Francis I: Public Theologian

Greg Marcar is a senior researcher at the Nathaniel Bioethics Centre for Bioethics, Te Kupenga, and a research affiliate at the Centre for Theology and Public Issues (CTPI), University of Otago (New Zealand). His research interests include religious freedom, theological anthropology, and animal rights. He is a coeditor of Søren Kierkegaard: Theologian of the Gospel (Wipf & Stock 2021) and Security, Religion, and the Rule of Law: International Perspectives (Routledge 2023). A version of this post is scheduled to appear as a contribution to The Nathaniel Report 75 (2025).

Editors’ Note: This post was written and published prior to Pope Francis’s death.

The papacy of Francis I has frequently been framed as a departure from his predecessors. Francis is notable for being not only the first Jesuit pope but also the first South American pontiff and the first to take office in the context of a pope emeritus, the late Benedict XVI. As many have noted, no previous pontiff has shone such a strong theological spotlight onto socioeconomic or environmental issues that disproportionately affect those living within the developing world or displaced from it.

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A Symbol of Faith or Culture? Brazil’s Constitutional Dilemma

Bruno Santos Cunha is a professor of constitutional and administrative law in Brazil and a PhD candidate in constitutional law at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Renato Costa is a lecturer in law and a fellow of the Centre for Public, International, and Comparative Law at the University of Queensland, Australia.

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.

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A Big Heart Open to God: Notes on the Legacy of Pope Francis

Ingeborg G. Gabriel is a professor emerita at the University of Vienna.

Editors’ Note: This post was written and published prior to Pope Francis’s death.

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.

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