Molly Jackson, The Conversation Pope Francis, whose papacy blended tradition with pushes for inclusion and reform, died on April, 21, 2025 – Easter Monday – at the age of 88. Here we spotlight five stories from The Conversation’s archive about his roots, faith, leadership and legacy.

1. A Jesuit pope

Jorge Mario Bergoglio became a pope of many firsts: the first modern pope from outside Europe, the first whose papal name honors St. Francis of Assisi, and the first Jesuit – a Catholic religious order founded in the 16th century. Those Jesuit roots shed light on Pope Francis’ approach to some of the world’s most pressing problems, argues Timothy Gabrielli, a theologian at the University of Dayton. Gabrielli highlights the Jesuits’ “Spiritual Exercises,” which prompt Catholics to deepen their relationship with God and carefully discern how to respond to problems. He argues that this spiritual pattern of looking beyond “presenting problems” to the deeper roots comes through in Francis’ writings, shaping the pope’s response to everything from climate change and inequality to clerical sex abuse.

2. LGBTQ+ issues

Early on in his papacy, Francis famously told an interviewer, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Over the years, he has repeatedly called on Catholics to love LGBTQ+ people and spoken against laws that target them.

But “Francis’ inclusiveness is not actually radical,” explains Steven Millies, a scholar at the Catholic Theological Union. “His remarks generally correspond to what the church teaches and calls on Catholics to do,” without changing doctrine – such as that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Rather, Francis’ comments “express what the Catholic Church says about human dignity,” Millies writes. “Francis is calling on Catholics to take note that they should be concerned about justice for all people.”

3. Asking forgiveness

At times, Francis did something that was once unthinkable for a pope: He apologized. He was not the first pontiff to do so, however. Pope John Paul II declared a sweeping “Day of Pardon” in 2000, asking forgiveness for the church’s sins, and Pope Benedict XVI apologized to victims of sexual abuse. During Francis’ papacy, he acknowledged the church’s historic role in Canada’s residential school system for Indigenous children and apologized for abuses in the system. But what does it mean for a pope to say, “I’m sorry”?

Annie Selak, a theologian at Georgetown University, unpacks the history and significance of papal apologies, which can speak for the entire church, past and present. Often, she notes, statements skirt an actual admission of wrongdoing. Still, apologies “do say something important,” Selak writes. A pope “apologizes both to the church and on behalf of the church to the world. These apologies are necessary starting points on the path to forgiveness and healing.”

4. A church that listens

Many popes convene meetings of the Synod of Bishops to advise the Vatican on church governance. But under Francis, these gatherings took on special meaning. The Synod on Synodality was a multiyear, worldwide conversation where Catholics could share concerns and challenges with local church leaders, informing the topics synod participants would eventually discuss in Rome. What’s more, the synod’s voting members included not only bishops but lay Catholics – a first for the church.

The process “pictures the Catholic Church not as a top-down hierarchy but rather as an open conversation,” writes University of Dayton religious studies scholar Daniel Speed Thompson – one in which everyone in the church has a voice and listens to others’ voices.

5. Global dance

In 2024, University of Notre Dame professor David Lantigua had a cup of maté tea with some “porteños,” as people from Buenos Aires are known. They shared a surprising take on the Argentine pope: “a theologian of the tango.”

Francis does love the dance – in 2014, thousands of Catholics tangoed in St. Peter’s Square to honor his birthday. But there’s more to it, Lantigua explains. Francis’ vision for the church was “based on relationships of trust and solidarity,” like a pair of dance partners. And part of his task as pope was to “tango” with all the world’s Catholics, carefully navigating culture wars and an increasingly diverse church. Francis was “less interested in ivory tower theology than the faith of people on the streets,” where Argentina’s beloved dance was born. This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives. Molly Jackson, Religion and Ethics Editor, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Hannah Wiseman, Penn State The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2025 ended a decade-old lawsuit filed by a group of children who sought to hold the federal government responsible for some of the consequences of climate change. But just two months earlier, the justices allowed a similar suit from the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, to continue against oil and gas companies. Evidence shows that fossil fuel companies, electric utilities and the federal government have known about climate change, its dangers and its human causes for at least 50 years. But the steps taken by fossil fuel companies, utilities and governments, including the U.S. government, have not been enough to meet international climate targets. So local and state governments and citizens have asked the courts to force companies and public agencies to act. Their results have varied, with limited victories to date. But the cases keep coming.

Attacking the emissions themselves

In general, legal claims in the U.S. can be based on the U.S. and state constitutions, federal and state laws, or what is called “common law” – legal principles created by courts over time. Lawsuits have used state and federal laws to try to limit greenhouse gas pollution itself and to seek financial compensation for alleged industry cover-ups of the dangers of fossil fuels, among many other types of claims. In 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court determined that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide emitted from motor vehicles were a “pollutant” under the federal Clean Air Act. As a result, the court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to either determine whether greenhouse gases from new vehicles contribute to climate change, and therefore endanger human health, or justify its refusal to study the issue. In 2009 the EPA found that carbon dioxide emissions did in fact endanger human health – a decision called the “endangerment finding.” In 2010 it imposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions from new vehicles and, later, from newly constructed power plants. But related EPA efforts to regulate emissions from older power plants – the ones that emit the most pollution – failed when challenged in court on the grounds that they went too far in limiting emissions beyond the power plants’ own properties. The Biden administration had finalized a new rule to clean up these older plants, but the Trump administration is now seeking to withdraw it. The Trump administration is also now beginning the complicated process of reviewing the 2009 endangerment finding. It could try to remove the legal basis for EPA greenhouse gas regulations.

A common-law approach

In response to this federal executive seesaw of climate action, some legal claims use a court-based, or common law, approach to address climate concerns. For instance, in Connecticut v. American Electric Power, filed in 2004, nine states asked a federal judge to order power plants to reduce their emissions. The states said those emissions contributed to global warming, which they argued met the federal common law definition of a “public nuisance.” That case ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that the existence of a statute – the federal Clean Air Act – meant common law did not apply. Other plaintiffs have tried to use the “public nuisance” claim or a related common-law claim of “trespass” to force large power plants or oil and gas producers to pay climate-related damages. But in those cases, too, courts found that the Clean Air Act overrode the common-law grounds for those claims. With those case outcomes, many plaintiffs have shifted their strategies, focusing more on state courts and seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry responsible for allegedly deceiving the public about the causes and effects of climate change.

Examining deception

In many cases, state and local governments are arguing that the fossil fuel industry knew about the dangers of climate change and deceived the public about them, and that the industry exaggerated the extent of its investments in energy that doesn’t emit carbon. Rather than directly asking courts to order reduced carbon emissions, these cases tend to seek damages that will help governments cover the costs associated with climate change, such as construction of cooling centers and repair of roads damaged by increased precipitation. In legal terms, the lawsuits are saying oil and gas companies violated consumer-protection laws and committed common-law civil violations such as negligence. For instance, the city of Chicago alleges that major petroleum giants – along with the industry trade association the American Petroleum Institute – had “abundant knowledge” of the public harms of fossil fuels yet “actively campaigned” to hide that information and deceive consumers. Many other complaints by states and local governments make similar allegations. Another lawsuit, from the state of Maine, lists and provides photographs of a litany of internal industry documents showing industry knowledge of the threat of climate change. That lawsuit also cites a 1977 memo from an Exxon employee to Exxon executives, which stated that “current scientific opinion overwhelmingly favors attributing atmospheric carbon dioxide increase to fossil fuel consumption,” and a 1979 internal Exxon memo about the buildup of carbon dioxide emissions, which warned that “(t)he potential problem is great and urgent.” These complaints also show organizations supported by fossil fuel companies published ads as far back as the 1990s, with titles such as “Apocalypse No” and “Who told you the earth was warming … Chicken Little?” Some of these ads – part of a broader campaign – were funded by a group called the Information Council for the Environment, supported by coal producers and electric utilities. Courts have dismissed some of these complaints, finding that federal laws overrule the principles those suits are based on. But many are still winding their way through the courts. In 2023 the Supreme Court of Hawaii found that federal laws do not prevent climate claims based on state common law. In January 2025 the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the case to continue.

Other approaches

Still other litigation approaches argue that governments inadequately reviewed the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, or even supported or subsidized those emissions caused by private industry. Those lawsuits – some of which were filed by children, with help from their parents or legal guardians – claim the governments’ actions violated people’s constitutional rights. For instance, children in the Juliana v. United States case, first filed in 2015, said 50 years of petroleum-supporting actions by presidents and various federal agencies had violated their fundamental “right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that their claim was a “political question” – meant for Congress, not the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider that ruling in March 2025. But children in Montana found more success. The Montana Constitution requires state officials and all residents to “maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment … for present and future generations.” In 2024 the Montana Supreme Court determined that this provision “includes a stable climate system that sustains human lives and liberties.” The Montana Supreme Court also reviewed a state law banning officials from considering greenhouse gas emissions of projects approved by the state. The court found that the ban violated the state constitution, too. Since then, the Montana Supreme Court has specifically required state officials to review the climate effects of a project for which permits were challenged. Concerned people and groups continue to file climate-related lawsuits across the country and around the world. They are seeing mixed results, but as the cases continue and more are filed, they are drawing attention to potential corporate and government wrongdoing, as well as the human costs of climate change. And they are inspiring shareholders and citizens to demand more accurate information and action from fossil fuel companies and electric utilities. Hannah Wiseman, Professor of Law, Penn State This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Jesse Rhoades, University of North Dakota and Rebecca Rhoades, University of North Dakota Humans will likely set foot on the Moon again in the coming decade. While many stories in this new chapter of lunar exploration will be reminiscent of the Apollo missions 50 years ago, others may look quite different. For instance, the European Space Agency is currently working to make space travel more accessible for people of a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. In this new era, the first footprint on the Moon could possibly be made by a prosthetic limb.

Historically, and even still today, astronauts selected to fly to space have had to fit a long list of physical requirements. However, many professionals in the field are beginning to acknowledge that these requirements stem from outdated assumptions. Some research, including studies by our multidisciplinary team of aerospace and biomechanics researchers, has begun to explore the possibilities for people with physical disabilities to venture into space, visit the Moon and eventually travel to Mars.

Current research

NASA has previously funded and is currently funding research on restraints and mobility aids to help everyone, regardless of their ability, move around in the crew cabin. Additionally, NASA has research programs to develop functional aids for individuals with disabilities in current U.S. spacecraft. A functional aid is any device that improves someone’s independence, mobility or daily living tasks by compensating for their physical limitations. The European Space Agency, or ESA, launched its Parastronaut Feasibility Project in 2022 to assess ways to include individuals with disabilities in human spaceflight. A parastronaut is an astronaut with a physical disability who has been selected and trained to participate in space missions. At the University of North Dakota, we conducted one of the first studies focused on parastronauts. This research examined how individuals with disabilities get into and get out of two current U.S. spacecraft designed to carry crew. The first was NASA’s Orion capsule, designed by Lockheed Martin, and the second was Boeing’s CST 100 Starliner. Alongside our colleagues Pablo De León, Keith Crisman, Komal Mangle and Kavya Manyapu, we uncovered valuable insights into the accessibility challenges future parastronauts may face. Our research indicated that individuals with physical disabilities are nearly as nimble in modern U.S. spacecraft as nondisabled individuals. This work focused on testing individuals who have experienced leg amputations. Now we are looking ahead to solutions that could benefit astronauts of all abilities.

Safety and inclusion

John McFall is the ESA’s first parastronaut. At the age of 19, Mcfall lost his right leg just above the knee from a motorcycle accident. Although McFall has not been assigned to a mission yet, he is the first person with a physical disability to be medically certified for an ISS mission.

Astronaut selection criteria currently prioritize peak physical fitness, with the goal of having multiple crew members who can do the same physical tasks. Integrating parastronauts into the crew has required balancing mission security and accessibility. However, with advancements in technology, spacecraft design and assistive tools, inclusion no longer needs to come at the expense of safety. These technologies are still in their infancy, but research and efforts like the ESA’s program will help improve them. Design and development of spacecraft can cost billions of dollars. Simple adaptations, such as adding handholds onto the walls in a spacecraft, can provide vital assistance. However, adding handles to existing spacecraft will be costly. Functional aids that don’t alter the spacecraft itself – such as accessories carried by each astronaut – could be another way forward. For example, adding Velcro to certain spots in the spacecraft or on prosthetic limbs could improve a parastronaut’s traction and help them anchor to the spacecraft’s surfaces. Engineers could design new prosthetics made for particular space environments, such as zero or partial gravity, or even tailored to specific spacecraft. This approach is kind of like designing specialized prosthetics for rock climbing, running or other sports.

Accessibility can help everyone

Future space exploration, particularly missions to the Moon and Mars that will take weeks, months and even years, may prompt new standards for astronaut fitness. During these long missions, astronauts could get injured, causing what can be considered incidental disability. An astronaut with an incidental disability begins a mission without a recognized disability but acquires one from a mission mishap. An astronaut suffering a broken arm or a traumatic brain injury during a mission would have a persistent impairment.

During long-duration missions, an astronaut crew will be too far away to receive outside medical help – they’ll have to deal with these issues on their own. Considering disability during mission planning goes beyond inclusion. It makes the mission safer for all astronauts by preparing them for anything that could go wrong. Any astronaut could suffer an incidental disability during their journey. Safety and inclusion in spaceflight don’t need to be at odds. Instead, agencies can reengineer systems and training processes to ensure that more people can safely participate in space missions. By addressing safety concerns through technology, innovative design and mission planning, the space industry can have inclusive and successful missions. Jesse Rhoades, Professor of Education, Heath & Behavior, University of North Dakota and Rebecca Rhoades, Researcher in Education, Health & Behavior, University of North Dakota This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.