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Pope Francis arrives to celebrate Mass at O'Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile, Jan. 16. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope Francis set out on his 22nd foreign trip on Jan.

People hold quilts at press conference outside of Los Angeles cathedral for victims of sexual abuse by priests
Explore all of America's coverage on sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.
Pope Paul VI
In the 50 years since “Humanae Vitae,” America’s editors and contributors have considered the legacy of the document in the realms of not only reproduction but economics, women’s rights and papal authority.  
 FILE PHOTO OF POPE BENEDICT XVI GREETING CROWD AFTER BEING ELECTED

For nearly eight years, until his decision to resign on the last day of February 2013, Joseph Ratzinger was Pope Benedict XVI, the most visible exponent of Catholicism in the world—a universal pastor and renowned theologian, who presented his ideas and exhortations in homilies and speeches around

Pope Francis

Pope Francis has written a new apostolic exhortation on “the call to holiness in the contemporary world.” 

Women Deacons

There is some historical evidence for the existence of women deacons in the Roman Catholic Church.

merton

Thomas Merton (1915-1968), perhaps Catholicism’s greatest 20th century spiritual writer, captivated a generation with the story of his conversion and journey into monastic life, The Seven-Storey Mountain.

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Pope Francis greets the crowd after celebrating Mass marking the feast of Divine Mercy in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 8.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, became the first Jesuit Pope when he was elected on March 13, 2013. In the time since his election, Pope Francis has made his mark on the modern church. As David Gibson notes, Pope Francis has called us “to reform ourselves in order to convert others.” From declaring a Year of Mercy, to writing Laudato Si, the encyclical on caring for the environment, Pope Francis is making his mark on the Catholic Church.