{"id":2425655,"date":"2025-04-21T08:41:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-pope-francis-dead-88\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T08:44:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:44:43","slug":"breaking-pope-francis-dead-88","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-pope-francis-dead-88\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Pope Francis Dead, 88"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbreaking-pope-francis-dead-88%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2425655&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Pope Francis, the first pontiff from the americas, passed away at the age of 88, as announced by the Vatican.His death was confirmed in a statement that expressed sorrow and highlighted his lifelong dedication to the Church and service to the marginalized. The pope had recently experienced health issues, including respiratory problems and had made a public appearance just days before his death.<\/p>\n<p>His papacy,lasting 12 years,was characterized by meaningful changes and controversies within the Catholic Church,including efforts to liberalize church policies on social issues and address the clergy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/high-ranking-priest-resigns-over-grindr-data-linking-him-to-las-vegas-gay-bathhouse\/\" title=\"High-Ranking Priest Resigns Over Grindr Data Linking Him To Las Vegas\u2019 \u2018Gay Bathhouse\u2019\">sexual abuse scandal<\/a>. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, he became the first Jesuit pope and was known for his advocacy of compassionate outreach, including support for same<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/all-european-union-nations-must-legally-recognize-same-sex-parents-court-rules\/\" title=\"All European Union Nations Must Legally Recognize Same-Sex Parents, Court Rules\">-sex civil unions<\/a> and easing conditions for divorced individuals to receive Communion.<\/p>\n<p>Despite attempts to modernize the Church&#8217;s stance on various issues, he faced criticism from conservatives unhappy with these shifts in doctrine. His death marks the end of an impactful papacy, with the next conclave for electing a new pope expected within weeks following his passing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis, the first pontiff from the Americas and a noted social reformer within the Roman Catholic church, has died at the age of 88, the Vatican announced early Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,&rdquo; the Vatican said in a statement, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/pope-francis-has-died-the-vatican-says-12890455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sky News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;At 7:35 a.m. this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He taught us to live the values &#8203;&#8203;of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized,&rdquo; the statement continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-surprise-appearance-at-st-peters-square-on-easter-sunday-pope-francis-has-died-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"After surprise appearance at St. Peter\u2019s Square on Easter Sunday, ... has died - Washington Examiner\">infinite merciful love<\/a> of the One and Triune God.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The pope had been in and out of the hospital in recent months with respiratory issues. He last appeared on Sunday in a wheelchair on the balcony of St. Peter&rsquo;s Basilica in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/vatican-expels-texas-church-mother-superior-breaks-vows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Vatican<\/a>, waving and wishing the crowd a &ldquo;happy Easter,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/04\/21\/world\/pope-francis-updates-vatican\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis also met with Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic, earlier in the day. The visit was described by Vatican officials as &ldquo;brief.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X, Vance said that he &ldquo;was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him.<\/p>\n<p>I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I&rsquo;ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JDVance\/status\/1914239114406191255?\">April 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis&rsquo; death brings to an end a 12-year papacy marked by enormous change and controversy within the Catholic church.<\/p>\n<p>Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the future pope was initially ordained as an archbishop in 1969. A Jesuit &mdash; the first Jesuit to become pope &mdash; his relationship with the Society of Jesus was strained in the early 1990s, and he was given a post in an outlying Argentine city. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncronline.org\/news\/vatican\/understand-pope-francis-look-jesuits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Catholic Register<\/a>, Bergolio called this &ldquo;a time of great interior crisis.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In 1998, he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and in 2001, Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal. He was originally considered one of the front-runners to replace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-pope-visits-romania-20-years-after-john-pauls-historic-trip\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John Paul II<\/a> upon his death in 2005, with <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20051001062114\/http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2005\/WORLD\/europe\/09\/23\/conclave.diary.ap\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reports<\/a> naming him as the third-runner up in the conclave balloting.<\/p>\n<p>However, when his predecessor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-benedict-xvi-reluctant-pope-chose-retire-dies-95\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pope Benedict XVI<\/a>, resigned in 2013, the conclave named Bergolio the next leader of the Roman Catholic church &mdash; the first pope from the Americas and from the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>Francis&rsquo; papacy was marked by the pontiff&rsquo;s attempts to liberalize the church on social issues and to grapple with the sexual abuse scandal that had rocked the church and its authority in the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p>Francis loosened the ban on divorced couples receiving Communion and supported same-sex civil unions. He also signaled a tentative acceptance of LGBT lifestyles, telling reporters in 2024, &ldquo;If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, as Sky News noted, he would come under attack from LGBT groups later in the same year for using an Italian-language gay slur during a closed-door meeting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Conservatives, including some cardinals and bishops, complained that the pope was blurring the lines on doctrine and even trying to change it,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/pope-francis-advocate-for-economic-and-social-justice-dies-at-88-103eeff3?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Wall Street Journal<\/a> noted. &ldquo;They also feared he would loosen the traditional celibacy requirement for Roman Catholic priests, though in 2020 he surprised most observers by deciding not to do so.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Francis would also greatly restrict the celebration of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-francis-angers-conservative-catholics-stunning-ban-latin-mass\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">traditional Latin Mass<\/a> in a move that was seen as a shot at conservatives within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Following the 2023 decision, Francis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/254268\/pope-francis-says-traditional-latin-mass-was-being-used-in-an-ideological-way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> the celebration of the traditional rite a &ldquo;reaction against the modern&rdquo; and &ldquo;backwardness,&rdquo; adding that it was &ldquo;a nostalgic disease.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, perhaps no issue so defined Francis&rsquo; papacy as the clergy sexual abuse scandal and how the pontiff reacted to it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Francis hardly mentioned the topic in the first year of his papacy. When he did set up an advisory body on child protection that included former victims of abuse, he didn&rsquo;t act on any of its principal recommendations, including creating a special tribunal to judge bishops who abused or covered up abuse,&rdquo; the Journal noted.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Bishops in the U.S. and a handful of other countries urged him to adopt their practice of permanently barring abusers from serving as priests across the whole church. Instead, he established a board that reduced the sentences of a large minority of abusers to periods as short as three years, reversing the policy of the previous pope.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The pope also came under fire for allegedly ignoring accusations of sexual misconduct against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who became an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncronline.org\/news\/people\/globe-trotting-cardinal-theodore-mccarrick-almost-84-and-working-harder-ever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">adviser to and emissary for Francis<\/a> after he retired as archbishop of Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, a torrent of allegations of sexual assault and grooming against McCarrick spanning decades became public; in June 2018, Pope Francis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/04\/us\/theodore-mccarrick-dead.html#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20as%20the%20allegations,into%20a%20secluded%20%E2%80%9Clife%20of\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ordered<\/a> McCarrick to serve a &ldquo;life of prayer and penance&rdquo; in seclusion and accepted his resignation from the College of Cardinals. He was eventually defrocked after a canonical trial found him guilty of abusing both minors and adult seminarians. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-vatican-omitted-part-of-popes-crucial-quote-about-mccarrick\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McCarrick<\/a> died earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>Francis had been ill for the last few years of his life, needing a wheelchair or a cane to get around on most occasions. Adding to his respiratory issues was the fact that, as a young man, he had part of one of his lungs removed.<\/p>\n<p>There had been hints as early as 2022 that he might step down. Those rumors intensified earlier this year when he was hospitalized in critical condition, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-francis-critical-condition-breaking-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">what was initially called<\/a> &ldquo;a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">long asthmatic respiratory crisis&#038;rdquo<\/a>; but which deepened into pneumonia and required a considerable time of convalescence and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>The possibility of stepping aside due to his illness and frailty was considered a possibility in the months leading up to his death. Francis himself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pope-preparing-resign-senior-vatican-cardinal-slip-italian-radio-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had previously praised<\/a> his predecessor for &ldquo;opening the door&rdquo; for papal resignation. &ldquo;It was such a very good thing for the church,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He told popes to stop in time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While it&rsquo;s unclear when the papal conclave to select the new head of the Roman Catholic church will begin, the process generally takes place between 15 to 20 days after the death or abdication of a pope.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pope Francis, the first pope from the Americas and a prominent advocate for social reform in the Roman Catholic Church, has passed away at 88, as announced by the Vatican on Monday morning. The Vatican expressed deep sorrow in a statement: \u201cDearest brothers and sisters, I must announce with great sadness the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 a.m. today, he returned to the house of the Father. His life was devoted to serving God and His Church.\u201d The statement continued to highlight his teachings on living out Gospel values with fidelity, courage, and love for all, especially those who are poor or marginalized. They commended Pope Francis&#8217;s soul to God&#8217;s infinite mercy.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, Pope Francis had faced health challenges related to respiratory issues. He made his last public appearance on Sunday in a wheelchair at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica during an Easter greeting to crowds. Earlier that day he met briefly with Vice President J.D. Vance; Vance later remarked on social media about seeing him despite his evident illness.<\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis&#8217;s death concludes a transformative 12-year papacy characterized by significant changes and controversies within the Church. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he became an archbishop in 1969 and was later appointed cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001 after serving as Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998.<\/p>\n<p>Elected pope following Benedict XVI&#8217;s resignation in 2013\u2014making him both the first pontiff from Latin America and from the Southern Hemisphere\u2014Francis sought to modernize church teachings on various social issues while addressing scandals such as clergy sexual abuse.<\/p>\n<p>His tenure included efforts like easing restrictions for divorced individuals receiving Communion and expressing support for same-sex civil unions while also facing criticism from conservative factions within the Church regarding these liberal stances.<\/p>\n<p>The handling of sexual abuse cases defined much of his papacy; initially slow to address these issues publicly but eventually establishing advisory bodies that included abuse survivors without fully implementing their recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years leading up to his passing due to ongoing health struggles\u2014including respiratory complications exacerbated by previous lung surgery\u2014there were speculations about potential resignation due to declining health conditions which intensified after critical hospitalizations earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>The timing for selecting a new pope will be determined soon after this announcement; typically occurring within two weeks following such events<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2425656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pope-Francis.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32327,33218,4133,34207,9367],"class_list":["post-2425655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-breaking-news","tag-death-announcement","tag-news","tag-pope-francis","tag-vatican"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pope-Francis.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2425655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2425659,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425655\/revisions\/2425659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2425656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2425655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2425655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2425655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}