Overview

• He has used Latin Masses and traditional vestments to reassure ultraconservative Catholics
• He has named women to senior Vatican roles, including Sister Tiziana Merletti as secretary of the Dicastery for the Consecrated Life
• He publicly condemned Israeli actions after the July bombing of Gaza’s sole Catholic parish and highlighted the resulting humanitarian crisis
• He approved a joint bishop appointment in China and proposed the Vatican as a neutral venue for Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
• He defended traditional marriage and criticized abortion rights without lifting existing restrictions on Latin Masses to maintain internal unity