Commonweal contributing writer Paul Moses appeared on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” to discuss the life and legacy of Pope Francis. Moses and anchor Errol Louis had a wide ranging discussion about Francis’s impact on the Church, the papacy, and the world. They began by discussing the significance of Pope Francis’s chosen name. Moses emphasized the resonances between the Francis papacy and St. Francis’s emphasis on care for the poor, interfaith dialogue, and Church reform. From there, Moses reflected on the significance of the first Latin American pope for a rapidly diversifying U.S. Church. 

Later, Moses and Louis discussed the ways in which Francis modeled a more capacious ‘pro-life’ stance. "Pope Francis made it much clearer, Moses said, “that being pro-life means being concerned about the migrant, being concerned about the death penalty." Ultimately, Moses suggested that Francis is best understood not as a ‘liberal’ or a ‘conservative’ but as a ‘seamless garment’ Catholic. 

Paul Moses contributes frequently to Commonweal. In recent months, he has written on Pope John Paul II’s trip to the Holy Land, Commonweal’s historic feud with the Brooklyn Tablet, and Bob Menendez’s fall from grace. 

The full NY1 interview, which aired on April 21, can be found here.