Anyone looking for a quick answer from Leo XIV will have to wait. He is very much a synodal man, and so the question of women deacons is open for the whole church to consider.
While we do not know who the next pope will be, as a feminist theologian, I am not worried. Yes, the next pope can enact practices that reverse Francis’ reforms — but the Francis Effect extended far beyond his person or office.
More than 60% of Vietnam is under the age of 40, with no memory of what people here call the American war. For them, April 30 was a grand holiday, a day off from the office, not a haunting memory.
As distrust continues to rise among leaders and the communities they serve, elected officials would be well served to follow the example of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis' tomb assures a pageantry of pilgrims to his memory, as the scandal-battered Catholic Church seeks high ground on the worst crisis since the Reformation.
Pope Francis himself was a longtime friend of the Jews, calling antisemitism "a sin against God." As Jews, we not only offer sympathy to Catholics worldwide, but mourn this enormous loss along with them.
Although overtly campaigning to be pope is discouraged and would be counterproductive, the cardinals do a lot of politicking in private prior to the conclave.
