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Where Peter Is

Francis: A Pope of “Firsts”

From the moment he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in 2013, Pope Francis signalled a different kind of papacy, as he was the first pope in living memory to present himself to the crowds without the traditional red mozetta and stole. His unique personality—with an openness to break precedent—and the...

Conclave: There is no faith without doubt

Conclave is an award-winning 2024 film directed by Edward Berger, starring Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence — a man wracked by doubt but whose job it is to organise a conclave after the death of a progressive pope whose legacy some cardinals wish to continue, against a reactionary backlash from conservative cardinals wanting...

Between conciliar memory and synodal future

Rupture, continuity or moving forward from a “new” to a “further” phase in the maturation of the reception of the Council? Francis assumed Vatican II as a Council of reform. On November 9, 2013, at Santa Marta, he spoke of an Ecclesia semper reformanda, in continuity with John XXIII (aggiornamento) and Paul VI...

The Princes of the Periphery

In the upcoming papal conclave we are seeing a lot of talk about “peripheral” or “Global South” cardinals—recent creations from Africa and Asia who are perceived as potential wild cards, often with eclectic views on the issues facing the Church today and mostly unfamiliar (geographically and in terms of mindset) with Rome. There...

The Next Pope and Where Peter Is

Note: I wrote almost all of this before Palm Sunday. By the time I put the finishing touches on it, Monday or Tuesday of Holy Week, it seemed more appropriate to hold it until after Triduum. For obvious reasons, I have continued to hold it until now. I am leaving the original headline...

Francis: A son of the Council who matures it and moves it forward

Three axes of Francis’s teaching Three interconnected axes can be identified throughout the pontificate of Francis. The first, ecclesiological, is shaped by Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013), the Address for the Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops (2015), and the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (2018). This...