Some of the pope's most notable sayings and writings from the past year:
On naming himself after the impoverished Francis of Assisi: "How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor." (March 16)
On the violence in Syria: "How much blood has been shed! And how much suffering must there still be before a political solution is found?" (March 31)
On non-believers: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! 'Father, the atheists?' Even the atheists. Everyone!” (May 22)
On crime syndicates: "I think of the great pain suffered by men, women and even children, exploited by so many mafias.” (May 26)
On the sex abuse crisis: "Act decisively as far as cases of sexual abuse are concerned, promoting, above all, measures to protect minors, help for those who have suffered such violence in the past (and) the necessary procedures against those who are guilty." (April 5)
On money: ''The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly human goal." (May 18)
On waste: “Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of the poor and the hungry." (June 6)
On child labor: “It is my heartfelt hope that the international community will initiate still more effective measures in addressing this authentic plague." (June 12)
On luxury cars: “It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can’t do this. A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.” (July 7)
On drug legalization: "A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, as is currently being proposed in various parts of Latin America." (July 24)
On homosexuality: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" (July 29)
On women in the church: "We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more. But with regards to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says no... That door is closed." (July 29)
On the Roman Curia: "Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy." (July 29)
On hot-button issues: "We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time." (Sept. 19)
On God's religion: "And I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being." (Oct. 1)
On how to convert: "Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense.” (Oct. 1)
On economic systems: "As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems.” (Nov. 26)
On being called a Marxist: “The Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.” (Dec. 14)