Although Francis is now 87 years old and one of the oldest popes in history to lead the Catholic Church, a glance at his agenda for 2024 reveals that he has no intention of slowing down.
Summer in Rome is traditionally a time when things slow down, yet at the Vatican it’s business as usual, with Pope Francis making at least four noteworthy decisions all in one day, from indulgences to surprise meetings with Bill Clinton.
Founders with feet of clay another challenge for Pope’s reform campaign
Feb 14, 2021 editor
A Pentecost gathering of new Catholic movements with Pope Francis in 2013. (Credit: Pontifical Council for the Laity.)
Most observers of new movements in the Catholic Church would say they tend to share a number of characteristics, one of which is a strong cult of personality around the founder that tends to insulate such figures from suspicion and creates a series of disincentives for bringing forth accusations or complaints.
News Analysis
ROME – This week the name of the late Father Werenfried van Straaten, a Dutch priest who founded “Aid to the Church in Need” in 1952 to aid persecuted Christians, was added to the distressingly long list of founders of new entities in the Catholic Church who’ve turned out to have feet of clay.