Pope Francis Dies Leaving a Mixed Legacy Among Catholics
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Chart of the week: Encounters at the U.S. Southern Border have fallen 90% since Trump assumed office.
Time magazine released its list of the Top 100 Most Influential People of 2025.
Robots participated alongside humans in a half-marathon race in Beijing last weekend (video). Some of the robots finished the race, others collapsed, and one lost control and ran into the side barrier. China is a leader in robotics and has increasingly been showcasing its capabilities.
Pope Francis’ “No Whining” door sign: While clearing out Pope Francis’ apartment, a placard titled “No Whining” caught people's attention. The sign, which is intended to look like a no-smoking sign, says that complainers “are subject to developing a victim complex, resulting in a lowering...of their capacity to solve problems." It continues, "to be your best, you have to focus on your own potential and not on your limits, so stop whining and act to make your life better." The sign hung on his bedroom door for nearly 8 years throughout his papacy (read).
President Trump’s approval rating has fallen from 51% at the time of his inauguration to 46% this week (the rating is an average across several polls). Trump’s approval remains higher than it was during his first term.
Student Loan Collections: Beginning May 5, the Department of Education will resume collection efforts for defaulted student loans, which have been suspended since March 2020. For borrowers who don’t pay, the government can use enforcement mechanisms such as withholding federal tax returns, federal pensions, and wages. In total, there are about 42.7 million borrowers who owe $1.6T in government student loans. More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default and an additional 4 million are close to entering default. Less than 40% of borrowers are current on their payments.
The White House published a new website titled “Lab Leak: The True Origins of Covid-19” and took down the previous covid.gov page. The new site lists several criticisms of the Biden Administration’s response and health guidance during the pandemic, including social distancing, mask usage, and alleged obstruction during the House’s investigation of the pandemic. The House committee published its final report in December 2024.
Trump meme coin offer: The official $TRUMP meme coin jumped more than 50% in price this week after the announcement that the top 220 holders will be invited to attend a private dinner at the White House with the president on May 22. Despite the increase, the value of the meme coin has fallen over 80% since its launch shortly before the inauguration. The coin’s official website says, “CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of The Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC collectively own 80% of the Trump Cards.” The two entities receive revenue from the trading activity of the meme coin. It’s not clear if or how the president personally profits from the operation.
More: The Financial Times has previously reported that the creators of $TRUMP made over $350M from selling the coin in the weeks following its launch in January.
Elon Musk is set to leave the White House and phase out his work with DOGE in the coming weeks. Musk will return to focusing on Tesla, whose stock price and profits have plummeted in the past year. Musk was a “special government employee,” which allowed him to work for President Trump for 130 days a year with or without pay. “He was a tremendous help, both in the campaign and what he’s done with DOGE,” Trump told reporters (video). Trump says the department will continue its work once Musk is gone.
More: To date, DOGE says it has saved more than $160B through government cuts and improved efficiency. They estimate they have saved nearly $1,000 per taxpayer, according to their website.
Russia-Ukraine fighting intensifies: At least 12 people were killed during an hours-long air raid over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, on Thursday. It was the deadliest assault in Kyiv since July of 2024 and drew criticism from President Trump. The strikes hit five neighborhoods and injured more than 90 people. Trump wrote, “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”
More: Early Friday morning, top Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed outside his apartment by a hidden bomb believed to have been placed by Ukraine. The news comes as Trump’s special negotiating envoy, led by Steve Witkoff, arrives to meet with Putin today in Moscow.
Pope Francis Dies, Leaving a Mixed Legacy Among Catholics
What happened?
In the early morning hours of Easter Monday, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church died at the age of 88. Just one day prior, Pope Francis had ridden through St. Peter's Square in his popemobile, greeting Catholics celebrating Easter Sunday (video).
Francis, who held the papal chair Catholics believe has been passed down since St. Peter, was elected pope in 2013 after the surprising resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who lived for the majority of Francis’ papacy before dying in 2022.
Early years: Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born to Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was the oldest of five children.
What will be the legacy of Francis?
Pope Francis began his papacy urging Catholics to go to the “peripheries” to reach the marginalized, the immigrant, the poor, and the places and people of the world most forgotten.
He chose a simpler approach to the papacy. He decided to live in the simple Casa Santa Marta apartment instead of the Apostolic Palace and refused to wear the traditional, elegant vestments worn by newly elected popes as he gave his first audience. (video) He picked the papal name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi, who sold all his possessions to live and serve the poor in Assisi, Italy. When asked why he chose the name Francis a few days after his election, he said he longed for “a poor Church, for the poor.”
He was a pope of many firsts. The first pope to take the name Francis, the first Jesuit, and the first Latin American pope. He also spoke freely at times on controversial issues in the Church, such as homosexuality and divorce, leading to rebukes from more traditional Catholics and praise from more liberal Catholics and Western media.
On several issues, such as homosexuality, Pope Francis said some things that confused Catholics and were often given an agenda by mainstream non-Catholic media. It’s unclear whether Francis knew that was happening or whether some of his comments were just taken out of context.
Here are some of the important/controversial things Francis did:
On the abuse crisis: In 2019, Pope Francis issued Vos estis lux mundi, establishing canonical policies to investigate bishops for abuse, misconduct, or negligence. Praised for enhancing some accountability, others noted its lack of investigation transparency. In the U.S., some bishops faced investigations, a few were cleared, one bishop resigned in Minnesota for misconduct, but many case outcomes remained undisclosed.
Divorced couples receiving communion: In 2016, Pope Francis released Amoris Laetitia, a document on the importance of love in family life. One particular footnote in chapter eight suggested some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics without annulments could receive the Eucharist. The footnote added that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” Four cardinals, Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, and Joachim Meisner submitted dubia (“doubts”) to Francis, seeking clarification. The pope did not respond, leaving ongoing debates. The document’s implementation varied across the world, causing tensions as to how it should be interpreted.
Restricting the Traditional Latin Mass: In 2021, Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes, which restricted the Traditional Latin Mass, a form of liturgy that has become more popular in recent years, especially among younger Catholics. The change required a bishop’s permission for a priest to celebrate it. The move went against Benedict XVI’s 2007 Summorum Pontificum, which expanded Latin Mass access across the world. The change surprised many Catholics and caused confusion about how the rules were to be implemented.
Who Am I to Judge? When asked about a supposed “gay lobby” inside the Vatican during a press conference on an international flight, Pope Francis responded, “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?” (video) The response filled headlines across major media outlets that Francis wanted to change the Church's teaching on homosexuality. He later clarified that he meant people who are homosexual should not be defined by or marginalized because of their sexuality.
Francis also approved a Vatican document allowing for brief and spontaneous blessings of same-sex couples in “irregular” situations. The document confused church leaders and priests across the globe as to how and when these blessings were permitted.
What happens with no pope?
No major decisions or actions can be made in the Catholic Church while there is no sitting pope. For example, the canonization of Carlo Acutis, a now-famous Italian teenager, has been postponed. In the coming weeks, all cardinals under the age of 80 (135) will gather in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican to begin their discernment and voting process for the next pope. Many of the cardinals who will be voting were appointed by Pope Francis.
Here are some of Pope Francis’ most memorable quotes:
“The Lord never tires of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness.”
“Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women, and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being, more.”
“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.”
“Let us not be satisfied with a mediocre life. Be amazed by what is true and beautiful, what is of God!”
“God’s mercy is our liberation and our happiness. We live for mercy, and we cannot afford to be without mercy. It is the air that we breathe. We are too poor to set any conditions. We need to forgive, because we need to be forgiven.”
Editor note: For all things Catholic news, one great source is The Pillar.
What’s Going on with Immigration Policy Under the Trump Administration?
Immigration has been a central focus of the Trump Administration, with illegal border crossings plummeting and deportations aggressively pursued.
Apart from routine deportations, President Trump has taken the added step of invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs. In his first days in office, Trump declared these gangs foreign terrorist organizations. Many of the alleged gang members have been sent to El Salvador’s mega high-security prison, CECOT.
Shortly after President Trump took office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, to make a deal for detaining some migrants the U.S. deports. For example, the U.S. paid about $6M to El Salvador in March when it deported more than 200 Venezuelans to CECOT.
The 1798 law, which can be invoked in times of war or “invasion or predatory incursion,” has been invoked three other times in U.S. history (during the war of 1812, WWI, and WWII).
Can the U.S. send deportees to any country?
Deportation procedures are governed by U.S. immigration law and international agreements.
The primary option is to deport an individual to their country of origin as generally directed by international law. However, the U.S. must have diplomatic ties or an agreement with the country for this to occur. Venezuela, for example, has often refused to accept deportees from the U.S. although this has been changing in light of the Administration sending Venezuelans to El Salvador.
If an individual’s country of origin refuses to issue travel documents, deportation can be paused and the U.S. may detain the individual or release them under supervision while seeking a country to receive them.
Less commonly, an individual could be deported to a third country (not their country of origin) if the U.S. has a mutual agreement with said country. Typically, the deportee must have some legal status (visa or prior citizenship) or family ties to the third country. Some deportees may request to be sent to a third country if they deem it safer than returning to their home country.
Under the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention, which the U.S. signed, someone cannot be deported to a country where they face a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”
Once a deportee arrives in the accepting country, they are under the new country’s jurisdiction (laws and immigration proceedings).
Court battles and the case of Abrego Garcia
The legality of how the Administration is using the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) is facing multiple legal challenges. Multiple lower federal courts have blocked certain deportation orders and the White House has promptly appealed the rulings.
In particular, the case of Armando Abrego Garcia has become a flashpoint for the deportation issue as a whole. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national that was deported to CECOT prison in what the Trump Administration later acknowledged was an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court ruled the White House “to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” although no action has been taken to date.
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