"An American Intimately Familiar with This Nation's Better Angels"

"'All of this points to a pope that understands global leadership through dialogue instead of isolation; who understands power through service, instead of domination,' he said. 'It is hard to imagine a sharper contrast with the current administration in the U.S.'"

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contrasts Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump.

"He Wanted the Full Debate, and He's Getting It"

"The synod document, a concrete reflection of the Francis papacy, in effect takes the weapons out of the hands of the hierarchical culture warriors. One might measure its significance in the pushback by groups who in the past prided themselves on their orthodoxy and adherence to papal and hierarchical teaching. They are in a fury and are not hiding their disappointment and rejection of the synod's thinking. Voice of the Family, which identifies itself as a coalition of 15 international pro-family Catholic groups, termed the document 'nothing short of a "betrayal" of Catholic and family values. And the blog Rorate Caeli, an extreme conservative Catholic site, described the document as a 'heresy, the homoheresy,' and in contradiction of the Gospel and Catholic tradition."


Tom Roberts in The New Republic reacts to the Vatican's continuing Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

"Resigning Pope No Longer Has Strength To Lead Church Backward"

"'It is with sadness, but steadfast conviction, that I announce I am no longer capable of impeding social progress with the energy and endurance that is required of the highest ministry in the Roman Catholic Church,' Benedict reportedly said in Latin to the Vatican’s highest cardinals. 'While I’m proud of the strides the Church has made over the past eight years, from thwarting AIDS-prevention efforts in Africa to failing to punish or even admit to decades of sexual abuse of children at the hands of clergy, it has become evident to me that, in this rapidly evolving world, I now lack the capacity to continue guiding this faith back centuries.'"

From The Onion.

Servant of the Servants of God

"[A main] reason they met was to reform the Catholic Church from within. That meant...getting the bishops to get their act together. At the time, many bishops did not even reside in their dioceses. And they often would hold several [posts].... Imagine if the archbishop of Boston were also archbishop of New York, and several other places, and didn’t reside in any of them... [and] the individual in question collected the income from all those places.... If you think we have trouble today with bishops, it was worse, it was a lot worse."

In The Boston Globe, Lisa Wangsness interviews Thomas W. Worcester, co-editor of The Papacy Since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor.

Caveat Emptor

"Cause: Because Jesus Christ subsists only in the Catholic Church of Rome™, adherents to other faiths that self-advertise as Christian must rely on infrequent guest appearances. Although He is omnipresent, He can't be everywhere at once."

Timothy Noah in Slate presents the Vatican's recall announcement.