For critics of the first Latin American pope, Francis’ recent expression of concern about the crackdown on Catholics in Nicaragua was too little too late.

As the diocesan phase of the synod ended on Aug. 15, America touched base with some well-informed sources for insight into how the synod has gone so far in the Amazon region and Asia.

Last year, the Jesuits pledged to raise $100 million to support the work of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation. Yet, according to Joseph M. Stewart, the president of the foundation, progress has been far too slow.

Sean Callahan, president and C.E.O. of Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, returned last month from tours and consultations with C.R.S. partners in Ukraine, Ghana and Ethiopia.

“Rather than describing clericalism as an individual reality—a problem of ‘bad apples’—this study maps clericalism as a structural reality shaped by the interaction of three forces: sex, gender, and power,” the authors write.

Bruce Botha, S.J., said one notable achievement of the synodal process was that many people who experienced themselves on the margins of the church felt that they were heard.