Special episode from Rome on the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Francis is dead. The throne is vacant. The voting will soon begin. What does the death of Pope Francis mean for the Catholic church at home and abroad? What will be the big issues facing the cardinals, who will soon gather for the papal conclave?

Audrey Carville hears from the former Irish President Dr Mary McAleese about Pope Francis and the challenges for his successor. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reflects on Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland in 2018 and the reframing of the relationship between the State and the Church.

And, Dr Nicola Brady (general secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland), Michael Kelly (director of public affairs at the charity Aid to the Church in Need) and leading human rights defender Baroness Nuala O’Loan join Audrey to discuss the issues that could decide who will succeed Pope Francis as leader of Catholicism.

Marie Collins survived the abuse inflicted on her by a Catholic priest in Dublin. Pope Francis appointed her to his Pontifical Commission on the Protection of Minors in 2014 but she resigned from it in 2017. How does she assess how he acted during his papacy? And three expert Vatican observers analyse the enduring legacy of Pope Francis

Is it impossible for a person of faith to navigate their lives without questioning their beliefs? Do the doubters long for the faith of the believers? Is faith the enemy of reason and does certainty come at the expense of rational thought? Audrey Carville will be exploring these questions and more with her guests: theologians Dr Joy Allan and Dr Elaine Storkey, Corrymeela Community leader Rev Dr Alex Wimberly, and Father Martin Magill from St John’s Parish.

Bishop Donal McKeown will be talking about reaching a big milestone. Has President Nixon’s political legacy been unfairly overshadowed by Watergate? And why does Easter Sunday fall on a different date every year, and why have efforts over the years to fix it in the calendar been thwarted?

In a world that seems filled with chaos at the moment, a world where it seems power and money walk hand in hand, is there a space for morality? For ethical choices to be made and conversations be had? Or are we witnessing a moral decline? How can competing moralities co-exist peacefully in increasingly diverse, and politically entrenched, societies? Audrey Carville is joined by Queen's University's Dr Suzanne Whitten, a philosopher, and John Barry, professor of green political economy, and Presbyterian minister Rev Dr Norman Hamilton.

If a doctor or a nurse makes a mistake with your care, or the care of a loved one, you would expect to be told about it. But putting in place a process where there is a duty of candour within the health service is proving extremely difficult. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK or Ireland not to have one. The Hyponatraemia inquiry into the deaths of five children in hospital put the focus on the need for it. The inquiry chair Mr Justice O'Hara said some of the witnesses had to have the truth dragged out of them. The health minister says he hopes to introduce one in before the next Assembly election, but why is it so challenging? Audrey Carville is joined by Deirdre Heenan (professor of social policy at Ulster University) and Peter McBride (an independent consultant who has been working with the Department of Health on building a framework for a duty of candour).

After 15 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, in an exclusive interview Audrey Carville talks to Paddy Armstrong and his wife Caroline Armstrong about his life, now.

Were the secularists right in their declaration that religion is in the museum of history or is religion far from dead in 2025? It's a question provoked by a recent lecture given in Maynooth university in County Kildare by one of the best-known theologians from these islands. Dr Anna Rowlands, who is professor of Catholic social thought at Durham University and a recent advisor to the Vatican, told the gathering that not only is the political significance of religion rising, but new forms of religious and post-religious practice are emerging in both the global north and south. She joined the Sunday Sequence debate chaired by Audrey Carville. Also in the discussion is the theologian Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick and human rights defender Baroness Nuala O'Loan.

It's nearly 40 years since Maggie Thatcher declared the end of society.

Do you think women and men are equal in today's society- do they have equal opportunities in education and career development, do they have equal pay for equal work, are there particular obstacles that women face that men don't? What about in the home? In your home- do you split the tasks 50:50? Until women are no longer seen as the primary carer of children or older family members, will there ever be true equality? What about equality in faith. It hasn't always been the case that women and men are treated equally as worshippers in faith. Decades ago, women weren't allowed to participate in the same way that they do now- as readers, or cantors, or collectors. In many Churches men and women were kept apart, in separated aisles,.for fear of temptation or distraction. And of course what about the call to serve? The Catholic Church still will not allow women priests. Anglican and Presbyterian Churches do- but amid some entrenched opposition- to the extent that people have left their Church in protest. And does the Church's treatment of women play a part in how women are seen and treated across wider society? Presenter Audrey Carville in conversation with Presbyterian minister and university chaplain the Reverend Cheryl Meban, theologian Dr Elaine Storkey, retired school principal and self described practising and questioning Catholic Michele Marken and Naomi Green, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain.

How do beliefs jump from one generation to the next? Passing on your belief system - whether religious or otherwise - can be a really important priority for parents. Do churches offer much preparation or training to help people share what they hold dear? And do they support parents and grandparents who discover that children have perhaps turned their back on religion? If it takes a village to raise a child, does it take a village to school them in morals, ethics and spirituality? Teasing out some answers to these questions in the studio with Claire Graham are Roz Stirling who runs retreats and for a long time led the youth work strategy for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Boyd Sleater, coordinator of Northern Ireland Humanists; Lindsay Allen, a parent of two boys and a retired Baptist Pastor; and Fr Martin Magill, a Catholic Priest in west Belfast and a co-founder of the 4 Corners Festival.