Pope Francis and the Changing Church, Probation Reform, Teens Review 2023

Pope Francis recently approved the blessing of same-sex couples by priests, one of many changes that makes his papacy stand out from his predecessors in the Catholic Church.

Air Date: December 21, 2023 12:00 pm

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The Vatican announced this week that priests can bless same-sex couples, a significant shift in the Catholic Church’s approach to LGBTQ+ people. Pope Francis has also recently commented on the Israel-Hamas war and the climate crisis, receiving hostility from his most vocal critics, and applause from others. We’ll talk about changes in the church under Francis’ leadership with Rocco Palmo, Philadelphia-based Catholic journalist and editor of the website Whispers in the Loggia.

Governor Shapiro signed legislation last week to reform Pennsylvania’s probation system. Bill 838 was famously championed by rapper Meek Mill and is meant to stop people on probation from going to prison for technical violations. Democratic Pa. State Representative Jordan Harris was instrumental to its passage and joins us to talk about the bipartisan law and some of the criticism that it doesn’t go far enough.

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