Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica claimed that Pope Francis had said that Hell does not exist and that condemned souls just "disappear". The Vatican issued a statement saying that Scalfari's claims were not a quote but a reconstruction, and should not be considered a "faithful transcription" of the Pope's words.

At a tree-planting ceremony in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis blessed an image of the "Pachamama" (Mother Earth represented as a pregnant woman), and it became the focus of a ceremony in which performers danced and bowed around it, similar to the "pago a la tierra" offering rite observed by some indigenous peoples in South America.

Cardinal Zen, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, said in an interview that he had not been granted an audience by the Pope during the five days when he came to Rome to appeal for the appointment of a new bishop for the city.