Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate: More Continuity Than Change. Interview with Thomas Massaro

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Thomas Massaro, S.J. comments in detail on recently elected Pope Leo XIV—his personality, American background, and relations with his predecessor, Pope Francis. Massaro explains major internal and external challenges that Pope Leo will face during his pontificate and posits the expansion of the famous Vatican bon mot “John Paul II listened, Benedict taught, Francis touched the heart” to include the new Pope.

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Pope Francis and Gender Issues: An Ambivalent Legacy

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Martina Bär is professor of fundamental theology at the University of Graz (Austria).

Pope Francis, who passed away on 21 April 2025, made notable strides in addressing women and discrimination within the Catholic Church, though his efforts were often characterized by a balance between progressive appointments and adherence to traditional doctrine.

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Francis’s Legal Revolution: A Reforming Impulse with Many Lights and Some Shadows

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Montserrat Gas-Aixendri is a full professor of law and religion at Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain).

From his election in 2013, Pope Francis ushered in one of the most transformative periods in the Catholic Church’s recent history. His pontificate, characterized by prophetic gestures and bold decisions, was accompanied by an intense wave of legislative activity. Deep reforms—both structural and pastoral—shaped these years, projecting an image of a Church that was more proximate, synodal, and committed to transparency and justice.

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