“Pope Francis, who sought to be a bridge maker as he led the Catholic Church in a time of deep polarization, died at 7:35 a.m. on Monday (April 21), at the age of 88, a day after surprising faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday.” - RNS
“Pope Francis suffered a respiratory spasm that led to a sudden worsening of his condition, doctors said on Friday (Feb. 28), after two days of improved reports on the pope’s health.” - RNS
The Napa Institute (NI) exists to “empower … Catholic leaders to renew the Church and transform the culture.” As their website states: “We believe that now is the time to advance the re-evangelization of the United States. Yet many yearn for the foundation they need to advance Christ’s mission. At the same time, leaders and benefactors yearn to support Catholic causes. The Napa Institute acts as a conduit so all can courageously and eloquently defend our faith in the public square.” NI seeks to accomplish this goal by providing conferences, pilgrimages, and events worldwide.
“…framing Israel’s actions solely in terms of ‘cruelty’ without acknowledging the necessity of dismantling a terrorist infrastructure that has repeatedly targeted civilians diminishes the suffering experienced by Israeli families and communities.” - IJCIC
“Ironically, the intellectual heft of historic Catholicism and its enviable aesthetic achievements seem to be the very things that the pope regards with indifference. And both of these seem to connect to that telltale sign that always presages trouble in Christian circles: a loss of the transcendent in favor of the immanent.” - Carl Trueman
“Once criticized by Catholic conservatives and the Vatican, Gutiérrez and his emphasis on caring for the poor were rehabilitated by Pope Francis.” - RNS
“They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all….Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.” - Crux
More:
“his 58% favorable rating from Americans is among the lower scores he has received since 2013, and his unfavorable rating is at a new high of 30%.” - Gallup
“the woes of contemporary Catholicism are not so easily separated from those of contemporary conservative Protestants at this point.” - Carl Trueman
“Two futures look possible. One is outright schism. That happened before…. The other potential future is a reaction to Pope Francis when he dies with the cardinals electing another traditionalist like Benedict XVI.” - Roger Olson
