Analysis

As Pope Francis gives Sweden a cardinal, what’s behind his Scandinavian push?
- Analysis
- June 26, 2017
Although the plates were already shifting towards Sweden as the lead actor for Catholicism in the Nordic countries before Francis came along, the signs of interest and favor have multiplied on his watch, including giving Sweden its first-ever cardinal this week. Evangelical opportunities, immigration and ecumenism may all lie in the background of the pope’s Swedish outreach.
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Mysterious exit of Vatican auditor begs question: Is reform even possible?
- Analysis
- June 25, 2017
Almost a week later, it remains mysterious why Libero Milone, an Italian businessman and auditing expert hired in 2015 for a five-year term as the Vatican’s first-ever Auditor General, abruptly resigned. Whatever the case, the optics don’t seem encouraging in terms of the current state of Pope Francis’s reform effort.
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Crackdowns on Islamic radicalism can boomerang on the Church
- Analysis
- June 18, 2017
Motivated by a desire to prevent radicals from taking control of the country’s mosques, Denmark is pondering a requirement that all recognized religious denominations must be governed by a democratically elected board. That provision could lead to the Catholic Church being de-recognized and losing important tax and immigration privileges.
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As Merkel calls on Pope Francis, is a partnership in the works?
- Analysis, Vatican
- June 15, 2017
Popes generally work hard to have good relations with politicians of all stripes, but when they find one of consequence with whom they have a special rapport, history can change. Looking around the global stage today, the best candidate for such a partner of Pope Francis may well be Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who’s coming calling on the pontiff on Saturday.
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Trump and Francis may face new tensions over Cuba
- Analysis, Global Church
- June 12, 2017
President Donald Trump and Pope Francis had a cordial meeting on May 24, stressing areas of agreement such as religious freedom and persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Since then, however, a Vatican aide described Trump’s pullout from the Paris climate change accord as a “slap in the face,” and now Trump seems poised to rollback the opening to Cuba that Francis helped engineer.
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Three ironies about a dramatic show of papal muscle in Nigeria
- All Things Catholic, Analysis
- June 11, 2017
At the popular level, Pope Francis often is perceived as a lovey-dovey man of dialogue and peace. However, beneath that surface still beats the heart of a classic Jesuit superior, and a dramatic show of papal muscle in Nigeria this week confirms that when the time comes for obedience, he fully and completely expects to get it.
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