2 weeks Ago
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had suffered various ailments in his 12-year papacy. Pope Francis changed the face of the modern papacy is more than any predecessor by shunning much of its pomp and privilege, but his attempts to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and less judgmental made him an enemy to conservatives nostalgic for a traditional past.
The Vatican said on Monday in a video statement that he had died. Francis inherited a deeply divided Church after the resignation in 2013 of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. The conservative-progressive gap became a chasm after Francis, from Argentina, was elected the first non-European pope in 1,300 years.
The polarization was fiercest in the United States, where conservative Catholicism often blended with well-financed right-wing politics and media outlets. (Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by Jagran English and has been published through a syndicated feed.).
