Berkley Center

Senior Research Fellow Rabbi Abraham Skorka honored the memory of his longtime friend, Pope Francis, in a heartfelt tribute published on April 22. He underscored Pope Francis' commitment to interfaith dialogue and unity, and concluded by reflecting on his legacy of compassion and dedication to bridging divides. In addition to this tribute, Rabbi Skorka was interviewed for a feature in Servizo Informazione Religiosa and contributed a commemorative piece to L'Osservatore Romano.

Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, Berkley Center Senior Fellow Paul Elie reflects in the New Yorker on the pope's legacy and his quiet reshaping of the papacy. In this piece, along with an earlier article published ahead of Easter, Elie considers how Pope Francis redefined the role of the Catholic Church in the modern age and offers perspective on the future of the Church without his leadership. 

Rabbi Julia Watts Belser, Berkley Center senior research fellow, has been awarded the 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for her book Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole (2023). Belser's insights challenge current exclusionary norms and open new paths for inclusive theology. 

On April 10, Berkley Center Senior Fellow José Casanova delivered the keynote address at the conference "Catholic Modernity in the Americas: Land, Culture, Politics," hosted by the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame.