Pope Francis has expressed his opinion on a wide array of issues ranging from climate change to gay rights.

Now, two years into his tenure as head of the Catholic Church, Francis has stated his views on money and political influence.

He believes it is time to separate politics and special-interest money, according to The Washington Post.

Commenting on elections scheduled for this fall in his home nation of Argentina, the Pope said he favored a "free, unfinanced campaign."

Regarding campaign finance, "many interests get into the mix, and then they send you the bill," he said. "Perhaps public financing would allow for me, the citizen, to know that I'm financing each candidate with a given amount of money."

Everything, according to the Pope, "needs to be transparent and clean."

Francis' comments — which were reported by Crux, a publication covering events in the Catholic Church — have stirred interest among some who follow campaign finance, including Ellen Weintraub, a commissioner with the Federal Election Commission.

Although Weintraub mentioned the Pope's comments on the subject before an FEC meeting on Tuesday, she said there were no plans to invite him to testify.

"I am happy for anyone to recognize campaign finance," she said, adding that papal commentary on the subject "might be even better than Stephen Colbert."

Weintraub was apparently referring to Colbert's satirical coverage of the subject on Comedy Central, and his 2011 visit to the FEC where he lampooned critics of full disclosure of donations.

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