A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
We can expect this week of news to be dominated by the memory of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
He was better known to the world as Pope Francis. When he was elected to his exalted post in 2013, he assumed the name of a saint, Francis of Assisi, who deliberately lived in poverty. And Francis cast an image of humility during years of strain and change within his church and around the world. He was humble then but not silent. He had much to say about both the church and the wider world.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, let's bring in NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Now, Jason, you've covered Pope Francis for years. What were some of the moments of his papacy that most stick with you?
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: Well, I think of a number of issues that he addressed during the 12 years that he was pope - immigrants and refugees, the environment, politics and gender and LGBTQ+ issues. In the area of immigrants, early in his papacy, he took a trip to the island of Lampedusa to highlight the plight of refugees in North Africa. Francis also traveled to the island of Lesbos to highlight refugees from the Middle East. He talked about refugees being especially close to the heart of God. And he reminded people of the biblical story that Jesus, Mary and Joseph, shortly after Jesus' birth, had to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill Jesus. And, A, he even drew attention to migrants and refugees right before the U.S. election, saying that U.S. Catholics should think about things like immigration in addition to issues such as abortion when they go to the polls.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, he was seen as a progressive in some ways.
DEROSE: Well, that's right, in other areas such as the environment. His first solo encyclical of his papacy was focused on the environment. It was about care for creation, which he said God created as good. And, you know, he focused on the environment because the poorest of the Earth are most directly affected by environmental degradation. This was all connected for him - desertification, flooding led to famine and poverty and people being displaced, and that leads to a global migrant crisis. So that leads back to his interest and concern about immigrants.
In the area of politics, he weighed in just earlier this year, you know, when Vice President JD Vance tried to say that Catholic teaching was to care for your family and your community before caring for others. And Pope Francis really called him to task for that. He said care is not about concentric circles, that a Christian cares for the most in need first. And that means one should focus on migrants and refugees, again getting back to that theme of his.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. To balance, though, his progressive stances, he also reaffirmed the all-male celibate priesthood and also upheld the church's abortion stance. So there was a balance there with Pope Francis. What do you think his legacy as pope will be here in the United States?
DEROSE: Well, I think he'll be remembered as the first pope from the Americas, of course, the first pope from outside Europe in more than 1,000 years. One of his legacies, I think, will be his openness to dialogue. You know, he just led this series of conversations within the church about how the church wants to exist, should exist and should talk to itself, listen to the people in the pews. It shouldn't be so top-down but should be much more bottom-up. He had an amazing appeal to younger people.
You know, when I would go out and talk to people of, you know, in their teens and 20s and early 30s, they really felt a connection to him. He was the pope of their life. I spoke with a number of younger Catholics, who we'll hear from later today on All Things Considered, about just that. And then, you know, I also think of a return to the church. Many people who had left, say, under the previous pope, Pope Benedict, who was stricter, Francis brought them back to the church. He brought a great deal of openness to them.
MARTÍNEZ: Popular around the world. What about, quickly, in the United States? Was he as well-liked in the U.S.?
DEROSE: You know, A, not just enormously popular among Catholics, but enormously popular with non-Catholics. He was a pastor first, and I think that really came through - a very different pope from Pope Benedict, who was much more top-down.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Jason, thank you.
DEROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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