Pope Francis, who attempted to modernize the Vatican, has died. He was 88 years old. We remember his legacy with Reuters correspondent Joshua McElwee. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly discussed sensitive military plans with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer over the app Signal. The Wall Street Journal reports that it’s the latest news in what’s been a chaotic time at the Pentagon. The Supreme Court over the weekend issued a rare overnight ruling barring the Trump administration from deporting migrants in Texas under the Alien Enemies Act. NBC News reports it happened as busloads of deportees were headed to an airport for removal. Plus, Google’s latest antitrust case, Israel releases its review on the killing of 15 emergency responders in Gaza, and it’s been 50 years since the first wheelchair competitor completed the Boston Marathon.
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Good morning. It's Monday, April 21st. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth sent war plans in a second signal chat, the Supreme Court issues a rare overnight ruling on deportations, and the world's oldest marathon, the Boston Marathon, is today. But first, Pope Francis has died. His death was announced early this morning by the Vatican.
He was 88 years old. Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, had been discharged from a hospital just last month where he was diagnosed with double pneumonia. He died after the holiest weekend in the year for Catholics. Just a day earlier, Pope Francis oversaw Easter mass services and blessed thousands of worshipers in St. Peter's Square.
Francis had many firsts to his name, including being the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pontiff, and the first non-European to lead the Catholic Church in close to 1,000 years. He was elected in 2013 and was seen as a fresh voice attempting to modernize the papacy.
He said the Vatican needed to evolve from its strict orthodoxy on abortion, birth control, and homosexuality, and embrace being more merciful. Joshua McElwee is the Vatican correspondent for Reuters and spoke to us about Francis's legacy.
He had a style that was very gregarious, very outgoing, and was really known for wanting to open up the church to the modern world. Many people might remember that his first act as the Pope was to ask the people in Rome on his election in 2013 to pray for him and to bless him.
He's also the Pope known for opening up the church to being more welcoming to LGBTQ members, famously asking, when asked about a priest who was gay,
Francis was often referred to as the people's pope, but his openness to modifying the church's teachings made him a controversial figure to many.
Pope Francis faced some pushback from cardinals who thought perhaps he was going too fast or perhaps had a more progressive view of the church. A few years ago, he allowed for priests to, on a case-by-case basis, offer blessings to people in same-sex unions. Obviously, the Catholic Church has a teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, so that was controversial for some people.
Francis tried to emphasize that it was about blessing the individual person and not necessarily the same-sex union.
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