Ever since assuming his identity as Pope Francis in 2013, Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been hailed by many—Catholics and non-Catholics alike—as the figurehead urgently needed by the increasingly disagreed-with Catholic Church. Indeed, Pope Francis’ austere lifestyle and progressive outlook on sexuality have made him one of the most popular pontiffs in recent times: named TIME’s and LGBT magazine The Advocate’s 2013 Person of the Year, as well as receiving some of the highest approval ratings around the world (Pew Research). Needless to say, these laurels are not direct reflections of his opinions; rather, they were achieved by way of his papal activity at home and abroad. At the same time, however, the Pope has began to come under fire for his statements regarding a number of happenings around the world. Although a religious figure, Pope Francis has garnered the support of many followers of other religions, and even that of many secular individuals. His support from non-Catholics can reasonably be attributed, at least in part, to his perceived openness and initiative with regards to interfaith dialogue. During his time as Archbishop in Buenos Aires, he maintained and documented a close relationship with rabbi Abraham Skorka in his book On Heaven and Earth. In it, he reveals their wish for the proliferation of interfaith dialogue, saying: “To dialogue, we must lower our defenses, open the doors to our home and offer human warmth”. On the day of his induction as pope, he continued to voice this sentiment while receiving a group of religious leaders of other faiths, who had come to honor his induction. During this encounter, he emphasized his desire for dialogue with both Muslim communities as well as non-religious ones, so as to “not let prevail the differences that separate and lacerate” (Religión Digital). With regard to his policies themselves, Pope Francis has led the Catholic Church through a number of sharp turns, many of them relating to ideas of sexuality: homosexuality, contraception, and sexual protection. Many Catholics seeking to reconcile increasingly popular liberal values with traditional Catholic belief may find relief in that, although not a proponent of gay marriage, the Pope does not discriminate against homosexuals: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?” (BBC) The Pope’s willingness to extend love and respect indiscriminately has been cited as one of the hallmarks of his papal policy. Though expectedly unwavering in his stand against aborting babies, Pope Francis has been on the vanguard of promoting sexual responsibility. This includes methods of planned parenthood, such as scheduled intercourse in or out of alignment with a woman’s ovulation, for the sake of preventing the engenderment of a child by a family not ready to care for it properly. (SOURCE) Moreover, Pope Francis has acknowledged the important role that sexual protection plays in ensuring the wellbeing of individuals. Despite being firm in his stance that artificial contraception is not the right way to combat sexual infections, he recognized the use case for, say, male prostitutes wishing to practice safe sex. On the other hand, the Pope has also recently become the subject of much criticism for his comments in response to the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo. During his flight to the Philippines, the Pope strongly defend freedom of speech and expression, but was sure to tack a significant asterisk at the end of that message: “If my good friend Doctor Gasparri speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched”. (BBC) What this meant was, then, that freedom of speech was still subject to a line that must not be crossed; implying to large or small degree understanding for the actions of the shooters. The Vatican was quick to issue a backpedaling statement denying this extrapolation, stressing that the Pope’s words were "spoken colloquially and in a friendly, intimate manner among colleagues and friends on the journey." (Associated Press) The pontiff has since then continued to condemn the attacks. This article was written by Steven Chien. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Wikipedia