There are often disagreements within a religion — as some members are more progressive and others more conservative.
And rifts in the Catholic Church have seen brighter time in the spotlight since Pope Francis was named to lead the faith in 2013.
More progressive Catholics are pleased with the emphasis on being good stewards of the environment, for example, while conservatives have expressed fear that the religion is on its way to an apocalypse.
A recent piece in La Civilta Cattolica co-written by Antonio Spadaro criticizes some conservative Catholics for being too hard line and focus on a black-and-white battle between good and evil.
To put the situation into perspective, we spoke with Catherine O’Donnell, associate professor of history at ASU. She specializes in U.S. Catholic history.
