The Role and Impact of the Papacy

Funeral rites are underway for Pope Francis, who died this week at age 88 after leading the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are expected to attend the papal funeral in Vatican City on Saturday, including cardinals from around the world. Many of these cardinals will then begin the process of electing the next pope. Before the white smoke is released, we’ll look at the conclave process and examine who might succeed Pope Francis — and whether he’ll continue Francis’s legacy of environmentalism, openness and compassion.

Guests:

Father Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, chair of philosophy of science and director, the Institute of Social and Political Sciences at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome; former coordinator of Ecology and Creation at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

Jeffrey Guhin, associate professor of sociology, UCLA

Bry Jensen, Host of the long-running Pontifacts podcast

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