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Series: Pope Francis and His Legacy
by Thomas Massaro, Ingeborg Gabriel, Antonio Autiero, Montserrat Gas Aixendri, Greg Marcar, and Martina Bär
The series brings together a group of Catholic thinkers to reflect on Pope Francis’s pontificate and legacy. The authors discuss the late Pope’s contribution to peacebuilding, human dignity, social justice, and environmentalism in addition to his reforms, often revolutionary, of Catholic theology, canon law, and the Church’s internal life. Pointing to peaks and valleys of the first Jesuit pope’s rule, they depict him as an extraordinary religious leader, tireless promoter of peace across the globe, and persistent defender of the vulnerable.
A Symbol of Faith or Culture? Brazil’s Constitutional Dilemma
by Bruno Santos Cunha & Renato Costa
This blog post examines religious expression in Brazilian public institutions, a topic that has been debated since at least 1892, following the 1891 Constitution’s formal disestablishment of an official state religion in Brazil. While this matter has been discussed across various public fora over the years, it is ultimately the judiciary that adjudicates controversies pertaining to the inclusion of pluriform religious expressions in public institutions.
The focus of our analysis is the latest decision by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF), rendered in late November 2024, which marks a significant development in the ongoing relationship between religion and state within Brazil’s constitutional framework. By exploring both the historical context and the STF’s 2024 decision and other recent rulings on the theme, this post aims to illuminate how Brazil continues to navigate the complex relationship between religious expression and state neutrality in its public spaces.
A Big Heart Open to God: Notes on the Legacy of Pope Francis
by Ingeborg G. Gabriel
The title of this post refers to the first interview Pope Francis gave, in August 2013, in which he stated the basic intentions of his pontificate. I happened to be in Rome when he was elected and vividly remember the moment the new pope stepped on to the balcony, greeting everyone with a warm “buona sera.” This first self-presentation, as well his chosen name, signaled an agenda that has unfolded during his 12 years in office. The decision to reside in the Guesthouse Santa Marta—at the time much commented on—was another landmark choice signaling his approach. A Pope in the cafeteria carrying a tray with his dinner? This represented a fresh, liberating style to many and a scandal to others, who feared it may tarnish the image of the papacy. Despite such criticism, a bon mot began circulating: John Paul II listened, Benedict taught, and Francis touches the heart.
Francesco. Twelve Years Later
by Antonio Autiero
Apprehensions about his poor health in recent weeks bring Pope Francis particularly close to the consciousness of humanity, and not only portion professing to be Catholic. The way of exercising his function as pope has made Francis an indispensable voice in narrating the history we live. It has given his message and style value, recognized by all as moral leadership for understanding and facing what he (borrowing the term from French sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin) calls polycrisis.
In the 12 years of his papacy, Francis has educated us to look with a disenchanted eye at the dramatic interweaving in which issues of global significance converge, such as wars, climate change, the depletion of energy resources, epidemics, migration, and the emergence of technological innovations. …
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