Background Briefing: April 21, 2025
Sadness Around the World at the Death of a Good Man, Pope Francis
We begin with the death of Pope Francis and the outpouring of grief and sadness around the world as Catholics and other Christians recognize the loss of a good man who showed compassion and empathy to all even if he was not able to make the reforms of inclusion ordaining women and accepting gays. Joining us is Kenneth Briggs who wrote for the National Catholic Reporter and was a professor at Lafayette College and a former New York Times religion editor. He is the author of Power of Forgiveness, Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns and The Invisible Best-Seller: Searching For the Bible In America.
A Tolerant and Empathetic Pope and the Reactionary Male-Dominated Institution He Headed
Then we explore further the gap between the breath of fresh air Pope Francis was to many who was also the leader of an institution controlled by men and gripped by ritual and tradition he was unable or unwilling to change. Joining us is Frances Kissling, the president of the Center for Health, Ethics and Social Policy who is a visiting professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico where she teaches Reproductive Health and Ethics and serves on the board of the Journal of Feminist Ethics. She was the President of Catholics for Choice for 25 years, stepping down when she became a Radcliffe fellow at Harvard.
Another Scandal From the White Nationalist TV Host Heading the Pentagon
Then finally we examine the latest Hegseth scandal at the Pentagon involving the woefully unqualified White Nationalist, racist, book-burning Reality TV hire of Trump’s who, after spilling top secrets on an insecure group chat, is now found to have shared top secrets with his wife, brother and lawyer on another Signal group chat that was not “clean on op sec” as he claimed on the first one. Joining us is Lawrence Korb, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Adviser to the Center for Defense Information. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense and is the author of A New National Security Strategy in an Age of Terrorists, Tyrants, and Weapons of Mass Destruction.