Having determined that "in the public square ... the days of fat, balding Irish bishops are over," Cardinal Timothy Dolan has chosen, as his stand-in, a woman who seems the very model of a modern media messenger from the political right. If Dolan had more confidence in his message, he wouldn't need her.
I encourage patients to continue seeking spiritual support from their pastor or spiritual director and continue finding solace in the Scriptures. Spiritual exercises and practices are perfectly compatible with things like taking a medication and going to psychotherapy. They can all work hand in hand.
The decisions made during Francis' first Holy Thursday as pope will signal much about just what sort of father Francis will be: a loving one who values his daughters as much as his sons, who truly listens and is willing to admit his own mistakes, or a father who signals merely a shift in papal style but not in substance?