A native-Spanish speaker who grew up with Italian-speaking relatives in Argentina, Pope Francis at five years has a striking way with words. Bringing a background in literary themes and devices with him to the papacy five years ago, the pope has shown himself to be a master of metaphor and allegory. His cross-cultural and eclectic Read more
Whenever Pope Francis visits prisons, during his whirlwind trips to the world’s peripheries or at a nearby jailhouse in Rome, he always tells inmates that he, too, could have ended up behind bars: “Why you and not me?” he asks. That humble empathy and the ease with which he walks in others’ shoes have won Read more
As he enters the sixth year of his pontificate, Pope Francis is in good health, good spirits and sustained by that inner peace that came to him during the conclave and has never left him, according to sources close to the 265th successor of Peter. Many commentators around the world have sought to produce a Read more
There was a time in life when I wanted change and wanted it now. I still want things done now, but over the course of the years, I discovered that, at least where the church is concerned, I was looking for action in the wrong places. As Sean Freyne, the Irish theologian and Scripture scholar, Read more