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.

In 2015, Pope Francis had changed the ceremony, inviting new archbishops to concelebrate Mass with him and be present for the blessing of the palliums as a way of underlining their bond of unity and communion with him.

Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing, signaling he is continuing one of Pope Francis’ most controversial foreign policy decisions.

On June 9, America Media's team of experts hosted an exclusive, subscriber-only event to answer your specific questions about Pope Leo XIV, the conclave and this historic time in our church.

Every papal diplomat around the world must let people know that the Catholic Church is always on the side of the marginalized and is ready to face everything “out of love,” Pope Leo XIV said.

As a Chicago-born math major, canon lawyer and two-time superior of his global Augustinian religious order, the 69-year-old pope presumably can read a balance sheet and make sense of the Vatican’s complicated finances, which have long been mired in scandal.