Pope Francis: Reform or modernisation?
A report card on the first non-European Pontiff, as he marks his first year in office.
Time magazine made him its Person of the Year in 2013, and his extraordinary popularity is credited with increasing church attendances around the world.
But a year into the job, how is Pope Francis handling the social issues affecting the Roman Catholic Church – and the scandals?
Pope Francis is the first Latin American Pontiff and the first non-European to lead the Roman Catholic Church in 1,200 years. He has been praised for his humility ahead of formality, and mercy before moralising. Supporters say he has even made being Catholic cool.
He inherited a Church facing criticism over child abuse, corruption and a raft of social issues. But will the Pontiff’s gentle revolution lead to real change in the Church?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Guests: Father Robert Gahl – A Roman Catholic priest and Associate Professor of Ethics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
Michael Walsh – A Papal historian and author of the book ‘The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections’.
Massimo Franco – A Columnist for ‘Corriere della Sera’, whose work includes the book: ‘There Once Was A Vatican’.