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.

“The reappearance of some populist and nationalist impulses today is progressively weakening the multilateral system,” Pope Francis said, “resulting in a general lack of trust, a crisis of credibility in international political life and a gradual marginalization of the most vulnerable members of the family of nations.”

The new church unites the two formerly schismatic bodies.

The Vatican appointed a retired China-friendly cardinal to head the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong on Monday.

It is not enough to know that Jesus was born, like Herod, if we do not encounter him.