Sylvia Poggioli quotes:

[Pope Francis] did something that both his two predecessors had failed to do - John Paul II and Benedict. Francis met with the Russian patriarch of the Orthodox Church.

Asked about Donald Trump, [Pope] Francis said a person who thinks only about building walls and not building bridges is not Christian, a remark you might remember that Trump described as disgraceful.

Father Jude Nnorom also criticized his church leaders, saying the simple lifestyle followed by Pope Francis should challenge African bishops to ask themselves.

One of the topics that [Pope Francis] wants to raise, according to many Vatican analysts, is given the shortage of - worldwide shortage of priests is the possibility of a married priesthood. But he needs more backing from his bishops right now.

Nigerian nun Bernadette Duru says the African church hierarchy is indifferent to people in rural areas.

The Vatican has always had a core of diplomats for centuries. It has ambassadors in 180 countries and always played a kind of behind-the-scene role in many world issues.

[Pope Francis] lashed out against what he called malevolent resistance to his reforms.

[Pope Francis] symbolically took the migrant south-north route to the United States by going to Cuidad Juarez on the border with Texas, and there he spoke of the human dignity of immigrants.

Father Jude Nnorom says he hopes the pope's travels in Africa will help end all the wars ravaging the continent.

I think [Pope] Francis intends to forge ahead with his reform agenda.

One footnote says that divorced and remarried faithful, who are not recognized by the Catholic Church because it upholds the indissolubility of marriage, might in some particular cases have access to the sacraments.

We have a pope [Francis] who's very popular among the Catholic faithful and non-Catholics, but there's no doubt he's going to continue to face resistance from conservatives inside the church.

[Pope Francis] continued to focus on migrants. He visited the Greek island of Lesbos, which was the front line of the European migrant crisis. And a month later, he accepted a prestigious European Union prize, but he scolded Europe for its treatment of migrants. And in a speech echoing Martin Luther King, he said I have a dream of a Europe where being a migrant is not a crime. So, yeah, he showed he can be quite outspoken on political issues.

[Pope Francis] most recent trip was to Sweden, where he commemorated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. That had triggered one of the biggest splits in Christianity and decades of religious wars. He went so far as to praise Luther, who was once considered a heretic in the church, as a great reformer. So what he's been doing with other Christian churches is trying to heal past wounds and work together toward a shared view of their history.

A group of four cardinals wrote to [Pope] Francis accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues, and they asked for clarifications. He did not reply. And one of the signatories, the American Cardinal Raymond Burke, said if the pope does not clarify, he will proceed with what he called a formal correction of the pope after Christmas.