Ms. Scaraffia described the spaces women have carved out for themselves to speak freely as “a hidden schism in the church, where the religious are separating themselves from the church.”

Among those watching how Francis would act was Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, who tweeted: "She kissed his ring!"

As the capital of Italy and center of Catholicism, the city of Rome must work with the Catholic Church to preserve and defend its rich historical and spiritual traditions, Pope Francis said.

The church’s doctrine of the last things underscores the mystery we face as we ponder death.

With the smartphone now functioning as an essential anatomical appendage, it is harder than it has ever been to make distinctions, to turn off the noise, to say “Enough.”