Pope Francis, who mistrusted top-down attempts at Church renewal and trusted the faith instincts of ordinary believers, worked to renew the mission of the Church through “synodality”, an approach that emphasized shared prayer and small group discussions.

In his encyclical on care for our common home, Pope Francis supported the ratification of the Paris Agreement and called on all members of the human family to do our part to reduce global warming.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American Bishop of Rome, drew on liberation theology to help the poor take hold of their lives.

Pope Francis appointed many women to high positions in the Vatican, but he stopped short of ordaining women deacons.

Pope Francis argues that our economic system tends to reduce persons to commodities and offers advice on how to maintain a Christian attitude by meditating on the teachings of Jesus who told the story of the rich man who suffered in the next life and Lazarus, who enjoyed happiness.

Pope Francis teaches us that Christian marriage is an icon of Christ's love for the church and encourages married couples to make use of parish programs to enrich their marriage.

Pope Francis teaches that all Christians by virtue of our baptism are called to proclaim the word and that the three year cycle of Sunday Mass readings, guided by relevant homilies, can help us live our faith in every day life.

This podcast episode, on Pope Francis and sex abuse, deals with very sensitive and disturbing material, portrays the pope as having sincere compassion for the victims and urging all Catholics to do our part to purge the church of this horrendous scandal.

This episode on Pope Francis and the Liturgy highlights the pope's commitment to implementing the liturgical reforms of Vatican II and encourages all of us to be full, active, conscious participants at Mass.

Fr Bacik and Brad Reiger discuss Dorothy Day: Dorothy Day (1897-1980) journalist, social activist, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement who encourages us to engage in concrete actions to serve the poor and promote peace.