Photo: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

Times of Malta published several write-ups on Pope Francis to mark the first anniversary of his pontificate. None of them mentioned his most controversial statements, most of which sent shock waves among the Catholic faithful.

In an interview with Civiltà Cattolica, Pope Francis said that the Church had locked itself up in “small things, in small-minded rules” and that the Church should not be “obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently”.

Such words, coming from the Pope, are indeed unprecedented. If a non-Catholic had used such words, he would have been called disrespectful towards the Catholic Church.

In an interview with La Repubblica, Francis observed that too many popes in the Church’s long history had been “narcissists” who let themselves by flattered by “courtier” aides in the Curia.

In a homily at St Paul’s Outside the Walls, Francis said: “Inconsistency on the part of pastors and the faithful between what they say and what they do is undermining the Church’s credibility.”

During a meeting with superiors of religious orders, the Pope said that men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood should be properly trained or the Church could risk “creating little monsters” that are more concerned with their careers than serving people.

Catholics could not have been pleased to hear Pope Francis acknowledging “the existence of a gay lobby and a stream of corruption in the Vatican”.

Some tradition-bound Catholics disapprove of Pope Francis because he has brushed aside the pomp and pageantry that they expect during papal ceremonies. They accuse Francis of lacking ‘dignity’ in his role as Pontiff.