He later apologised to those who were "hurt" and the Vatican said he did not mean to offend anyone.
The Pope reportedly said gay men should not be allowed to train for the priesthood, adding there was already an air of frociaggine, which translates as a highly offensive slur.
That's like the tiniest tip of the tiniest iceberg when it comes to the things the pope should stop doing. He should stop doing it anyway, but that's one of the least harmful and yet still horrible things he's attached his name to.
A Catholic friend of mine once told me that while it's good that there has been more of a focus on sexual abuse from Catholics, there was also incredibly harsh corporal punishment when he was in Catholic school. Also very damaging to children. And I am guessing that at least some of those unmarked graves in the Catholic "residential schools" for indigenous peoples were children who were beaten to death.
Oh I'm sure. When I was in Catholic elementary school in the late 70s and early 80s, there was still a paddle on display in the office. Whether it was still put to use or not, I can't say, but as children, it was pointed out to everyone, and we all feared it. The administration actively failed to dispel any myths about it, so even if they weren't still beating children with it physically, they still were mentally.
To be fair, this was the case in my secular(-ish) public school as well and I believe it was there until the early 2000s. The catholic church has many sins (which Squid did a great job laying out above), but I don't think they, as a group, endorse the concept of corporal punishment like they do with anti-choice practices or the rampant pedophilia. That's a cultural issue with certain regions of the US.
In a direct abortion, the intended effect is to end the life of the fœtus. There are probably other medical procedures that could achieve the desired effect of saving the life of the mother, unfortunately I'm guessing they are not sought out due to cost and the low likelihood that both lives would be saved.
The main thing is they literally see it as murder no matter what, so they apply the biblically relevant murder rules to it. No ambiguity. And they see everyone else as literal murderers when they have had to go through with it. It certainly doesn't help that they also see women as lesser and as needing to be controlled by men, but equating it to murder is still the main driver against it for them.
We should make a deal with the pope: reverse the centuries of cis heteronormative church doctrine, and in exchange you get to say frociaggine all you want. I think this is a fair trade.