VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- From the moment he took the helm of the Catholic Church's sprawling hierarchy, Pope Francis positioned himself as a pastor close to the people he served, and he called out the behavior of priests who were distant from and thought they were superior to their flocks.The pope set the tone early for his consistent rebukes of clericalism by including it in his first apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium," the 2013 document that was considered a roadmap for his pontificate.Discussing the need to recognize the baptismal dignity and gifts of the laity, the pope wrote that sometimes laypeople did not have the necessary training to exercise leadership, but often "room has not been made for them to speak and to act, due to an excessive clericalism which keeps them away from decision-making."Pope Francis' campaign against clericalism was waged when meeting both ordinary parish priests and "princes of the church," as cardinals once were known.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis was a pastor first, "so consistently, so spontaneously and with such deep conviction," that it will remain a gift to the Catholic Church, said Cardinal Michael Czerny.The cardinal, who served as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, spoke with Catholic News Service April 22, the day after Pope Francis died at the age of 88."Pope Francis will be remembered as a pastoral pope," he said. "The word 'pastoral' is easy to use, and you can apply it to many things, but to see it lived consistently by the person with the highest responsibility in the church is a really important contribution."Cardinal Czerny, 78, said it is not that previous popes were not pastoral, but Pope Francis excelled at "showing how the church was first and foremost interested in the welfare, the salvation, the happiness, the development of people and ready to reach out as far as possible, to accompany people in their path

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced.Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will preside over the liturgy, which begins a nine-day period of official mourning and daily memorial Masses.The deceased pope's body, which was taken to the chapel of his residence late April 21, the day of his death, will be carried into St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing and prayer early April 23.The public viewing was scheduled to end late April 25 with another prayer service to close the coffin.Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said the Mass originally scheduled for the Jubilee for Adolescents April 27 would be one of the eight memorial Masses that follow the funeral of the pope. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was secretary of state under Pope Francis, will preside.The rites and rituals for dressing the body, moving it to St. Peter's Basilica and celebrating the funeral

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The hope Christians have is not a sign of avoiding reality but of trusting in the power of God to defeat sin and death as the resurrection of Jesus clearly shows, Pope Francis wrote in his Easter message."All those who put their hope in God place their feeble hands in his strong and mighty hand; they let themselves be raised up and set out on a journey," said the message, read before Pope Francis gave his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) April 20.  Pope Francis gives his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 20, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) The pope's voice was weak, as it has been since he was released from the hospital March 23, and he barely raised his arms as he made the sign of the cross, but the tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square were appreciative and clapped loudly after saying, "A