Over 12 profoundly consequential years for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis steered it into uncharted territory and did so in ways that will resonate long into the future.
The pontiff worked to soften the face of the Catholic Church for many, loosened the Vatican’s grip on power and intervened in some of the major social questions of our time.
Within Catholicism, he certainly had his critics; some traditionalists in particular were often enraged by actions they felt were a radical departure from Church teaching.
Despite him being a vocal pacifist and critic of actions by major nations that he perceived as harmful, there were also those who felt he should have been more progressive.
But from the moment he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis came with an informality and a smile that put the people he met at their ease. It was symbolic of a principle that guided his belief that the Church should reach people in their daily lives, wherever in the world they happened to be.
“At the beginning of my papacy I had the feeling that it would be brief: no more than three or four years, I thought,” Pope Francis said in his autobiography Hope, released in January 2025, a book that gives us insight into the Pope’s own reflections on his legacy.
Some saw this as a sign he was giving up the ostentatious trappings of papacy, and of the humility he would certainly become known for – he had, after all, taken the name of a saint who championed the cause of the poor.
But the main reason for surrendering the papal apartment, as he later explained it, pointed to another of his characteristics: that he loved being around people.
To him, the apartment felt detached and a difficult place in which to welcome guests. At the guesthouse he was surrounded by clergy and rarely alone for long.
On foreign trips to more than 60 countries, in his audiences at the Vatican and during countless events, it was very clear that being close to people, and particularly the young, was his lifeblood.
“Everyone in the Church is invited, including people who are divorced, including people who are homosexual, including people who are transgender,” he wrote in his autobiography.
Given that the Church did not recognise divorce in its canon law and that previous popes had talked of homosexuality as a disorder not “a human fact”, as Pope Francis did, this was a departure that again concerned traditionalists.
But the Pope appeared to want the Church to explore and understand people’s every day struggles in a fresh light. He acknowledged his own journey in seeing things differently to the way he had done in the past.
Progressives welcomed the Pope’s compassion for what he called “imperfect Catholics”, but there was also a recognition more broadly that words of acceptance from a pontiff could have an effect on those outside the Church too.
“The first time that a group of transgender people came to the Vatican, they left in tears, moved because I had taken their hands, had kissed them… as if I had done something exceptional for them! But they are daughters of God,” he wrote in Hope.
Pope Francis roundly condemned countries that consider homosexuality a crime, and he talked of divorce sometimes being “morally necessary”, citing cases of domestic abuse.
Homosexual “acts” remain a sin in Catholicism, marriage can still only be between a man and a woman, divorce is still not officially recognised and the Pope himself remained very firmly against gender reassignment and surrogacy.
Throughout his papacy, and long before that, Pope Francis also always remained firm in his own belief that women should not be priests.
He did however describe the Church as “female” and encouraged parishes around the world to find more leadership roles for women in ways that were consistent with the Catholic teaching that does not currently allow women to be ordained.
In 2021 Sister Raffaella Petrini was appointed secretary general of the papal state and under Pope Francis the Vatican did start an ongoing process of exploring whether women could take up the role of deacon, assisting in worship services.
EPA
Sister Raffaella Petrini seen alongside a cardinal
Nevertheless, some reformists were left disappointed that more progress was not made regarding equality for women, in a faith where the majority of churchgoers are women.
During the latter part of his papacy, the Pope launched an ambitious three-year consultation process aimed at gauging the opinion of as many of the world’s more-than-a-billion Catholics as possible.
There were tens of thousands of listening sessions across the globe, meant to tease out the issues that Catholics most cared about. It transpired that roles for women and ways in which the Church could become more inclusive to LGBT+ Catholics were high on the list.
While the process itself did not lead to decisive action on either front, it did speak volumes about Pope Francis’ desire that his pontificate was rooted not in Rome and in clerics but in the lives of believers around the world.
A complex legacy
Throughout his papacy, there was a particular focus on reaching out to those on the economic and political margins, his words and actions encouraging his priests to be closer to the disadvantaged.
On occasions, to some Catholic traditionalists, the Pope’s outreach appeared inappropriate for someone of his position, like his visit to a centre for asylum seekers outside Rome in spring 2016 when he washed and kissed the feet of refugees that included Muslims, Hindus and Coptic Christians.
Greek Prime Minister’s Office
Pope Francis meets migrants on April 16, 2016 in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos
As well as becoming a passionate voice for migrants – once going to lay a wreath on the waters where many had died on their perilous journeys – he also linked the impact of climate change to poverty.
In speeches, including one to US Congress, and in one of his most important pieces of work, the decree Laudato Si, Pope Francis talked of environmental damage amounting to rich countries inflicting harm on poor ones.
Vehemently anti-war, the Pope frequently talked of conflict itself equating to failure.
He called the war in Gaza “terrorism” and from early on he implored that there be a ceasefire.
He met the families of the Israelis abducted by Hamas on 7 October 2023, but also spoke passionately about the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, particularly children, and made daily calls to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
But sometimes a longing to build bridges was seen by some observers as getting in the way of Pope Francis taking a firm stance against wrongdoing.
From the very start of his papacy, he also faced huge tasks confronting misconduct much closer to home.
The scourge of corruption had long dogged the upper echelons of the Catholic Church. Early on, Pope Francis closed thousands of unauthorised Vatican bank accounts, and in the latter half of his time he introduced new rules on financial transparency.
It was in the way he dealt with the horrors of child sexual abuse by those associated with the Catholic Church that made it clear he knew it was something he would be judged by.
“From the very start of my papacy, I felt I was being called to take responsibility for all the evil committed by certain priests,” he wrote in Hope.
As an illustration of the scale of the problem that remains, in 2020 the Catholic Church released lists of living members of clergy in the US alone found to have been accused of sexual abuses – these included clergy linked to child pornography and rape. There were around 2,000.
“With shame and repentance, the Church must seek pardon for the terrible damage that those clergy have caused with their sexual abuse of children, a crime that causes deep wounds of pain,” he recently wrote.
AFP
Pope Francis greeting cardinals on Easter Sunday 2025
Among other initiatives, Pope Francis introduced rules that meant members of the Church had a responsibility to report on abuse if they had knowledge of it, otherwise they risked being removed from their positions.
Though he made errors of judgement, on occasions publicly supporting clergy even though they were alleged to have failed to deal with abuse, Pope Francis was quick to apologise for his own mistakes and for the deep failings of the Church.
Both at the Vatican and abroad he would frequently meet with Church abuse victims. Saying “sorry” for abuse was the prime focus of some foreign trips.
A huge part of Pope Francis’ legacy is the way in which he changed the face of the upper echelons of the Catholic Church through his selection of new cardinals.
In fact, about 80% of the cardinals that will select the next pope were appointed by Pope Francis. What is striking about those selections is their diversity, with many coming from South America, Africa and Asia.
It was part of Pope Francis’ mission to consolidate a change in the centre of gravity of Catholicism away from Europe, where it was in decline, towards the places it was thriving, and to reflect that in Church leadership.
The posthumous outpouring of tributes to him from across the globe is perhaps one sign that shift is working.
Top picture credit: Reuters
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Harvard graduates celebrated commencement on Thursday at a pivotal time for the Ivy League school, as a federal judge extended an order blocking U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s attempt to bar the university from enrolling foreign students.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order on the government action. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security last week after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Mass.
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced a new effort to revoke Harvard’s certification to enrol foreign students. In a letter sent by the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Todd Lyons, the government gave Harvard 30 days to respond to the alleged grounds for withdrawal, which include accusations that Harvard co-ordinated with foreign entities and failed to respond sufficiently to antisemitism on campus.
On campus, graduating students cheered speakers who stressed the importance of maintaining a diverse and international student body while standing up for the truth.
While other schools have faced the loss of federal funding and their ability to enrol international students if they don’t agree to the Trump administration’s shifting demands, Harvard, founded more than a century before the nation itself, has taken the lead in defying the White House in court.
WATCH | Judge halts Trump’s attempt to block foreign students at Harvard:
Judge halts Trump plan to block foreign students at Harvard
U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s ban on Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students. Foreign students comprise up to one-quarter of Harvard’s student body, among them hundreds of Canadians.
‘Diversity is our strength’
Harvard president Alan Garber, who has repeatedly defended the school’s actions, didn’t directly touch on the Trump administration threats when he addressed the graduates Thursday. But he did get a rousing applause when he referenced the university’s global reach, noting that it is “just as it should be.”
Several of the graduating speakers spoke more directly about the challenges facing the school and society.
Harvard president Alan Garber acknowledges an extended round of applause during the university’s commencement ceremonies, Thursday in Cambridge. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press)
Speaking in Latin, salutatorian Aidan Robert Scully delivered a speech laced with references to Trump policies.
“I say this: … Neither powers nor princes can change the truth and deny that diversity is our strength,” Scully said.
It was a sentiment echoed by Yurong Luanna Jiang, a Chinese graduate who studied international development.
“When I met my 77 classmates from 32 different countries, the countries I knew only as colourful shapes on a map turned into real people, with laughter, dreams and the perseverance to survive the long winter in Cambridge,” she said of the other students in her international development program.
Praise for school’s president
On Wednesday, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the “Class Day” speaker, and the basketball legend and activist specifically called out the actions of Garber for praise.
“After seeing so many cowering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip-mining the U.S. Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard University take a stand for freedom,” he continued.
Basketball Hall of Famer and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds up an honourary degree during Harvard University’s commencement ceremonies, on Thursday. He spoke the previous day, supporting the school’s resistance to the Trump administration demands. (Charles Krupa/The Associated Press)
The administration’s threats have included pulling federal funds that are allocated for scientific and medical research.
“Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard, and it is hard to see the link between that and, say, antisemitism,” Garber said this week in an interview with NPR.
Garber commissioned internal reports on antisemitism and anti-Arab prejudice at the school last year, a year in which Harvard students set up tents called on the university to divest from companies supporting Israel’s military, which has levelled Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas. Hundreds of graduating students last year walked out commencement chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
This year, the anti-war demonstrations have largely faded from view, but protesters held a silent vigil a few hours before Thursday’s ceremony. Holding signs that read “Ceasefire Now” and “Not Another Bomb,” protesters stood silently along the walls of Harvard.
Students face uncertainty, harassment: Harvard official
In April, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to the school demanding a range of records related to foreign students, including discipline records and anything related to “dangerous or violent activity.”
Harvard says it complied. But on May 22, Noem sent a letter saying the school’s response fell short. She said Harvard was being pulled from the federal program that allows colleges to sponsor international students to get U.S. visas. It took effect immediately and prevented Harvard from hosting foreign students in the upcoming school year.
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Canadian Harvard University student Thomas Mete describes the turmoil he’s experiencing as the Trump administration attempts to ban international students. Speaking to The National, Mete says he’s watching developments closely as he ‘doesn’t have a plan B.’
In its lawsuit, Harvard argued that the government failed to follow administrative procedures and regulations that dictate how schools may be removed from eligibility to host international students, which including giving schools the opportunity to appeal and a 30-day window to respond. Wednesday’s notice is in line with those regulations.
Already, despite the restraining order, the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling international students have created an environment of “profound fear, concern and confusion,” the university’s director of immigration services said in a court filing on Wednesday.
Martin also said that international Harvard students arriving in Boston were sent to additional screening by Customs and Border Protection agents, and that international students seeking to obtain their visas were being denied or facing delays at consulates and embassies.
Separately, the Trump administration has announced plans to curtail student visas from China, regardless of their intended destination in the U.S. for post-secondary education.
Private universities should phase out federal grants and subsidies to ensure intellectual freedom, as the government’s funding of research inherently infringes on academic freedom.