BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — On his first anniversary as pontiff Thursday, Pope Francis defended “slum priests” from the accusation their advocacy for the downtrodden reflects a different, leftist church that is remote from conservative Vatican values.

“The work of the priests in the slums of Buenos Aires is not ideological, it’s apostolic, and therefore forms part of the same church. Those who think that it’s another church don’t understand how they work in the slums. The important thing is the work,” Francis insisted in an interview made public Thursday.