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This Insights eNewsletter was sent to subscribers on September 10, 2013.

eNewsletter Subject: Pope Francis on Convents and Hotels

It is interesting, instructive and inspiring to watch a new papacy unfold. Consider what Pope Francis said about the Church's empty convents while visiting a Jesuit refugee center in Rome: Pope proposes opening empty convents to refugees.

I also note that Francis chose to hold a listening session with the Curia before implementing his own reform plans. That's wise when you're relatively new to a job, and humility goes a long way to winning allies.

We know by now that Pope Francis abhors triumphalism, but his homily on Tuesday morning on this subject—with all of its natural voice inflections—did not lend itself to a simple summary in print. I explain in When the Pope says Christ is the Winner....

The Holy Father, obviously, has a huge task before him in resolving what we may justly call the crisis of the Church today. Recently, a Jesuit, Fr. Martin R. Tripole, wrote an important book on this subject. I reviewed it yesterday in our In Depth Analysis section. See: Church in Crisis: What is wrong? Why? Can we fix it? How?...

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