"The Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don't feel offended," these are the words of Pope Francis as he told the La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, as he defended himself from his critics.

"The promise was that when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefitting the poor. But what happens instead, is that when the glass is full, it magically gets bigger nothing ever comes out for the poor. This was the only reference to a specific theory. I was not, I repeat, speaking from a technical point of view but according to the Church's social doctrine. This does not mean being a Marxist," added the Pope.

Pope Francis has his skull cap removed by a child during an audience with children in the Vatican

The recently released statement of the Pope is his response to an American radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, as he attacked the Holy See when he said that it is impossible to overcome poverty in a big scale until financial speculation and causes of inequality will be resolved.

The statement was mainly criticized by Limbaugh and Glenn Beck when the Pope released his first written text of his papacy, called the Apostolic Exhortation. "This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope," says Limbaugh in his radio show in November.

The first pope ever to hail from Latin America, Pope Francis was recently selected as TIME's Person of the Year. He also dismissed about the speculation that he would announce a female cardinal.

"Women in the church must be valued, not 'clericalised,'" said Pope Francis, adding, "Those thinking about women cardinals are suffering a bit from clericalism."

This is will be his first Christmas as pope and he will be turning 77 on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The Pope also plans to commence the 50th anniversary of Paul VI's first papal visit to the Holy Land and mentions about the upcoming meeting with the Council of Cardinals in February.

For Christmas, the Vatican has announced that they will be distributing 2,000 envelopes that contain free public transport tickets and telephone cards to the poor. The envelope will also include the Pope's signed Christmas picture and a stamp from the Vatican's post.