Pope Francis didn’t affirm same-sex marriage or lobby for ordaining women as priests. But he gently steered the Catholic Church in a more progressive direction while leading with compassion, openness ...

Now, Pope Leo XIV, the church’s new leader and ... was essentially both a conservative and a liberal, by American standards, at the same time, as Catholic writer James T. Keane argued in 2021.

The previous Pope Leo emphasized the Catholic Church's responsibility to care for the poor and support workers' rights.

Because of the pope’s role to maintain the fullness of tradition and the unity of the Church, a pope cannot be conservative or liberal in a political sense.

During his 12-year pontificate, Pope Francis urged Catholics to shake up their church and “make a mess” if they had to. It ...

Pope Leo XIV has stepped into the position of leader of the Catholic Church at a time when the church in the United States is ...

Many expect the next pontiff to carry forward elements of Francis' legacy. Yet, sharp divisions remain over doctrine, tradition and the church's direction.

But the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize him or his flock. Burke heads the Liberal Catholic Church in the Diocese of Arizona. The Liberal Catholic Church is a tiny, autonomous body ...

Pope Francis didn’t affirm same-sex marriage, lobby for ordaining women as priests or spark a liberal revolution in the Catholic Church. The pontiff, who died Monday at the age of 88 ...