Random Pope Francis's Greatest Achievements (22 items)

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  (#1) Increased Accountability In Sex Abuse Scandals

  Francis has taken a number of steps to crack down on the sex abuse that was rampant in the Catholic Church. He set up an eight-member committee to advise him on how to respond to the abuses, and has met with abuse victims on numerous occasions. He has also defrocked several bishops involved with sex crimes.
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  (#2) Denounced Human Trafficking

  Francis has denounced human trafficking and people smuggling in much harsher terms than his predecessors, calling it a disgrace, a crime against humanity, and a humiliation of those affected by it.
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  (#3) Embraced Interfaith Dialogue

  Francis has advocated good relations between the Catholic Church and Jewish and Muslim leaders since the beginning of his papacy. He's also attempted to heal schisms in Christianity, some of which are centuries old.
  
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  (#4) Opened The Church's Doors To The LGBT Community

  While Benedict XVI opined that homosexuality was evil, a disorder, and a "threat to global peace," Francis reversed course. He shocked the world when he asked reporters, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
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  (#5) Tackled Financial Corruption In The Vatican Bank

  Shortly after his election, Pope Francis created a Secretariat for the Economy to address waste, fraud, and incompetent accounting in the Vatican Bank. He even threatened to shut the bank down if it didn't become more transparent.
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  (#6) Included Women In The Ritual Of Foot Washing

  While foot washing has long been a Holy Thursday tradition in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was the first pontiff to include both women and Muslims, washing the feet of both at a youth prison in Rome for his first Easter. 
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  (#7) Allowed Priests To Forgive The "Sin Of Abortion"

  While Francis remains staunchly anti-abortion, he astounded Vatican watchers by allowing priests to grant forgiveness for women who have had them - normally a sin that demands excommunication.
  
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  (#8) Enforced Frugality In High-Ranking Bishops

  Francis has insisted on frugality in the Church. One of his first acts was to nix the bonuses usually paid to Vatican employees upon the election of a new Pope. A year into his papacy, he sacked the German "bling bishop" who reportedly spent over $40 million on a new residency.
  
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  (#9) Rejected The Trappings Of The Papacy

  Francis immediately set a different course than his predecessors, opting to live in a spare apartment next to St. Peter's Basilica, rather than the traditional Apostolic Palace. He also wears simpler vestments, as opposed to the ornate robes and enormous jeweled hats worn by others.
  
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  (#10) Emphasized The Danger Of Climate Change

  In June 2015, Francis made it clear that he felt climate change was a threat to both the Catholic Church and the Earth. He issued a 184-page encyclical about how environmental issues were putting the poor of the world at risk, and hoped to start a new dialog on what could be done. Right wing media and conservative Catholics attacked Francis for his stance.
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  (#11) Encouraged Parishes To Take In Migrants

  Pope Francis immediately addressed the migrant crisis in Europe, then later urged each parish around the world to take in even one refugee family. In keeping with the themes of his papacy, he asked for mercy on behalf of people in need of shelter. He also said that the Vatican personally would be taking in several families.
  
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  (#12) Revised The Process For Marriage Annulment

  In September 2015, Pope Francis radically revised the rules for marriage annulment, making the process - which has typically taken years and cost hundreds of dollars to complete - less bureaucratically cumbersome, faster, and virtually free.
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  (#13) Reached Out To The Russian Orthodox Church

  Francis has taken more significant steps to repair the almost 1,000-year-old schism between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches. He's set to be the first pope in history to meet with the the leader of the Russian Church. The February 2016 meeting in Cuba is the result of diplomatic heavy lifting by Francis, who told Patriarch Kiril in 2014, "I'll go wherever you want. You call me and I'll go."
  
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  (#14) Advocated For Economic Equality

  In his first apostolic exhortation, Francis took a hard-line stance against consumer greed, income inequality, and what he called "the idolatry of money." In response, Rush Limbaugh labeled the Pope a Marxist. 
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  (#15) Streamlined Vatican Bureaucracy

  Francis came to Rome as an outsider to papal politics, and set about to reform the Curia, the administrative body of the Vatican. He used his Christmas speech of 2014 to issue a staggering denunciation of a body bloated with excess, vanity, and greed. It was expected that within a year, Francis would start eliminating departments.
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  (#16) Rehabilitated The Image Of The Papacy

  Immediately after being elected, Francis set out to rehabilitate the image of the Pope, which had been tarnished by years of sex abuse scandals, Vatican intransigence, and the view of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, as cold and conservative. Francis spoke directly to people, used simple terminology, and demonstrated fluency in several languages.
  
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  (#17) Brokered A Diplomatic Thaw Between The US And Cuba

  Francis played a key role in the thaw in relations between the US and Cuba, sending letters to both Raul Castro and Barack Obama urging them to put aside the differences that had festered between the two for decades. The Vatican also hosted talks between representatives, allowing grievances to be aired in a neutral setting.
  
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  (#18) Took A Survey Of Bishops

  To prepare for a Vatican family conference, Francis ordered that local parishes be surveyed to see what the marriage and family concerns of rank-and-file Catholics were. The surveys, where they were filled out (American bishops blocked many of them from being sent in), opened up new avenues of discussion on what Catholics really think.
  
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  (#19) Spoke His Mind About Donald Trump

  In the midst of the 2016 US presidential primaries, Pope Francis, during a trip that included a mass at the US/Mexico border, made a statement about Republican candidate Donald Trump. The Pope said of Trump's strong stance on border control, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel."
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  (#20) Suggested Changes To The Lord's Prayer

  In December 2017, Pope Francis began calling for a slight adjustment to the Lord's Prayer. Currently, it says, "Lead us not into temptation"; Francis says that is incorrect, because God does not lead humans to sin. Instead, he suggested people pray with the line "do not let us fall into temptation."
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  (#21) Reportedly Told A Gay Man "God Loves You Like This"

  In April 2018, a victim of clerical sexual abuse, Jaun Carlos Cruz, spent three days at the Vatican with Pope Francis. During his visit, Cruz disclosed his status as a gay man and talked about how he was abused by a Chilean priest. 

  When describing his experience to CNN, Cruz said Pope Francis told him, "You know, Juan Carlos, that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say."
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  (#22) Declared The Death Penalty Inadmissible

  On July 2, 2018, Pope Francis spoke out against the death penalty. He called the death penalty "inadmissible" and said rehabilitation of criminals was the only thing that could truly benefit society. While the Catholic Church mostly condemned the death penalty previously, they did claim it was permissible as a last resort when there was no other way to protect a victim. 

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