VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had recently survived a serious bout of double pneumonia.
"Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican's TV channel.
"At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father."
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013, surprising many Church watchers who had seen the Argentine cleric, known for his concern for the poor, as an outsider.
He sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the ornate papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his "psychological health".
He inherited a Church that was under attack over a child sex abuse scandal and torn by infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy, and was elected with a clear mandate to restore order.
But as his papacy progressed, he faced fierce criticism from conservatives, who accused him of trashing cherished traditions. He also drew the ire of progressives, who felt he should have done much more to reshape the 2,000-year-old Church.
While he struggled with internal dissent, Francis became a global superstar, drawing huge crowds on his many foreign travels as he tirelessly promoted interfaith dialogue and peace, taking the side of the marginalised, such as migrants.
Unique in modern times, there were two men wearing white in the Vatican for much of Francis' rule, with his predecessor Benedict opting to continue to live in the Holy See after his shock resignation in 2013 had opened the way for a new pontiff.
Benedict, a hero of the conservative cause, died in December 2022, finally leaving Francis alone on the papal stage.
Francis appointed nearly 80% of the cardinal electors who will choose the next pope correct as of February 2025, increasing the possibility that his successor will continue his progressive policies, despite the strong pushback from traditionalists.
the pope, a literal theocrat, the (former) leader of one of the world's most powerful religious institutions, literally described trans people as akin to nuclear weapons that would annihilate civilization. he literally compared the existence of a group of people, not their actions, but their existence alone, to humanity's most destructive, horrifying, and world ending weapons. the same group of people is heavily represented on this site. on seeing that some members of the group that the theocrat wanted to erase from existence are not exactly sad about this news, your immediate reaction was to compare the users of this site to the bloodthirsty architects and boosters of the iraq war. and now you're complaining about being dogpiled. if you are actually confused by the reaction you're getting, I encourage you to read what I wrote again.
like your other antitrans-apologist comrade @Terrarium@hexbear.net, I'm giving you the sit down and stop talking challenge. post one more thing in the thread that isn't "you're right transcomrades, maybe I shouldn't be sticking up for the theocrat who described 80% of the hexbear userbase as a nuclear weapons just waiting to destroy civilization" and I will ban you also.
I made a further big change to the "Edit" section. Would you give it a read? I apologize for taking so much of your time, but I want to clarify things. I don't want to burn all bridges with Hexbear.
Thank you for making the effort.
You are welcome. It seems Lemmy lacks a reaction feature, so I upvoted your reply, and wrote this.