Pope Francis dies at 88: Was he lenient towards sex offenders? He rejected ordination of women as priests because...

Born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents, Mario Jose Bergoglio and Regina Maria Sivori, Pope Francis will be remembered as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, who wanted to reform the internal administration of the Vatican and bring financial transparency. He will also be remembered for cutting the cost of the papacy by abolishing the bonuses paid to Vatican employees upon the election of a new pope. He saved millions of Euros and donated this money to charity. Pope Francis also abolished the EUR 25,000 annual bonus paid to the cardinals serving on the Board of Supervisors for the Vatican Bank. 

Working-class background

The eldest of five children, Bergoglio grew up in the working-class town of Flores, where his humble background shaped his future life and upbringing. After getting the training of a chemist and earning a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, he joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1958. He devoted himself to the study of philosophy at the Colegio Maximo de San Jose, and studied theology at the Facultad de Teologia de San Miguel before being ordained a priest in 1969.

From Bergoglio to Pope Francis

Through his hard work and sheer devotion, Bergoglio rose to the ranks of the Society of Jesus and became a provincial superior of Argentina’s Jesuits in 1973 at age 36. He held this position during the contentious "Dirty War" (1976–1983) in Argentina. He is praised and credited for protecting vulnerable priests, though he also came under scathing attacks for alleged inaction against human rights abuses.

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, Bergoglio chose his name after he became the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, at the age of 76. The newly elected Pope drew the attention of the world after he washed and kissed the feet of ten male and two female juvenile offenders imprisoned at Rome's Casal del Marmo detention facility. One of them was a female, and another was a female prisoner. He made history, as this was the first time that a pope had included women in this ritual. 

Pope Francis rejects ordination of women as priests

Pope Francis stirred a hornets' nest by rejecting the ordination of women as priests. Though he created the Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate in 2016, Pope Francis in interviews in 2023 and 2024 categorically rejected it. He said that "holy orders are reserved for men." He also added that "the fact that the woman does not access ministerial life is not a deprivation, because her place is much more important". 

Was he lenient to sex offenders?

Though Pope Francis was lenient towards alleged sex offenders in his early days, he convened a summit on sexual abuse in February 2019, organised by Hans Zollner. After some abuse survivors expressed disappointment that the summit did not result in concrete rules on abuse prevention, Pope Francis abolished the "pontifical secrecy" privilege in sexual abuse cases in 2019. He clarified that bishops do not need authorization from the Vatican to turn over materials from canonical trials upon request of civil law enforcement authorities.