Among the hopeful and fearful seeking their place in an occupied city, the Virgin—Patroness of All the Americas—is a sign that a community with humane borders and greater compassion may be possible.
Abuse experts and survivors express a mix of tentative hopes and low expectations for how Pope Leo might address disciplining abusers, supporting victims and ensuring that the church is a safe environment for all.
Washington State's new law mandating priests to divulge abuse revealed in confessions is the latest salvo in a larger dispute between the Catholic Church and multiple U.S. states.
Perhaps a revealing question is whether the church will continue the radical novelty Francis brought as a pope from a religious order—and whether this is the continuity needed now.
At the Synod on Synodality, the cardinals were ‘converted’ to working together in a new way. As they join their brothers in the conclave, they face a referendum on—and resistance to—their work.