Trump backs Hegseth as White House denies search for replacement: Live
Donald Trump is standing behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, after reports that he shared details of a March attack on Yemen‘s Iran-aligned Houthis in a message group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
The revelations that Hegseth used the unclassified messaging system Signal for a second time to share highly sensitive security details come at a delicate moment for him, with senior officials ousted from the Pentagon last week as part of an internal leak investigation into his earlier use of the app.
Trump reiterated his support of Hegseth at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll event on the South Lawn, calling the report “fake news.”
Leavitt was also quick to deny a report by NPR on Monday afternoon that a search for a replacement secretary of defense was underway.
Meanwhile, the president took to Truth Social to renew his attacks on Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to plummet by almost 1,000 points.
Parking machines ‘set up to trap people’ as thousands sent tickets
Drivers across England say they are being sent demands for up to £170 from private parking companies because of faulty machines.
One campaigner says “thousands” of people have been affected.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the issue as “a problem that needs to be tackled”, while the RAC called for a Government-backed code of conduct to be reintroduced.
Many car parks require users to input their vehicle registration when purchasing a ticket from a machine.
This is supposed to prevent them being sent a PCN when their vehicle is detected by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
But there have been numerous cases of drivers who insist they entered their registration correctly but still received a PCN.
Each had initial appeals rejected, despite submitting a photograph of their ticket, which shows an incorrect registration was printed.
Matt Chambers, a 35-year-old business owner, received a £100 PCN from Excel Parking after using a car park in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in February.
He said: “They say I only registered the letter B for my number plate.
“That’s not right. I’m adamant I put the whole number plate in because I’ve used that car park several times before, and it’s the exact same process every time.
“I know how to use the machine.”
He said he is continuing to challenge the PCN but “sometimes it feels easier to pay just to make them go away” even though “I’ve done nothing wrong”.
Retired chef Lee Rogers, 67, suffered a similar problem.
He received a PCN from Euro Car Parks after using a car park in Rye, East Sussex, in August last year, and later realised the ticket he bought only had one digit of his registration printed on it.
He said: “I did not stand there and key in just the first digit.
“Hundreds of others have had the same problem.”
He said he told Euro Car Parks he would “very much like to go to court” over the issue as “they know I’ve paid”.
His partner is feeling “trepidation that someone might come knocking at the door”, he added.
Mary Hawken, 79, was sent a PCN after using a car park in Praa Sands, Cornwall, in July 2024.
She said: “I noticed that the WK didn’t print (on my ticket) but I thought, I’ve got a receipt anyway, and the rest of the registration is on it, so that’s fine.
“A week later I had a PCN. I thought, I’m not paying it, you can take me to court.
“I religiously pay for car parks. I’m not going to be bullied into this.”
The amount being demanded reached £170, until the case was dropped four days after she contacted her MP, Andrew George, who intervened on her behalf.
There has also been evidence of similar situations involving car parks in Leicestershire, Somerset and West Yorkshire.
Campaigner Lynda Eagan has been researching the issue for around a decade after receiving a PCN she felt was “undeserved”.
She assists drivers who join a Facebook group named Private Parking Tickets – Help and Advice, which has 47,000 members.
Asked how many people in the UK she believes have been sent tickets because of faulty machines, she replied: “Literally thousands.”
She said: “We’ve got unfair PCNs issued to people simply because the machine didn’t work properly.
“It’s a totally filthy business. It’s just wrong.”
Ms Eagan said most machine faults involve “sticky keys” – when the buttons pressed are not correctly recorded – or devices which “encourage you to pay” before the full registration has been entered.
The latter machines are “set up to trap people”, she claimed, as they accept payment even if only the first letter of a registration is entered.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Sadly, it’s abundantly clear from the multitude of examples that some parking companies are wrongly demanding ‘fines’ from drivers who have legitimately paid to park.
“Whether it’s a faulty payment machine that records the wrong vehicle registration or an innocent mistake keying in their number plate, these people shouldn’t have to pay the £100 parking charge notices they are sent.
“Many cases seem completely unjustified and should be thrown out at appeal, but sadly they so often aren’t.
“We desperately need the Government to introduce the Private Parking Code of Practice to bring much-needed scrutiny to the sector.”
A Bill to enable the introduction of a Government-backed code for private parking companies received royal assent under the Conservative government in March 2019.
The code was withdrawn in June 2022 after a legal challenge by parking companies.
It included halving the cap on tickets for most parking offences to £50, creating a fairer appeals system and banning the use of aggressive language on PCNs.
Ms Alexander called for private parking companies to make a “dramatic improvement” in the way they deal with the public.
She urged them to do “simple things” such as having “machines and equipment that work”, and being contactable rather than providing “addresses that no-one answers letters from”.
Ms Alexander went on: “Government is working on a code of practice because we recognise that we need to drive up standards in the private parking industry.
“People’s experience is not good enough at the moment.
“I’m working with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on this, and I do accept that this is a problem that needs to be tackled.”
Analysis of Government data by PA and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation in November last year found an average of more than 41,000 PCNs were being sent to drivers in Britain by private companies every day.
A spokesperson for trade body the British Parking Association declined to respond to the claims of faulty machines, but said someone who receives a parking charge they believe was issued in error should first contact the parking operator and provide “all the information that would be relevant for an appeal”.
Excel Parking did not provide a response, while Euro Car Parks did not respond to requests for a comment.
Navy flagship to sail to Indo-Pacific in message of UK capability
The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Prince of Wales is to set sail to the Indo-Pacific as head of an international Carrier Strike Group with the aim of sending a “powerful message that we mean business”.
The £3 billion aircraft carrier will lead UK, Norwegian and Canadian warships for the eight-month deployment to join exercises, operations and visits with 40 countries across the Mediterranean, Middle East, south-east Asia, Japan and Australia.
Thousands of families and well-wishers are expected to line the harbour walls at Portsmouth on Tuesday (April 22) to wave off the 65,000-tonne warship, which will be accompanied from the navy base by Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless.
They will then be joined by two Norwegian vessels – tanker HNoMS Maud and frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen – as well as the UK and Canadian frigates HMS Richmond and HMCS Ville de Quebec, which are sailing from Plymouth.
The support vessel Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring will make up the final ship in the Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which will involve other ships and nations during the deployment called Operation Highmast.
A contingent of 18 UK F-35B jets will join the carrier in the days after departure, with that number increasing to 24 during the deployment.
Also joining will be Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopters from RNAS Culdrose and Merlin Mk4 Commando and Wildcat helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton, as well as T-150 Malloy and Puma drones.
Commodore James Blackmore, CSG commander, said the deployment would send a “powerful message” of the UK’s naval and air power.
He said: “It’s about supporting key trade routes that exist from the Indo-Pacific region to the UK, and supporting partners and allies in the region, showing that we are there as a capable and credible force should it be required.
“That in a time of crisis, we can come together and fight together and show that we have a capability that we mean business with.”
He added: “Working closely with partners from across the globe, Operation Highmast will demonstrate credible deterrence and our support to Nato and the rules-based international order.
“This will reaffirm that the UK is secure at home and strong abroad and reinforce the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.”
A total of 2,500 military personnel – about 2,100 British, 400 from Norway, Canada and Spain – will initially deploy as part of the CSG, with the numbers rising to 4,500 for the major exercises in the Indo-Pacific region.
Captain Will Blackett, commanding officer of HMS Prince of Wales, said: “We have been training very, very hard for over a year now, and we’re good to go.
“This ship is a fantastic machine, she’s got amazing equipment – state of the art – and we’re very proud to take her around the world.
“But it only works because of the magic that’s brought to it by the people on board.”
He added: “I grew up in Portsmouth, I went to school about a mile away, and I sat on the Round Tower as a 10-year-old saying ‘One day, I’d like to be the captain of a warship’, and I was in the crowd watching an aircraft carrier leave.
“Somehow, I’m about to be the captain of an aircraft carrier, leaving in front of 10-year-olds sitting at the Round Tower, and for me, it’s a momentous moment.”
Leading Engineering Technician (LET) Josh Thompson, 29, from Barnstable, Devon, said: “Personally, it’s something to be pretty proud of, it’s something that doesn’t come round very often, seeing stops in places that most people don’t see.
“And then also being a part of the bigger picture hopefully for the future of the UK and the world.”
ET John Davis, 24, from Oxford, said: “I’m really excited to be honest, I’m quite proud of the fact I’ll be doing it.”
The CSG’s first task will be to join a Nato exercise off France testing aerial defences before the ships move on to the Mediterranean to work with an Italian-led carrier force and then heading east via the Red Sea.
This is the second CSG deployment to the Indo-Pacific, with the previous one led by HMS Prince of Wales’ sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, in 2021.
Israeli army admits ‘professional failures’ over killing of Gaza medics
The Israeli military has admitted “professional failures” and “breaches of orders” over the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza last month.
An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into the incident on 23 March found the deaths of the aid workers were a result of an “operational misunderstanding”. A commanding officer is to be reprimanded and a deputy commander to be dismissed, the military said.
The International Red Cross/Red Crescent called it the deadliest attack on its personnel in eight years. Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN employee were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on emergency vehicles in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Footage showed the convoy of vehicles, with lights flashing and logos visible, pulling up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier – before the vehicles came under a barrage of gunfire that lasted more than five minutes.
Israel first claimed the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked after the footage emerged from a dead medic’s phone.
The Israeli military’s investigation found the deputy battalion commander assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants “due to poor night visibility”.
The soldiers then bulldozed over the bodies along with their vehicles, burying them in a mass grave before they were later discovered by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society had claimed the killed medics were “targeted at close range”. Night-vision drone footage provided by the military shows soldiers were 20 to 30 metres away from the ambulances.
The Israel initially said nine of the 15 medics were Hamas militants. But as part of its investigation, the military now says, without providing evidence, that six of them were “Hamas terrorists”. Hamas has rejected the accusation.
The investigation also found that the decision to crush the ambulances was wrong, but said that it was not an attempt to conceal the event.
Major General Yoav Har-Even, in charge of the military’s investigative branch, said the bodies and vehicles were removed from the road because the military wanted to use it for an evacuation route later that day.
No paramedic was armed and no weapons were found in any vehicle, Maj Gen Har-Even said.
“The examination found no evidence to support claims of execution or that any of the deceased were bound before or after the shooting,” the report said.
Israel said a deputy commander would be dismissed for providing an “incomplete and inaccurate report” of the incident.
The statement on the findings concluded by saying the Israel’s military “regrets the harm caused to uninvolved civilians”. The one survivor from the incident was detained for investigation and remains in custody for further questioning.
Israel has previously accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. It argues that this justifies the strikes on them. Medical personnel deny the accusations.
Israeli strikes since 7 October 2023 have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers, according to the United Nations.
Palestinians and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israel’s military of failing to properly investigate misconduct by its troops.
Additional reporting by agencies
Three men charged after woman dies following crash on golf course
Police have charged three men following the death of a woman in a crash on a golf course after a police pursuit.
Suzanne Cherry, 62, was struck by a Nissan van at Aston Wood Golf Club on Blake Street, Lichfield, at 10.25am on 11 April. She died in hospital on Tuesday last week.
Staffordshire Police have now charged John McDonald, 51, of Bloxwich, with manslaughter, assault by beating and failing to stop a vehicle when directed by an officer.
Johnny McDonald, 22, of Dudley, and Brett Delaney, 34, of Darlaston, Walsall, were also charged with manslaughter.
Three other men who were arrested in connection with the investigation have been bailed with conditions. Staffordshire Police said on Monday evening that the three charged are due at a plea hearing at Stafford Crown Court on 23 May.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is continuing to investigate the circumstances before the crash, when West Midlands Police officers were responding to reports of suspicious activity.
Officers in two patrol cars began following the grey Nissan van in Kingstanding, Birmingham, at about 10.15am on Friday, according to the investigating watchdog.
They stopped following the van when it came off the road and went up an embankment on the golf course, where the van hit Ms Cherry.
Specialist officers are continuing to support Ms Cherry’s family. Her husband shared a tribute to his “beautiful” and “unselfish” wife on Sunday.
He described his wife as having an “amazing and infectious zest for life, which touched everyone who was fortunate enough to know her”.
Her husband, who was not named, added: “She was unselfish, always ready to encourage with love and support those around her to achieve more than they themselves thought possible.
“Suzanne leaves a legacy and an unfillable void in the lives of her mother Maureen, her three adult children, two stepchildren and countless others from her work, her sporting activities and social circle.
“Sue was loved, and will be painfully missed by her entire family and friends. We ask that our privacy at this difficult time be respected.”
Why ‘Disagreeing Well’ Could Save Us All
You’re laughing with friends, perhaps enjoying a few drinks down the pub, when all of a sudden, one of those friends drops a clanger of a comment that hits you sideways. Maybe it’s political, maybe it’s personal, but whatever it is it’s a gut punch that lands in direct opposition to something you strongly believe in.
An awkward silence. Your jaw tightens. You scan their face for a trace of irony, but there’s none to be found. Now what?
In that moment, you have a choice. Do you launch into a rebuttal, flinging facts and stats like ninja stars, risking an evening of tension and raised voices? Or do you shut down, politely nod, change the subject, and leave the disagreement to fester quietly beneath the surface?
This moment, with all its visceral discomfort, is something we all recognise. The physical response to conflict is real: adrenaline surges, heart races, breath quickens. We’re wired for fight or flight, and difficult conversations trigger both instincts. Either we go to battle or we retreat.
And therein lies the problem: we’re losing the ability to do anything in between.
Nuance versus viral outrage
Social media supercharges this dynamic. Platforms supposedly designed to connect us can drive individuals further apart, with disagreement online becoming less about discussion and more about demolition. A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that 64% of people say social media has a mostly negative effect on how things are going in their country, with political division and misinformation topping the list of concerns. It’s a space where nuance is drowned out by viral outrage and where algorithmic echo chambers reinforce rather than challenge our views.
In this climate, it’s easy to point fingers; to blame “them” for being unreasonable, misinformed, or even dangerous. But the hard truth is, it’s not just them, it’s all of us. We’re all participants in this culture of binary thinking whether we realise it or not. And if we want things to change, we have to start by looking inward and recognising our own reflexes and assumptions, and then choosing to engage rather than to avoid.
The stakes are too high not to. We’re living through volatile, uncertain and complex times. From the cost-of-living crisis and global conflicts to the climate emergency and the rise of fake news, the challenges we face require cooperation, not competition. We need solutions, not slogans, and we sure won’t find those solutions by shouting past each other or retreating into ideological corners.
A fractured global landscape
The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 paints a sobering picture of our current trajectory. Societal polarisation ranks as the fourth most severe risk over the next two years, closely tied to inequality, which holds the seventh spot. These fractures are not just social, they’re systemic, threatening to destabilise political and economic institutions worldwide.
What’s more, nearly one in four experts surveyed identified armed conflict as the most pressing global risk for 2025, surpassing concerns like extreme weather and economic instability. This escalation underscores how deeply divisions, be they ideological, political, or social, can erode the foundations of global cooperation.
Time to lean in
So what’s the answer? It all starts with accepting the discomfort of disagreement, asking better questions and listening with the aim of understanding rather than winning. That doesn’t mean compromising our values or avoiding difficult truths. It means being curious about how others see the world, recognising the humanity behind every opinion, and searching for common ground, however small. It means moving forward together, even – maybe especially – when we don’t see eye to eye.
This isn’t a new idea, of course. More than 2,000 years ago, Socrates was already showing us how it’s done. He understood that disagreement “done well” was essential to the pursuit of truth. His method of asking questions, challenging assumptions and encouraging others to do the same, wasn’t about scoring points. It was about progress, growth and building something better through conversation. Although we’ll never know how long old Socrates might have lasted on X before begging Zeus to lightning bolt the lot of us…
The spirit of open, critical dialogue has long been associated with universities. They are, in many ways, the heirs to Socrates’ legacy; spaces where ideas are tested, where disagreement is part of the learning process, and where diverse perspectives are meant to coexist in meaningful tension.
In today’s climate, that ideal is being tested. Protests, polarisation, and real concerns about safety, speech, and belonging have created complex and often painful challenges on campuses around the world. But in spite of these difficulties, and in many ways, because of them, universities remain among the best places we have to model what it means to disagree well: to be rigorous but respectful, passionate but principled, open but discerning.
They remind us that the goal isn’t to be right all the time, but to get it right eventually. It’s a process, and it requires courage, humility, and a willingness to sit across from someone who sees the world differently and still choose to talk.
Moving forward together
And that’s what we need more of right now. Not more dead certainty, outrage, or noise, but more conversation. Messy, thoughtful, honest conversation, whether it’s in the pub with friends, across the seminar hall or being represented on our screens and streets.
Disagreeing well isn’t about who wins, it’s about how we move forward together. In an age defined by division, the ability to sit with difference, to challenge without contempt, and to talk without tearing down isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential. “Why disagreeing well could save us all” isn’t hyperbole or just a catchy headline; it’s a quiet truth hiding in plain sight.
Civil debate – honest, open, and grounded in respect – might just be one of the most powerful tools we have. The question is: are we ready to use it?
Starmer backs Ukraine ceasefire call as Russia’s ‘Easter truce’ ends
Ukraine is sending a delegation to London on Wednesday for talks with Western allies on finding a resolution to the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday – as Vladimir Putin separately raised the possibility of bilateral talks with Kyiv for the first time in years.
The Ukrainian president said he had had a “good and detailed conversation” with Sir Keir Starmer, who supports calls for a full ceasefire.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that a 30-hour Easter truce proclaimed by Moscow, which each side accused the other of violating, showed that it was Russia’s actions “that are prolonging the war”.
Putin, under pressure from Washington to show willingness to make peace in Ukraine, told a TV reporter in Russia that Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv.
“We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative,” Putin said.
The Kremlin has so far resisted calls for a full ceasefire, while never fully ruling it out, and has delayed implementing more limited agreements covering the Black Sea, insisting that sanctions on Russia are eased first.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had spoken to Mr Zelensky to emphasise his “iron-clad” commitment to Ukraine and discuss plans for the “coalition of the willing” led by Britain and France.
The spokesperson added: “[Sir Keir] said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire, and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war.”
Mr Zelensky said: “Already this Wednesday, our representatives will be working in London. Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States – we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace.”
It comes after the end of a 30-hour “Easter truce” unilaterally declared by Putin on Saturday.
The Russian president claimed he was declaring a truce due to “humanitarian considerations”, shortly after US officials suggested Washington could end its efforts to mediate an end to the conflict if there were no signs of progress soon.
Mr Zelensky welcomed talk of a truce, challenging Putin to extend it to 30 days as a previous US-Ukrainian proposal had suggested.
But each side has accused the other of violating the temporary ceasefire, with Mr Zelensky saying Russia had breached its terms more than 2,900 times, shelling Ukrainian positions and carrying out drone attacks.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Ukraine’s Kherson oblast, said Russian attacks during the ceasefire had killed three people in his region.
Mr Zelensky said: “An unconditional ceasefire must be the first step toward peace, and this Easter made it clear that it is Russia’s actions that are prolonging the war.”
Russia’s defence ministry denied that its forces had breached the truce, and accused Ukraine of committing 4,900 violations.
Overnight into Monday, Russian forces fired three missiles at Ukraine’s southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv, as well as sending 96 Shahed drones to target other parts of the country, Ukraine’s air force reported. It said it had downed 42 drones, while 47 others were jammed mid-flight.
Four civilians also sustained injuries in the partially occupied Donetsk region, according to regional head Vadym Filashkin, who said the Russian forces had shelled settlements in the region five times over the past 24 hours.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
Pope Francis was the people’s pontiff. His successor must be too
Roman Catholics around the world were delighted when Pope Francis marked Easter Sunday by blessing thousands gathered in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square and then went on a surprise tour of the piazza in his open-topped Popemobile.
Hopes rose that the 88-year-old pontiff had recovered from the double pneumonia that had left him close to death in hospital. Tragically, his appearance took on a very different significance yesterday (Monday), when the Vatican announced he had died hours later. With hindsight, it was remarkable that a frail pope completed what he wanted to do on such a symbolic day.
To the end, Pope Francis was true to the causes he made a hallmark of his papacy – notably, the plight of migrants. In his traditional Urbi et Orbi message on Sunday, read out on his behalf, he lamented the “contempt” that is “stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants”. It came a day after he had met JD Vance, the US vice-president and a Catholic, with whom he had previously disagreed publicly over the Trump administration’s policies on migration.
Another cause was climate change. He rightly made the link between the threat to the planet – “our common home” – and the large-scale migration it might cause, saying that the poor are “on the front line of environmental degradation” because they often subsist on agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
In his final message, Pope Francis condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in Gaza. A strong advocate of Palestinian rights, he spoke regularly during the Hamas-Israel conflict with the pastor of the Holy Family (“Latin”) Church in the territory, where lay members sheltered both Muslims and Christians.
A breath of fresh air in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis spurned the trappings of power and undoubtedly had a human touch. The word “marginalised” ran through his public statements like the words inside a stick of rock. Those outside the Church gave him credit for championing the excluded, antagonising his internal conservative opponents in a very divided movement he was unable to heal.
One of his best-known interventions in 12 years as pontiff was his 2013 declaration that gay people should not be marginalised. “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” he said. However, it only went so far; he reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s position that homosexual acts were sinful, and criticised “lobbying by this orientation” (gay people). The blessing of same-sex couples took another 10 years, and gay marriage remains taboo.
Similarly, Pope Francis called for women to play a greater role in the Church, saying: “We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity.” He did promote lay members to positions, but regrettably the door to the ordination of women remained closed.
His reputation as a liberal reformer did not translate into decisive action on tackling child sexual abuse. This is a prism through which many non-Catholics would view the Church – though, as was shown by the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury over his response to abuse allegations, the crisis is not confined to the Catholic Church. Pope Francis’s critics claimed he had failed to show strong enough leadership, and that clerics who should have been fired were protected.
His successor will now be chosen by up to 138 cardinals under the arcane, highly secretive process depicted in Conclave, the film based on Robert Harris’s book. The Argentinian Pope Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, appointed more cardinals from the “global South” he cared so much about. Perhaps the conclave will afford him a fitting legacy by choosing the first Black pope.
The Catholic Church should resist the temptation to do what the Church of England has done in the past: play pendulum politics by replacing a moderniser with a traditionalist, or vice versa. Pope Francis was a reformer frustrated by what could be called the “deep state” of conservative vested interests at the Vatican. Arguably, he upset both liberals, whose hopes for greater change were raised but dashed, and conservatives, who suspected he intended to go further than he admitted.
Unfortunately, his unfinished revolution ran out of time, but it should be completed by his successor. He should follow Pope Francis’s own guiding star: the Church must apply the gospel to today’s world.