FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2015

Commentators, including Sister Simone Campbell, will speak about the Pope’s key reforms, upcoming environment encyclical and Sept. U.S. Visit

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, March 10th at 10:30 am (EST), a Vatican analyst, a religion researcher, a former spokesperson for the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other prominent Catholic commentators will participate in a telephonic press conference to take stock of the first two years of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking papacy. Speakers will address structural reforms underway at the Vatican, the Pope’s key appointments in the United States and what to expect from an upcoming encyclical on the environment expected to be released this summer that has already provoked backlash from some conservative pundits.

Will the Pope’s challenge to an “economy of exclusion and inequality” — and his belief that the church “can’t insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods” — shake up American values debates in the lead up to the Pope’s September visit to the United States and the 2016 presidential elections? What does the latest polling say about American Catholics attitudes toward Francis? Are Vatican reforms moving fast enough? Speakers will address these and other topics followed by a Q&A session with media.

WHAT: Telephonic press conference with prominent Catholic commentators and researcher on second anniversary of Pope Francis’ election

WHO:

• Rev. Tom Reese, author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Senior analyst, National Catholic Reporter
• Kim Daniels, former spokesperson for the President the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Senior Advisor, Catholic Voices
• Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and leader of “Nuns on the Bus”
• John Carr, Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University
• Jessica Martinez, Research Associate, Pew Research Center
• Stephen Schneck, Director, Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies, The Catholic University of America in Washington

WHEN: Tuesday, March 10 at 10:30 am (EDT)

CALL: 888-510-1785  Conference ID 5137851 (for the press)

Contact: John Gehring, jgehring@faithinpubliclife.org and Michael McGovern mmcgovern@faithinpubliclife.org