“Religion is not the way; Jesus is.
The Pope said this? If so, he ought to resign.
He has also said there is no need for other christians to convert to Catholicism.
I’m not sure how any Catholic could “like” the fact that he said these things. It is not Catholic to cast aside the Catholic Faith as necessary. And no Catholic should defend it.
Depends on what he meant by "religion." Some people take this as a synonym for empty external observance, and if so, he's saying no more or less than Jesus did. Jesus was quite the critic of religion. So were all the Prophets of Israel.
In any case, I would not judge anybody by a 7-word aphorism. Augustine said "Love, and then do what you will"--- another 7-word aphorism which could bear either a God-inspired meaning, or a disastrous counter-meaning.