Having returned to his native Latin America, Francis has renewed his left-leaning critiques on the inequalities of capitalism, describing it as an underlying cause of global injustice, and a prime cause of climate change. 

Pope Francis denounced the "throwaway" culture of today's society that discards anyone who is unproductive as he celebrated his first public Mass in Bolivia on Thursday, one of the key days of his South American pilgrimage.

Pope Francis dove into a secular subject with his first major encyclical on the theme of environment, “Laudato Si” (“Praise Be to You”), calling countries and peoples to stop ruining the Earth, “our common home." The 184-page document, which can be read here, is regarded as Francis’s critique of unrelenting global capitalism, businesses that sacrifice the environment for profits.

US President Barack Obama may have launched his official presidential Twitter handle @POTUS just two weeks ago, but he and other global leaders have been using the microblogging platform for years.

Canonization comes just days after the Vatican formalized its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine. Pope Francis named two Palestinian women as saints on Sunday, in a ceremony in Saint Peter's Square just days after the Vatican formalized its de facto recognition of the State of Palestine.

Pope Francis' hard-hitting criticisms of globalization and inequality long ago set him out as a leader unafraid of mixing theology and politics. He is now flexing the Vatican's diplomatic muscles as well.

The Vatican's forceful recognition of a Palestinian state May 13 is just the latest in a series of bold diplomatic moves aimed at ensuring that Christians will be able to remain in the birthplace of their faith.