Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
(Image source: BBC)
BY ZACH TOOMBS
An estimated 3 million people gathered in Rio de Janeiro Sunday to see Pope Francis
close out his visit to Brazil — one of the largest turnouts ever for a papal event.
Brazilians filled the city's Copacabana Beach for Mass, as the Argentina-born pope preached
a message of openness and encouraged the crowd to bring Christianity into every corner of
their culture. (Via BBC)
"Pope Francis called on those faithful to be tolerant but never directly referred to
the Vatican's own prohibitions against divorce, contraception, gay marriage." (Via Al Jazeera)
The pontiff actually made headlines on that very issue Monday. During a brief news conference
on his flight back Italy, Pope Francis seemed to open the church's arms to gay priests,
saying: "If someone is gay who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"
(Via The Wall Street Journal)
This was the second-largest crowd ever for World Youth Day. CBS says the millions camped
on the beach overwhelmed city services, resembling a refugee camp.
Pope Francis also spoke with clergy and struck a somewhat critical tone — urging reform
and honesty from a church organization with a history of sex abuse scandals. He also announced
announced the next World Youth Day would be held in Poland.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Vatican sees this trip as a success that allowed the
Pope to speak with vastly different sects of society, noting he met with not only prisoners
and slum-dwellers, but also presidents and Brazil's elite.