UPFRONT: First American Pope

Guest Editorial: Reasons for picking the first American pope

The Boston Globe on the first American pope:

John Patrick Grace: First American pope surprises a waiting world

His election settled what was almost certainly the major question in the media and among the globe’s 1.4 billion Catholics: Would the new pope continue the reforming passion of Francis in outreach to the poor, the struggling, the marginalized, such as undocumented immigrants and to women seeking a stronger role in the church? Or would he step back to a more conservative posture, stressing adherence to the church’s traditional doctrines and disci…

The first American Pope

What are the implications of the first American pope?

UPFRONT: First American Pope

Reporting from Chicago on the pope’s impact on the Catholic Church and politics

The election of John F. Kennedy as president of the United States in 1961, when little Robert Prevost was only six years old and was raised outside Chicago, confirmed to American Catholics for the first time that one of his own could be the ultimate leader of earthly power in the country, after decades — i.e. — of suspicions. Now that servant boy from Chicago, who was playing as a priest, has given another huge backlash to his co-religionaries. …

This time, our readers are concerned with the recent and far-flung election of the Pope, with believers and those who have fallen away from the faith.