The pope and the pope emeritus are not so far apart: Both Benedict and Francis warn against responding to the abuse crisis with a ’self-made’ church that ignores the Gospel.

From 1962: What grounds exist for reasonable confidence in the Council’s outcome?

Perhaps the most incredible day in the history of America happened in the lobby in 1967.

Pope Francis has suppressed the Ecclesia Dei Commission, a significant decision with consequences for the Holy See’s relations with the priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X.

The Catholic church would benefit if bishops felt more like local leaders and less like regional managers in a Rome-based nonprofit. One way to move in that direction would be to have the clergy elect their bishops.

There is no question that the process for the appointment of bishops should be updated. But the election of bishops with procedures similar to democratic elections would only exacerbate all kinds of rifts in the Catholic Church today.