Ten years in: Pope Francis’s top soundbites

Thursday, March 2nd, 2023

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis almost ten years ago, the world was immediately captivated by his vibrant personality, his simplicity, his love of the poor, and the fresh, and frankly, unusual papal vocabulary he has often adopted.

From his first buona sera to his occasional mother-in-law jokes, to his use of symbolic imagery and his shoot-from-the-hip quips, some of which have gotten him into trouble, Pope Francis has been a soundbite machine.

While he has become more scripted the longer his papacy has gone on, his frank and easy style of conversation, and his simple language and warm engagement with both members of the public and political leaders, were initially among most appealing aspects of Francis after his election.

He was elected pope March 13, 2013, ushering in a string of ‘firsts’ for the Catholic Church.

Not only had the church experienced the first papal resignation in 600 years, with Benedict XVI’s historic decision to step down from the papacy, but the church also got its first Jesuit pope and its first Latin American pope.

Thanks to the growth of social media platforms over the past decade, Francis is also the first real ‘digital’ pope, in the sense that he has accounts on most major social networks and thus has a higher global visibility than most of his predecessors likely did, meaning he quickly gained a reputation for the colorful soundbites he has often let fly.

Some of his remarks seemed odd or humorous, such as his declaration to believers during a general audience address in May 2013 that Christians should be joyful, rather than having a face like a “pickled pepper.”

Many of his comments have been appreciated, such as his description of God’s love as a “caress” and his focus on forgiveness, and others less so, such as his flap on a handful of occasions that women are “the cherry on top of the cake,” and thus need to be more fully included in the church.

Yet of all the quotes Pope Francis has given the church over the years, some stand out either because of the publicity they gained, or the relevance they hold to the overall tone of his papacy.

Here is a rundown of some of the top papal soundbites since 2013:

Hacer Lío

During his first international trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2013 – an appointment Pope Francis assumed after the resignation of his predecessor’s resignation – the new pope from the new world held a special meeting with Argentine youth, telling them to hacer lío, which is Argentine slang that translates roughly as “make a mess” or “wreak havoc.”

“I want the church to go out to the streets,” he said, lamenting high youth unemployment and warning young people to guard themselves against “all worldliness, opposition to progress, from that which is comfortable, from that which is clericalism, from all that which means being closed up in ourselves.”

Over the years, many critics have argued, with a sense of irony, that Pope Francis throughout much of his papacy has followed his own advice, making a “mess” of things with his ambiguity on matters such as communion for the divorced and remarried or any number of things, while admirers have defended this ‘go out to the streets’ style as a necessary opening bringing the church into the 21st century.

Either way, this bite made waves at the time, and has been emblematic of much of Pope Francis’s own style, at least in the early years of his papacy.

Who am I to judge?

On his return flight from that Rio trip in 2013, Pope Francis raised eyebrows when, in response to a question on homosexual clergy, he said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

For many, it was a shocking statement from the leader of a global institution still largely considered as homophobic by significant portions of society, and where many homosexual individuals have struggled to find welcome and acceptance.

This one line is perhaps the most famous of all Pope Francis’s soundbites over the years, and it has come to represent his broader outreach to the LGBTQ community throughout his 10 years as pope.

Though he has not changed official church teaching or even publicly green-lighted blessings for same-sex couples, he has repeatedly stressed the need to be more welcoming and inclusive toward homosexual Catholics and has repeatedly met with Catholic LGBTQ groups and activists, including his fellow Jesuit, Father James Martin.

The smell of the sheep

Yet another famous papal soundbite that Francis has continually recycled throughout his time in office is for priests to take on “the smell of the sheep,” being pastors close to their people, rather than administrators governing from a stale, cold office.

He first uttered the phrase in a Chrism Mass barely two weeks after his election in March 2013, telling priests in an off-the-cuff remark during his homily that, “This is what I am asking you, be shepherds with the smell of sheep.”

This one soundbite neatly sums up Pope Francis’s entire approach to pastoral care and practice, and it quickly set the tone for his expectations of the clergy under his guidance.

Church as a field hospital

Perhaps one of the most poignant images of the church that Pope Francis has conjured was his description early on of the church as “a field hospital” during an interview with Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit-run magazine La Civiltà Cattolica, in August 2013.

During that conversation, which took place in three different meetings, Francis said, “The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle.”

“It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else,” he said.

In this one soundbite, Pope Francis painted out his entire vision for the church’s role, and that of its pastors, in the world, which has underpinned much of his own pastoral decisions, including, among other things, those coming out of the 2014 and 2015 Synods of Bishops on the Family (communion for the divorced and remarried), the Synod on the Amazon (protecting indigenous populations), and even his outreach to the LGBTQ community.

Breeding like ‘rabbits’

Pope Francis raised eyebrows again, and created a significant amount of backlash when on a return flight from the Philippines in 2015 he told reporters that good Catholics should practice “responsible” parenting, and did not need to breed like “rabbits.”

He had been asked about the church’s stance against artificial birth control, given that during the trip he had met with a group of children who’d been abandoned because their parents could not take care of them.

Francis in his response remained firm against artificial birth control, saying new life was part of the sacrament of marriage, but cautioned that, “Some people think that … in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits.

“No. Parenthood is about being responsible. This is clear.”

To this end, he referred to the case of a woman he’d met who had seven children by Caesarean section and was expecting her eighth, saying the pregnancy was irresponsible because it put the mother’s health and that of her unborn child at risk, while she already had so many who needed her, and noted that population experts had advised three children per family.

This papal remark, while eliciting a few grins, caused enormous backlash amongst the pro-life community, especially the American Catholic prolife movement, who viewed the pope’s comment as critical and offensive.

It arguably marked the undeniable beginning of the end of the honeymoon phase for Francis, particularly with conservative American Catholics. Continue reading