solely on profit rather 00:21:00.210 --> 00:21:04.130 than the human person. And in 2024, we saw him 00:21:04.130 --> 00:21:07.289 push for incredibly specific economic policies, 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:10.369 moving far beyond just general moral calls for 00:21:10.369 --> 00:21:12.589 charity. This is where he became politically 00:21:12.589 --> 00:21:16.029 explicit. He renewed calls for a universal basic 00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:20.130 income, or UBI. And he explicitly supported higher 00:21:20.130 --> 00:21:22.990 taxes on billionaires, warning that the world's 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:26.049 wealthy were obsessed with pure greed. And for 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:28.230 him, the true measure of a society wasn't its 00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:31.299 GDP. Not at all. It was how it cares for its 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:33.539 most vulnerable. He said the true development 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:35.980 of people is measured in the face of suffering. 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:38.980 He also embraced popular movements as a necessary 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:40.900 antidote to what he called the culture of the 00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:43.440 self. And he even went as far as praising Gustavo 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.599 Gutierrez, the founder of liberation theology, 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:48.359 which is a remarkable historical turn given the 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:50.680 ideological conflict that caused his estrangement 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:52.980 from the Jesuits decades prior. So how did he 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.500 reframe it? He emphasized the positive aspect 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:58.259 of grassroots solidarity and activism for the 00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:01.140 poor. encouraging Christians and even Marxists 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:04.039 to cooperate on social issues. Finally, in the 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:06.529 realm of morality While maintaining traditional 00:22:06.529 --> 00:22:08.849 Catholic teaching on fundamental issues like 00:22:08.849 --> 00:22:12.150 abortion, he showed a distinct reluctance to 00:22:12.150 --> 00:22:16.029 focus narrowly on what he viewed as secondary 00:22:16.029 --> 00:22:19.349 moral debates. He famously criticized the obsession 00:22:19.349 --> 00:22:21.549 of some Catholics with a selection of issues, 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:25.190 specifically citing abortion, gay marriage, and 00:22:25.190 --> 00:22:27.630 the use of contraceptive methods. And he suggested 00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:29.869 that this hyper -focus did not show the heart 00:22:29.869 --> 00:22:32.529 of the message of Jesus Christ. Exactly. He argued 00:22:32.529 --> 00:22:35.049 the church needed to be a field hospital. first. 00:22:35.109 --> 00:22:37.589 You provide healing and mercy before dwelling 00:22:37.589 --> 00:22:40.089 on complicated moral specifics. But perhaps his 00:22:40.089 --> 00:22:42.869 most tangible and lasting moral reform relates 00:22:42.869 --> 00:22:45.309 to the death penalty, a change that required 00:22:45.309 --> 00:22:47.869 revising the church's fundamental doctrine. It 00:22:47.869 --> 00:22:50.490 was huge. Francis committed the church to the 00:22:50.490 --> 00:22:53.009 worldwide abolition of the death penalty. In 00:22:53.009 --> 00:22:55.529 2018, he revised the Catechism of the Catholic 00:22:55.529 --> 00:22:58.650 Church, the church's official doctrine, to state 00:22:58.650 --> 00:23:01.269 that capital punishment is inadmissible in all 00:23:01.269 --> 00:23:04.230 cases. Inadmissible in all cases. That's a massive 00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:07.250 doctrinal shift, isn't it? It's massive. Previous 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:09.730 popes had accepted the death penalty as permissible 00:23:09.730 --> 00:23:12.869 in extremely rare cases where it was the only 00:23:12.869 --> 00:23:15.869 way to defend human lives against an unjust aggressor. 00:23:15.930 --> 00:23:18.750 And Francis completely closed that door. He did. 00:23:18.930 --> 00:23:21.569 He asserted that because modern society possesses 00:23:21.569 --> 00:23:23.990 the technology and means to safely detain offenders, 00:23:24.529 --> 00:23:27.569 capital punishment is always an attack on the 00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:30.450 inviolability and dignity of the person, regardless 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.880 of the severity of the crime. Let's talk about 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.680 institutional reforms. Francis inherited a Vatican 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:38.819 that was widely seen as needing a serious overhaul, 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:41.539 particularly regarding its finances and internal 00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:44.200 governance. And he was explicitly mandated by 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:46.140 the cardinals who elected him to clean up the 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.480 financial scandals. So let's start with the opaque 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:51.299 and notorious Vatican Bank, the Institute for 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:55.019 the Works of Religion, or IOR. The IOR was a 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:57.740 major liability. It was facing longstanding allegations 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.119 of corruption, insufficient money laundering 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:02.700 controls, and maintaining thousands of suspicious, 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.599 often anonymous, accounts. So he was forced to 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:07.680 act immediately to ensure compliance with international 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.380 financial standards. What did he do? He appointed 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:13.240 a commission to advise on reform, replacing four 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.220 of the five cardinal overseers in January 2014. 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:20.119 More importantly, he introduced sweeping internal 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:23.480 regulatory changes and auditing standards. led 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:25.799 to a lot of accounts being closed. Thousands. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:29.859 By 2015, the IOR had closed thousands of accounts 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:32.079 belonging to entities and individuals who did 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.299 not meet the strict new transparency requirements. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:37.940 The goal was full transparency, and he even showed 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:40.259 a willingness to close the bank entirely if the 00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:42.779 reforms proved impossible. He also applied this 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:46.339 new fiscal restraint to the Curia itself, specifically 00:24:46.339 --> 00:24:48.559 targeting the traditional culture of entitlement. 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:51.619 He abolished the large traditional bonuses paid 00:24:51.619 --> 00:24:53.700 to Vatican employees upon the election of a new 00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:56.299 pope, directing the millions of euros saved to 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:58.940 charity instead. I also read he abolished the 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:01.680 25 ,000 annual bonus that was paid to cardinals 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:03.859 serving on the board of supervisors for the Vatican 00:25:03.859 --> 00:25:06.220 Bank. He did. It was all part of his rejection 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:08.579 of careerism and financial privilege within the 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:11.460 church hierarchy. Beyond finance. One of his 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:13.700 flagship initiatives was the profound change 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:15.920 to internal governance through the creation of 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:18.460 the synodal church. The synod on synodality, 00:25:18.619 --> 00:25:22.480 which Francis convened in 2023, was perhaps the 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.019 culmination of his vision. It was aiming for 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:28.160 deep structural change. And the fundamental goal 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:30.660 was a radical decentralization of governance 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:33.400 away from Rome. Right. Instead of a purely top 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:35.859 -down structure, he aimed for a church that listens, 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.259 where decisions are made in dialogue with the 00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:41.160 people and local bishops. part of that process 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:43.859 involved integrating the laity and critically 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.480 women into the decision -making structure his 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:49.619 new apostolic constitution episcopal's communio 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:52.240 formally allowed lay people to contribute input 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:55.000 directly and then the most controversial and 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.940 historically significant development was that 00:25:56.940 --> 00:25:59.900 2023 synod where he granted voting rights to 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:02.940 35 women Those women experts and religious sisters 00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:06.220 amounted to just over 10 % of all voters, but 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.059 it marked the first time women were ever allowed 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:10.420 to vote in a synod of bishops. Fundamentally 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:12.559 challenging the idea that only ordained clergy 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.500 can hold institutional power. Now, regarding 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:17.920 the role of women more broadly, this is a topic 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.240 where Francis's progressive institutional changes 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.400 clash sharply with his firm adherence to doctrine. 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:25.220 It's a key contradiction we need to dissect. 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:27.960 It is the essential tightrope that Francis walked 00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:30.730 his entire papacy. He categorically rejected 00:26:30.730 --> 00:26:33.470 the ordination of women as priests. He stated 00:26:33.470 --> 00:26:35.970 that the doctrine is definitive and that holy 00:26:35.970 --> 00:26:39.269 orders is reserved for men. But at the same time, 00:26:39.349 --> 00:26:41.789 he systematically unlocked almost every other 00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:44.289 institutional door for women. Right, which led 00:26:44.289 --> 00:26:47.009 some to view it as progressive pragmatism and 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:49.630 others to see it as an ultimate failure on gender 00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:52.339 equality. So what were some of the key institutional 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:54.720 appointments that reflected this balance? He 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.279 appointed women as full members of dicastries. 00:26:57.319 --> 00:26:59.200 That's the term for the departments of the Roman 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.720 Curia, the Vatican's ministries. He appointed 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:05.000 women to posts previously held only by men, like 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.319 the Italian magistrate Katia Sumeria as the first 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.319 woman promoter of justice in the Vatican's Court 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:13.500 of Appeals, and Natalie Beckert, a French nun, 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:16.400 as co -undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops. 00:27:16.890 --> 00:27:18.789 He also seemed to waver on the possibility of 00:27:18.789 --> 00:27:21.529 female deacons, which is often seen as a possible 00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:24.150 step toward greater inclusion in the ministry. 00:27:24.349 --> 00:27:26.910 He did. He impaneled two separate commissions, 00:27:27.210 --> 00:27:30.750 one in 2016 and another in 2020, to study the 00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:32.849 history of female deacons in early Christianity. 00:27:33.470 --> 00:27:35.950 But the first commission failed to reach a consensus 00:27:35.950 --> 00:27:38.250 on whether the historical role was sacramental. 00:27:38.349 --> 00:27:40.750 And he later appeared to reject the idea entirely. 00:27:41.069 --> 00:27:44.569 He did. In 2024, he emphasized that women's place 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:46.710 in the church is much more important than the 00:27:46.710 --> 00:27:48.990 ministerial way, which seemed to close the door, 00:27:49.069 --> 00:27:51.269 at least for now, on that possibility. OK, now 00:27:51.269 --> 00:27:53.130 we get to the core of the conservative backlash 00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:56.269 he faced. The three major theological documents 00:27:56.269 --> 00:27:59.609 that sparked intense, visible and often unprecedented 00:27:59.609 --> 00:28:02.750 internal conflict. First, let's go back. Back 00:28:02.750 --> 00:28:06.710 to Emerus Letitia in 2016. This apostolic exhortation 00:28:06.710 --> 00:28:09.089 on love within the family focused on pastoral 00:28:09.089 --> 00:28:11.970 care for those in irregular situations, particularly 00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:14.630 divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. And 00:28:14.630 --> 00:28:16.789 the controversy centered on a nuanced footnote. 00:28:17.049 --> 00:28:18.990 A footnote suggesting that in certain specific 00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:22.309 situations, after sufficient reflection and guidance, 00:28:22.509 --> 00:28:25.250 these individuals might be able to receive communion. 00:28:25.509 --> 00:28:28.789 He called for responsible personal and pastoral 00:28:28.789 --> 00:28:31.450 discernment of particular cases. Why did this 00:28:31.450 --> 00:28:34.410 specific nuance cause such an immense challenge 00:28:34.410 --> 00:28:37.119 to his authority? Because traditionalists argue 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.579 that communion must be reserved only for those 00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:42.660 in a state of grace. And being civilly remarried 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:44.099 while the first marriage is still considered 00:28:44.099 --> 00:28:46.700 valid by the church constitutes adultery, which 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:49.019 is a state of sin. So Francis was essentially 00:28:49.019 --> 00:28:51.640 prioritizing mercy and individual conscience 00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:54.619 over rigid application of the rule. Exactly. 00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:57.220 And this prompted four cardinals to issue the 00:28:57.220 --> 00:29:00.119 dubia a formal request for clarification on doctrine. 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:02.819 It was an unprecedented public challenge, and 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:04.980 it led conservative critics to escalate their 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:07.359 criticism with accusations of promoting heretical 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:10.279 propositions. Then came the traditional Latin 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:12.680 mass controversy. which was a direct reversal 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:15.539 of his predecessor's policy. Right. In 2021, 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:18.660 Francis issued the decree Traditionis Custodes, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:21.359 which imposed severe restrictions on the use 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.039 of the older tridentine mass, often called the 00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:26.900 traditional Latin mass. And this mass represented 00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:30.150 a specific pre -Vatican II vision of the church. 00:29:30.329 --> 00:29:33.670 It did, and Benedict VI had broadly liberalized 00:29:33.670 --> 00:29:36.890 its use. So Francis's decree was a direct rejection 00:29:36.890 --> 00:29:39.410 of the liturgical path favored by conservatives 00:29:39.410 --> 00:29:43.140 and his predecessor. A very swift targeted act 00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:45.279 of ideological warfare. That's one way to put 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:48.299 it. Francis significantly increased Vatican oversight 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:51.039 over the ritual and restricted the right of newly 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:53.720 ordained priests to celebrate it, stating that 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:55.880 the Latin mass was being used to sow division 00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:57.980 and reject the reforms of the Second Vatican 00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:00.660 Council. Traditionalist prelates found the move 00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:03.839 unnecessarily harsh, but he was resolute. But 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:06.619 the internal firestorm reached its absolute zenith 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:09.359 with fiducious supplicants in December 2023. 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:12.500 This was the big one. Fiducia supplicants allowed 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:15.000 Catholic priests to perform spontaneous blessings 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.640 for same -sex couples and other irregular relationships 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:20.400 provided the blessing was non -liturgical. So 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:22.480 it couldn't look or sound like a sacrament. Right. 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:24.779 He reiterated that marriage remains exclusively 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:27.319 between a man and a woman, but the document marked 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:29.859 a seismic shift in pastoral tone, emphasizing 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:32.579 that God welcomes all people. And the response 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:36.160 was immediately global and explosive. It sparked 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:39.460 intense controversy. Conservative prelates called 00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:42.869 it sacrilegious and blasphemous. And crucially, 00:30:42.950 --> 00:30:45.130 the source details that the fallout involves 00:30:45.130 --> 00:30:49.130 an unprecedented political act. The entire assembly 00:30:49.130 --> 00:30:52.150 of African bishops announced a collective rejection 00:30:52.150 --> 00:30:54.950 of the declaration. An entire continent's bishops. 00:30:55.150 --> 00:30:58.009 An entire continent's Episcopal conference. They 00:30:58.009 --> 00:31:00.569 stated that implementing such blessings cannot 00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:03.049 be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves 00:31:03.049 --> 00:31:06.089 to scandals. This public collective rejection 00:31:06.089 --> 00:31:08.710 was a monumental challenge to the pope's immediate 00:31:08.710 --> 00:31:11.500 authority. Despite these intense internal conflicts, 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:14.400 Francis maintained an incredibly active global 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.519 diplomatic role, often favoring quiet negotiation 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:20.690 and bridge -building over confrontation. Even 00:31:20.690 --> 00:31:23.190 in the most politically fraught situations, the 00:31:23.190 --> 00:31:25.029 most controversial example of this diplomatic 00:31:25.029 --> 00:31:27.289 approach was his rapprochement with the People's 00:31:27.289 --> 00:31:29.309 Republic of China. Despite the Vatican still 00:31:29.309 --> 00:31:31.930 formally recognizing Taiwan. Right. Francis took 00:31:31.930 --> 00:31:34.509 a highly conciliatory line, believing uneasy 00:31:34.509 --> 00:31:37.369 dialogue was better than silence. And what was 00:31:37.369 --> 00:31:39.069 the core strategic rationale for the Vatican 00:31:39.069 --> 00:31:41.569 engaging in this? The primary goal was protecting 00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:44.529 the Chinese underground church and ensuring canonical 00:31:44.529 --> 00:31:48.549 continuity. The 2018 Provisional Vatican -China 00:31:48.549 --> 00:31:51.230 Agreement, which was renewed multiple times, 00:31:51.470 --> 00:31:53.750 it gave the Vatican a role in consulting with 00:31:53.750 --> 00:31:55.589 the Chinese government on the appointment of 00:31:55.589 --> 00:31:58.289 bishops. And in return, the government recognized 00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:01.049 the Pope as the supreme head of the church. Exactly. 00:32:01.130 --> 00:32:03.430 The Vatican hoped this would stop the appointment 00:32:03.430 --> 00:32:05.589 of state -controlled bishops without a papal 00:32:05.589 --> 00:32:08.369 mandate. But critics, including Cardinal Joseph 00:32:08.369 --> 00:32:12.099 Zen, warned the sold -out loyal Chinese Catholics 00:32:12.099 --> 00:32:14.779 and accepted infringements on religious freedom. 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:17.049 And they had a point. Because China repeatedly 00:32:17.049 --> 00:32:20.210 violated the terms, they unilaterally installed 00:32:20.210 --> 00:32:23.150 bishops without Vatican approval. Yet Francis 00:32:23.150 --> 00:32:25.869 consistently defended the strategy, arguing that 00:32:25.869 --> 00:32:28.369 any mechanism for dialogue offered a path to 00:32:28.369 --> 00:32:31.369 prevent a total schism. He even later recognized 00:32:31.369 --> 00:32:34.089 an irregular appointment just to remedy the canonical 00:32:34.089 --> 00:32:37.390 irregularity, prioritizing unity over condemnation. 00:32:37.569 --> 00:32:39.750 On a different front, he played a key and very 00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:42.930 successful mediating role in restoring full diplomatic 00:32:42.930 --> 00:32:45.940 relations between the U .S. and Cuba. Tremendous 00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:49.819 diplomatic victory in 2014. He played a key role 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:52.000 following a direct request from President Obama. 00:32:52.339 --> 00:32:54.839 He was uniquely positioned because he held the 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:57.559 confidence of both administrations. And the success 00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:00.500 was so profound that Cuban leader Raul Castro, 00:33:00.819 --> 00:33:03.119 after meeting Francis, said he was considering 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:05.039 returning to the Catholic Church. An amazing 00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:07.700 outcome. Turning to the Middle East, Francis 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:10.420 offered strong symbolic gestures in the Israeli 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:13.480 -Palestinian conflict long before the ultimate 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:17.019 flare -up in 2023. During his 2014 visit, he 00:33:17.019 --> 00:33:19.660 made very conscious, symbolic gestures to both 00:33:19.660 --> 00:33:22.200 sides. He was the first pope to visit the grave 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:25.200 of Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, symbolizing 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:27.859 respect for the Jewish homeland. He then prayed 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:29.920 at a section of the Israeli West Bank barrier, 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:33.039 symbolizing solidarity with Palestinians, and 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.420 he later signed the Vatican's first treaty recognizing 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:38.500 the state of Palestine in 2015. Following the 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:40.759 October 7 attacks and the subsequent Gaza war, 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:43.859 his condemnation was dual -sided and became increasingly 00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:46.650 political. It did. He condemned the October 7 00:33:46.650 --> 00:33:49.650 attacks, but was also intensely critical of Israel's 00:33:49.650 --> 00:33:52.650 military operations in Gaza. He used powerful 00:33:52.650 --> 00:33:55.509 language, calling their actions cruelty and even 00:33:55.509 --> 00:33:59.109 terrorism after an IDF sniper killed two Palestinian 00:33:59.109 --> 00:34:01.390 Christian women sheltering in a church. And in 00:34:01.390 --> 00:34:04.500 November 2024, he went even further. He suggested 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:06.500 the international community should investigate 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:09.599 if Israel's campaign in Gaza constituted a genocide 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:12.260 of the Palestinian people. And we learned a surprising 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:14.920 detail about his personal pastoral commitment 00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:17.880 to the region. right up until his death. An incredible 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:21.199 detail. He personally telephoned Gaza's only 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:24.219 Catholic church, the Holy Family Parish, every 00:34:24.219 --> 00:34:27.340 single night from October 2023 until the day 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:30.900 he died on Easter Monday, April 21st, 2025. Every 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:32.880 single night. It just underlines his consistent 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.940 pastoral connection to the war -battered region. 00:34:35.179 --> 00:34:37.420 His non -aligned stance was perhaps most severely 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:39.920 tested by the war in Ukraine, where his initial 00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.579 response drew significant frustration from Ukrainians 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:44.780 and the Western world. That is an understatement. 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:48.079 In February 2022, immediately after the invasion, 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:51.139 he made the unprecedented step of visiting the 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:53.519 Russian embassy in Rome to personally express 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:55.860 his concerns. But he also said something that 00:34:55.860 --> 00:34:57.900 was seen as echoing Russian narratives. He did. 00:34:58.360 --> 00:35:01.500 He later suggested the conflict was somehow either 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:04.340 provoked or not prevented, citing an unnamed 00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:06.579 world leader who claimed NATO was barking at 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:10.019 the gates. This was deeply frustrating to Ukrainians 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:12.679 who saw it as failing to clearly condemn the 00:35:12.679 --> 00:35:14.940 aggressor. So what was the motivation for maintaining 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:17.789 this controversial non -aligned position? Analysts 00:35:17.789 --> 00:35:20.190 concluded his hope was to position the Vatican 00:35:20.190 --> 00:35:23.650 as an impartial, neutral broker of peace. He 00:35:23.650 --> 00:35:25.789 argued that taking sides would eliminate any 00:35:25.789 --> 00:35:28.010 chance of meaningful dialogue. So even though 00:35:28.010 --> 00:35:30.510 he later recognized Ukraine had suffered aggression 00:35:30.510 --> 00:35:33.269 and called them a noble people. He continued 00:35:33.269 --> 00:35:35.829 to warn against a simplistic good versus evil 00:35:35.829 --> 00:35:38.190 perception of the conflict. His focus remained 00:35:38.190 --> 00:35:41.030 rigidly on dialogue, even saying dialogue must 00:35:41.030 --> 00:35:43.650 continue with any power that is at war, even 00:35:43.650 --> 00:35:45.690 if it is with the aggressor. And he dispatched 00:35:45.690 --> 00:35:48.099 high ranking. envoys to the region, which was 00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:51.099 a highly unusual diplomatic move. Very unusual. 00:35:51.440 --> 00:35:54.260 He sent two high ranking cardinals, Krajewski 00:35:54.260 --> 00:35:57.360 and Czerny, as direct envoys to Ukraine and the 00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:00.280 surrounding refugee camps. It signaled his direct 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:02.860 engagement, even while maintaining that delicate 00:36:02.860 --> 00:36:05.340 political distance. Finally, we turn to the constant 00:36:05.340 --> 00:36:08.000 advocacy that defined his international persona. 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:11.219 The championing of migrants and refugees. This 00:36:11.219 --> 00:36:13.559 was arguably the most consistent core component 00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:16.159 of his global work. He consistently called the 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:18.420 protection of migrants a duty of civilization 00:36:18.420 --> 00:36:21.420 and fiercely criticized neo -nationalists who 00:36:21.420 --> 00:36:24.360 rejected refugees. His visit to the Moria refugee 00:36:24.360 --> 00:36:28.139 camp on Lesbos in 2016 was a huge statement. 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:30.320 It was a visible statement against what he called 00:36:30.320 --> 00:36:33.260 the globalization of indifference. And his final 00:36:33.260 --> 00:36:35.840 powerful diplomatic act was a direct confrontation 00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:38.420 with nativism in the United States. following 00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:41.960 the 2025 mass deportations. It was. Following 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:44.260 the U .S. elections, the new administration defended 00:36:44.260 --> 00:36:47.280 strict anti -immigrant policies using the technical 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:50.119 Catholic concept of ordo amoris, the right ordering 00:36:50.119 --> 00:36:52.739 of one's love to justify nativism. Arguing you 00:36:52.739 --> 00:36:55.179 must love your own nation first. Right. And Francis 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:57.860 issued an excoriating response to U .S. bishops, 00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:00.800 citing the parable of the Good Samaritan. He 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:03.920 clarified that true love, the ordo amoris, builds 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:07.219 a fraternity open to all without exception. He 00:37:07.219 --> 00:37:10.119 used a highly technical theological term to dismantle 00:37:10.119 --> 00:37:12.440 the political justification for closing borders. 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:15.280 If there is one area where Francis marked a permanent 00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:18.000 shift in the Catholic Church, it's the tone with 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.320 which it addresses the LGBTQ plus community, 00:37:20.539 --> 00:37:23.480 even if the doctrine remains unchanged. And that 00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:25.300 famous question set the stage for everything 00:37:25.300 --> 00:37:28.219 that followed. Who am I to judge? Delivered on 00:37:28.219 --> 00:37:30.300 an airplane returning from World Youth Day in 00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:33.940 July 2013, it signaled a seismic, immediate change 00:37:33.940 --> 00:37:36.050 from his predecessors. His papacy emphasized 00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:39.289 the need to accept, welcome, and accompany LGBTQ 00:37:39.289 --> 00:37:42.409 people, moving away from past rhetoric that focused 00:37:42.409 --> 00:37:45.630 solely on condemnation. This shift in tone led 00:37:45.630 --> 00:37:47.750 to high -profile recognition from outside the 00:37:47.750 --> 00:37:49.869 church hierarchy almost immediately. Francis 00:37:49.869 --> 00:37:52.090 was named the Advocate's Person of the Year in 00:37:52.090 --> 00:37:55.909 2013, an American LGBTQ magazine. And he took 00:37:55.909 --> 00:37:58.469 concrete steps, publicly denouncing the criminalization 00:37:58.469 --> 00:38:01.929 of homosexuality globally as unjust and a sin. 00:38:02.210 --> 00:38:05.880 So we have this constant delicate balance. doctrine 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.639 versus pastoral care. He supported civil unions, 00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:11.940 but maintained the traditional definition of 00:38:11.940 --> 00:38:14.880 marriage. Exactly. He reiterated that marriage 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:17.179 is exclusively between a man and a woman, based 00:38:17.179 --> 00:38:20.170 on procreation and complementarity. But he supported 00:38:20.170 --> 00:38:23.110 civil unions for same sex couples as necessary 00:38:23.110 --> 00:38:25.969 legal protections. He separated the legal sphere 00:38:25.969 --> 00:38:28.349 from the sacramental. And under his pontificate, 00:38:28.369 --> 00:38:31.150 the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith confirmed 00:38:31.150 --> 00:38:33.570 that transgender people could be baptized under 00:38:33.570 --> 00:38:36.150 certain conditions. Showing a strong desire for 00:38:36.150 --> 00:38:38.809 acceptance and integration of individuals. And 00:38:38.809 --> 00:38:41.130 the ultimate, most controversial expression of 00:38:41.130 --> 00:38:43.829 that pastoral shift was fiducia supplicans. Which 00:38:43.829 --> 00:38:46.210 we discussed earlier, allowing for the blessing 00:38:46.210 --> 00:38:48.710 of individuals in same -sex relationships. A 00:38:48.710 --> 00:38:51.030 decree which specifically blessed the individuals 00:38:51.030 --> 00:38:54.090 in irregular relationships, emphasizing mercy 00:38:54.090 --> 00:38:56.449 for the person without approving the union itself. 00:38:56.789 --> 00:38:59.630 It was the theological tightrope walk writ large. 00:38:59.969 --> 00:39:02.929 However, this shift was not without major contradictions 00:39:02.929 --> 00:39:05.090 and confusing messaging, particularly around 00:39:05.090 --> 00:39:07.750 gender issues. Which drew criticism from both 00:39:07.750 --> 00:39:10.050 liberals. liberals and conservatives. He faced 00:39:10.050 --> 00:39:11.909 criticism for suggesting gay children should 00:39:11.909 --> 00:39:14.690 seek psychiatric treatment, though he later rescinded 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:17.170 that statement. And he frequently criticized 00:39:17.170 --> 00:39:20.909 what he termed gender ideology. He did. He described 00:39:20.909 --> 00:39:23.690 gender affirming education and theory as ideological 00:39:23.690 --> 00:39:27.210 colonization, stating that ideology nullifies 00:39:27.210 --> 00:39:29.630 differences between men and women. But he made 00:39:29.630 --> 00:39:32.250 an effort to clarify that his criticism of the 00:39:32.250 --> 00:39:35.110 ideology was not a criticism of transgender people 00:39:35.110 --> 00:39:37.550 themselves. He was very careful to draw that 00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:40.530 distinction. He stated his criticism was directed 00:39:40.530 --> 00:39:43.010 at the ideology he saw as undermining the natural 00:39:43.010 --> 00:39:45.889 order, not a transgender people themselves who 00:39:45.889 --> 00:39:47.829 must be accepted and integrated into society. 00:39:48.880 --> 00:39:51.699 He privately met with many LGBTQ people and activists 00:39:51.699 --> 00:39:54.059 throughout his papacy, demonstrating that dual 00:39:54.059 --> 00:39:56.659 approach, maintaining the doctrinal lines while 00:39:56.659 --> 00:39:58.639 practicing radical acceptance of the individual. 00:39:58.980 --> 00:40:01.420 Let's turn to the final phase of his papacy, 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:04.179 which was defined by increasing physical frailty 00:40:04.179 --> 00:40:06.519 and a final burst of institutional reckoning. 00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:09.559 Francis entered his papacy already having survived 00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:11.780 that life -threatening illness that cost him 00:40:11.780 --> 00:40:14.400 part of a lung. His final years were marked by 00:40:14.400 --> 00:40:17.349 recurrent chronic health issues. chronic lung 00:40:17.349 --> 00:40:20.389 damage, severe knee problems, sciatica. Starting 00:40:20.389 --> 00:40:23.289 in 2022, he was forced to frequently use a wheelchair, 00:40:23.590 --> 00:40:26.869 a walker, or a cane for public appearances. And 00:40:26.869 --> 00:40:29.230 he didn't hide his condition, describing it as 00:40:29.230 --> 00:40:33.199 a new, slower phase of his papacy. And disability 00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:35.860 advocates widely praised him for making his disability 00:40:35.860 --> 00:40:38.280 visible, challenging the historical norm of a 00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:40.800 pope who must appear physically robust. He also 00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:43.199 endured multiple hospitalizations. A respiratory 00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:46.340 infection and abdominal surgery in 2023, and 00:40:46.340 --> 00:40:49.000 then a severe polymicrobial infection and bilateral 00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:52.440 pneumonia in early 2025, which required mechanical 00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:54.639 ventilation. And yet he continued working right 00:40:54.639 --> 00:40:56.800 until his last public appearance on Easter Sunday, 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:00.230 April 20, 2025. His commitment to institutional 00:41:00.230 --> 00:41:02.789 reckoning regarding the clergy sexual abuse scandal 00:41:02.789 --> 00:41:05.730 was also a defining late -stage element of his 00:41:05.730 --> 00:41:08.730 papacy. Absolutely. He apologized for sexual 00:41:08.730 --> 00:41:11.550 abuse by clergy in the U .S., Ireland, and Canada, 00:41:11.710 --> 00:41:15.309 and he issued the first Vatican apology for cultural 00:41:15.309 --> 00:41:18.090 genocide committed in Canadian residential schools 00:41:18.090 --> 00:41:22.110 in 2022. And crucially, he abolished pontifical 00:41:22.110 --> 00:41:26.070 secrecy in abuse cases in 2019. A critical procedural 00:41:26.070 --> 00:41:29.489 step toward transparency. It clarified that bishops 00:41:29.489 --> 00:41:32.130 do not need Vatican authorization to turn over 00:41:32.130 --> 00:41:34.840 materials to civil law enforcement. And he took 00:41:34.840 --> 00:41:37.320 the unusual step of publicly thanking journalists 00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:39.599 for their role in uncovering the scandals. He 00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:42.360 did. He thanked them for helping us not to sweep 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:44.199 it under the carpet and for the voice you have 00:41:44.199 --> 00:41:46.340 given to the abuse victims. However, the sources 00:41:46.340 --> 00:41:49.139 also note that even late in his life, issues 00:41:49.139 --> 00:41:51.360 of accountability continue to draw scrutiny. 00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:54.119 They did. The handling of cases like Cardinal 00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:56.400 Jean -Pierre Ricard or the artist Father Marco 00:41:56.400 --> 00:41:58.679 Rupnik showed that the Vatican's commitment to 00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:01.300 full justice was still a work in progress. Francis 00:42:01.300 --> 00:42:04.219 died on Easter Monday, April 21st, 2020. 25 at 00:42:04.219 --> 00:42:06.559 the age of 88. His cause of death was attributed 00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:09.159 to a cerebral stroke. coma, and cardiac arrest. 00:42:09.400 --> 00:42:12.380 And his final wishes regarding his burial were 00:42:12.380 --> 00:42:15.000 themselves unconventional, fitting his lifelong 00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:17.179 rejection of pomp. He didn't want to be buried 00:42:17.179 --> 00:42:20.239 at St. Peter's Basilica. No, his spiritual testament 00:42:20.239 --> 00:42:23.179 stipulated his desire to be buried at the Basilica 00:42:23.179 --> 00:42:26.579 of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. This made him 00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:29.059 the first pope to be interred there since Clement 00:42:29.059 --> 00:42:33.579 IX in 1669. A final symbolic act eschewing the 00:42:33.579 --> 00:42:36.900 primary monumental symbol of papal power. for 00:42:36.900 --> 00:42:39.739 a basilica dedicated to Mary, the mother of God. 00:42:39.900 --> 00:42:42.840 Ultimately, his legacy is one of radical change 00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:45.360 achieved through immense political and theological 00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:48.840 risk. He fundamentally changed the future direction 00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:51.420 of the church. He irrevocably changed the College 00:42:51.420 --> 00:42:54.079 of Cardinals by appointing over 80 % of the electors 00:42:54.079 --> 00:42:57.179 for his successor. He significantly reduced the 00:42:57.179 --> 00:42:59.860 European share from a majority to a plurality, 00:42:59.960 --> 00:43:02.400 prioritizing men from the Global South and Asia 00:43:02.400 --> 00:43:04.960 who shared his pastoral vision. He formalized 00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:07.099 the Church's commitment to the worldwide abolition 00:43:07.099 --> 00:43:09.019 of the death penalty. And while he maintained 00:43:09.019 --> 00:43:11.619 the prohibition on female ordination, he made 00:43:11.619 --> 00:43:14.159 massive strides in increasing women's presence 00:43:14.159 --> 00:43:16.679 in governance and institutional functions. He 00:43:16.679 --> 00:43:19.239 was a pope who simultaneously simplified the 00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:21.340 appearance of the office, living in a guest house, 00:43:21.539 --> 00:43:24.880 refusing traditional garb, while immensely complicit 00:43:24.880 --> 00:43:25.940 in the complicating the internal theological 00:43:25.940 --> 00:43:29.460 landscape. He leveraged optics to force substance. 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:31.980 That's a good way to put it. So we have charted 00:43:31.980 --> 00:43:34.480 the life of Pope Francis, a figure defined by 00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:37.599 radical simplicity, a deep pastoral connection 00:43:37.599 --> 00:43:40.360 to the marginalized, and an unprecedented willingness 00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:42.760 to engage in institutional warfare to change 00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:45.380 the church's priorities. He was unafraid to steer 00:43:45.380 --> 00:43:47.639 the church through intense theological disagreement, 00:43:48.039 --> 00:43:50.860 prioritizing global diplomatic engagement and 00:43:50.860 --> 00:43:53.530 environmental action. The narrative of Francis 00:43:53.530 --> 00:43:56.530 is compelling because of his humility. The accountant's 00:43:56.530 --> 00:43:59.010 son and former bouncer who insisted on paying 00:43:59.010 --> 00:44:01.909 his own hotel bill as pope. He consistently criticized 00:44:01.909 --> 00:44:04.869 economic systems built on pure greed, arguing 00:44:04.869 --> 00:44:07.610 that the true measure of a society is its care 00:44:07.610 --> 00:44:09.989 for the suffering. And that leads us to our final 00:44:09.989 --> 00:44:12.889 thought for you to explore. Francis often criticized 00:44:12.889 --> 00:44:15.389 systems of financial inequality and concentration 00:44:15.389 --> 00:44:18.530 of wealth. His final personal act, noted in the 00:44:18.530 --> 00:44:21.070 sources, was donating his entire personal wealth, 00:44:21.210 --> 00:44:24.730 about $200 ,000, to support a pasta -making project 00:44:24.730 --> 00:44:27.329 at a youth prison. So considering his dual experience 00:44:27.329 --> 00:44:29.849 managing bankruptcy in Buenos Aires and reforming 00:44:29.849 --> 00:44:32.369 the opaque Vatican Bank, what deeper systemic, 00:44:32.650 --> 00:44:35.489 economic or structural changes beyond simply 00:44:35.489 --> 00:44:38.849 reforming the Curia or supporting UBI might Francis 00:44:38.849 --> 00:44:41.050 have pursued if he had enjoyed an unimpeded longer 00:44:41.050 --> 00:44:43.349 papacy? Could he have attempted to fundamentally 00:44:43.349 --> 00:44:45.929 alter the church's own vast global financial 00:44:45.929 --> 00:44:48.630 holdings to align with his critiques of pure 00:44:48.630 --> 00:44:51.090 greed? That is something for you to mull or explore 00:44:51.090 --> 00:44:52.809 on your own. Thank you for joining us on The 00:44:52.809 --> 00:44:53.230 Deep Dive.