GEORGE WEIGEL is one of the English-speaking world’s most prominent Catholic commentators, renowned for his authoritative chronicling of John Paul II’s papacy and popular apologetic works such as Letters to a Young Catholic. His analysis of the future direction the Church should take is well worth taking seriously, even if it may not be one shared by Pope Francis. 

Weigel, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, was in Rome last week to catch up with friends and Vatican contacts and to talk about his new book, The Fragility of Order