Europe and Eurasia

Vatican City

  • Vatican City
    The Pope’s Soft-Power Push
    Pope Francis will use his upcoming high-level visits to the U.S. and UN to press the concerns of the poor and marginalized, says expert Kenneth Himes.
  • Global
    Who Is Pope Francis?
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    Experts discuss the leadership style, psychology, personality, and policies of Pope Francis ahead of his upcoming visit to the United States.
  • Vatican City
    How to Read Pope Francis on the Environment
    The pope’s encyclical on the environment carries a profoundly religious message about care for the earth, wedded to a new call for activism, say religious scholars Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim.
  • Religion
    Papal Succession in the Catholic Church
    The election of pope to lead the world’s one billion Catholics stirs debate over the spiritual authority of the pontiff and the church’s role in the world.
  • Vatican City
    Papacy in Transition
    The surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has given rise to speculations that the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church will hail from the developing world, says expert James P. McCartin.
  • Religion
    U.S.-Vatican Relations
    U.S.-Vatican relations remain uneven following Joseph Ratzinger’s accession as Pope Benedict XVI, particularly as the Obama administration pursues a more liberal social agenda.