“I’m not Francis of Assisi and I do not have his strength and his holiness. But I am the Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic world. The first thing I decided was to appoint a group of eight cardinals to be my advisers. Not courtiers but wise people who share my own feelings. This is the beginning of a church with an organization that is not just top-down but also horizontal.”
— Pope Francis, in an interview published Oct. 1 with the atheist editor of an Italian newspaper.