I have spent the last seven years working in the Roman Curia. My experience has been far from that of those who would claim that Pope Francis governs through fear.

Pope Francis has updated the procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse, expanding the rules of “Vos Estis” to include Catholic lay leaders, who have the same responsibilities over members as a bishop over priests.

In a new interview, Cardinal Gerhard Müller said Pope Francis should correct or punish German bishops for approving “proposals directly against the Catholic faith,” including blessings for homosexual couples.

Pope Francis: We must be aware that the people to whom evangelization is addressed are not only others, those who profess other faiths or who profess none, but also ourselves, believers in Christ.

What is the way out of polarization? And why does that question—along with the now-commonplace observation that society suffers from deepening divisions about everything from gun control to abortion to public funding for religious schools—seem so exhausting?

In a way, maybe we are living all together as baptized Christians in the synodal process in the same way that the council fathers at Vatican II experienced collegiality in their role as bishops.