FutureChurch joins Catholics around the world in a spirit of solidarity and hope in praying for Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, and our entire global community.
Loving God, We pray today for Pope Leo XIV, called to guide our Church into a new chapter.
Give him a heart that listens deeply— to Your Spirit, to the people, to the cries of the world.
Give him the courage to speak with honesty, and the humility to lead with love.
Let him be a voice for justice, a bridge between peoples, a shepherd who walks with everyone. .
Inspire him to dream big— of a Church that welcomes all, that lifts up women that protects creation and seeks peace and justice with boldness.
Keep him grounded in the Gospel and open to the winds of change You send. May he help build a Church that truly looks like Jesus— compassionate, inclusive, brave.
Holy Spirit, stay close to him. And stay close to us too, as we walk together toward the Church you’re calling us to be.
[FutureChurch Executive Director, Russ] Petrus credited reform-minded Catholics with “persevering and modeling synodality in the world” in the decades leading up to Francis’s synod. Regardless of the outcome of the conclave, the reform community “would continue to be the torchbearers” for a synodal church, he said.
Asked how he might communicate the importance of synodality to the cardinals assembling at the conclave, Petrus said that he would urge them to “carry the final documents of the synodal assemblies with them, and let those voices speak to their hearts and minds.”
In her presentation for FutureChurch, Dr. Gabow focuses her remarks on the beginnings of Catholic healthcare in the US – particularly the role of women religious in its noble beginnings; the reach of Catholic health care and the impact of religious directives on women’s, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ healthcare, as well as the impact on the conscience of medical professionals; and finally offer suggestions for meaningful change that could make Catholic healthcare more committed to Catholic Social Teaching.
To learn more about Dr. Gabow’s book and to purchase it, click here.
Patricia A. Gabow, MD, MACP is a national healthcare leader who has focused on the care of vulnerable populations and the institutions that serve them. She spent 40 years at Denver Health, a highly integrated healthcare system and Colorado’s major safety net institution. The last 20 of those years was as CEO, retiring in 2012. She has authored over 130 articles, 36 book chapters, and two previous books books, The Lean Prescription: Powerful Medicine for Our Ailing Healthcare System and TIME’S NOW for Women Healthcare Leaders: A Guide for the Journey.
Contact: Russ Petrus, Executive Director
russ@futurechurch.org, 216-228-0869 x 2
As cardinals gather in the Vatican to begin the papal conclave, FutureChurch urges those entrusted with the sacred task of electing the next pope to listen to the voices of the People of God and choose a shepherd who will embrace a vision of a more inclusive, listening, and Spirit-led Church and a more just world.
This conclave does not take place in a vacuum. It comes as Catholics communities around the globe are engaging with the call to synodality — a Church that listens, discerns, and moves in communion with one another and with the Holy Spirit. FutureChurch recognizes this moment as a pivotal opportunity to build on Pope Francis’s legacy of opening the entire Church to dialogue, accompaniment, and reform.
Moreover, in a world fractured by war, rising authoritarianism, climate change, and disregard for basic human rights, the Church has a gospel mandate to champion justice, peace, care for all creation, and human dignity. A new pope must unequivocally defend those whose lives are threatened and dignity denied—migrants, prisoners, workers, and all those suffering under systems of oppression.
“This conclave must be more than a change in leadership — it must also be a step forward in our collective journey toward a Church and world that more closely reflects the Kin-dom of God,” said Russ Petrus, Executive Director of FutureChurch.
FutureChurch calls on the next pope to:
Promote a culture of synodality, where bishops, priests, religious, and laity truly discern together as equal members of the Body of Christ.
Expand the role of women in both leadership and ministry, including ordination.
Confront clericalism and ensure transparency and accountability.
Embrace LGBTQ+ Catholics fully in the life of the Church.
Prioritize human rights, ecological justice, economic equity, and global cooperation and peace in the spirit of Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti.
As the cardinal electors enter the Sistine Chapel and smoke rises above the Vatican in the days ahead, FutureChurch invites all to pray and hope that the conclave will bring forth a new pope who reflects the compassion, courage, and inclusive love of Christ: “Come, Holy Spirit, Come!”
To foster prayer and hope at this time of transition, FutureChurch will make pre-recorded daily prayers available beginning Tuesday May 6th and each evening of the conclave until a new pope is elected. We invite your prayer intentions which will be included in our recordings. Visit https://futurechurch.org/praying-for-the-conclave/ to sign up to receive these videos or to offer your intentions.
Able Together, a ministry of art and spirituality for neurodivergent children, was born out of a deep desire for inclusion. Tired of seeing imaginary lines dividing those who belong in church from those who don’t, the dynamic trio of Pat Pickett, Anna Robbins, and Emrie Rogers began to feel a call to serve the People of God in a new way. “The Scriptures are very clear,” says Anna. “We are one body with many parts, and every piece of the body is created in the image of God and is necessary for the building up of the Body of Christ. There’s no one who doesn’t fit or who shouldn’t be there.” But as stories were shared about negative experiences in churches, it became clear that belonging was not always a universal feeling. Anna, mother of two children with disabilities, was a pastor for 17 years but had to step down because she could not find a church that would allow her to serve with two special needs children attending. She continued, “most of the time, people with disabilities are not in churches. I know that there is a huge percentage of people– specifically in the neurodivergent population– that become atheist and are alienated from church. There’s an ablest underpinning in our society… and it runs through the church, too.”
An ABLE TOGETHER participant creates a painting.
Seeing and feeling this exclusion led Pat, Anna, and Emrie to begin brainstorming ways to provide people with disabilities a more inclusive welcome into a community of faith. Having served 13 years as a chaplain at a center for people with intellectual disabilities, Pat– a minister and artist– was eager to share the power of art. “It was there, in a ministry where 80% of the almost 400 persons were non-verbal,” said Pat, “that I learned art was a legitimate and life-giving way of prayer. Art is never right or wrong. Art gives people permission to pray without using words.” With Pat and Anna’s desire to bring this ministry to birth, all they needed was a place to start. This is where Emrie answered the call. Emrie, pastor at Tusculum Cumberland Presbyterian Church, graciously offered Tusculum as a place where the ministry could begin.
An ABLE TOGETHER participant poses with a piece of art.
And what a joy it has been! Through various tactile and creative experiences, including use of colors, storytelling, puppet shows, music, and other fun activities, Able Together provides fun and Spirit-filled opportunities for children, using art as an avenue to connect more deeply with their spirituality. And as the ministry evolved, Pat, Anna, and Emrie realized that it can bring the added grace of giving caregivers a bit of a rest. Each Able Together event runs about three hours and has enough volunteers that caregivers are able to drop their children off for the afternoon. “We’re ministering to the kids by letting them connect with God through art, but we’re also ministering to the families by letting them have respite,” shared Emrie.
More than anything, Able Together creates an environment where all know that they belong. “People, when they’re welcomed,” explained Pat, “when they feel that they are loved, and they feel that they are safe, then they start to really participate in the life of the Body of Christ, and that’s what we want to see happen. So it’s very exciting.” And this space of welcome is moving for both the families and for the volunteers who have offered to join in the fun. Emrie added, “This has given my church the opportunity to be the church and to really live into the calling to be welcoming and to challenge them to, really, really be the kind of welcoming that they want to be.”
An ABLE TOGETHER participant stands excitedly near a table.
And the hope is that Tusculum is just a starting place. Anna, Pat, and Emrie would love to expand this ecumenical ministry and host programming at other churches. They believe the ministry, alongside inviting children with disabilities to greater inclusion, is an incredible opportunity for those who are offering the invitation. “Speaking for myself,” Emrie continued, “I recognize in people with disabilities the value of just existing, and the value of how so many beautiful things can be brought to expression through different ways, and the freedom to just be yourself in it.” As Emrie, Anna, and Pat imagined the continuation of their ministry together, Anna reflected:
“As we go forward, it will be wholeness not just for me, but for many families in the communities in which I am a part. This is a radical place of welcome and love and connecting to God. And in that journey is my own space where the Holy Spirit is working and creating healing and wholeness in me.”
Inspired by the story of Able Together? Interested in learning how your community can become more inclusive of people with all abilities? Reach out to martha@futurechurch.org to get connected to the good folks at Able Together.
Do you know of or belong to a community that you would like to see highlighted? Reach out to Martha at martha@futurechurch.org.
FutureChurch joins Catholics and people of good will around the world in mourning the death of Pope Francis, a shepherd who led with compassion, humility, and a deep commitment to the Gospel of justice and mercy. And we honor his life, his vision, and his faithful witness to a Church alive in the world, engaged in the work of justice, and rooted in love.
From the moment of his election in 2013, Pope Francis inspired millions with his joyful witness to the Gospel, his loving concern for the poor and marginalized, his passionate care for all of creation, and his desire to move the Catholic Church closer to the inclusive vision of Jesus. His twelve years of leadership offered hope to those longing for a more just, open, and synodal Church—where laity and clergy encounter, accompany, listen, and discern together as equals.
Through his actions and words, Pope Francis challenged entrenched systems and attitudes of clericalism and opened new pathways for lay leadership, open and honest dialogue among the People of God, and renewed attention to the experiences and voices of women, LGBTQ+ Catholics, and others who had previously been silenced or pushed to the margins.
We recognize that Pope Francis’ leadership was marked by moments of both prophetic courage and painful limitations, particularly when it came to translating his pastoral sensibilities into concrete changes for women called to ordained ministry and others too long excluded from full participation in the life, ministry and governance of the Church. And so, we at FutureChurch are profoundly grateful for Pope Francis’ efforts to plant seeds of change and will continue to advocate for deeper reforms that align with the radical equality of the Gospel.
In this time of transition, we pray with and for a grieving Church and global community. And, in a particular way, we pray for the forthcoming conclave: that they will be attentive and faithful to the movement of the Holy Spirit as she guides them in their discernment and election of our next pope. We pray that our newly elected leader will build upon Pope Francis’ legacy, striving for a Church and world that more closely reflects the Reign of God.
As we begin this Easter season, we take hope and solace in God’s promise of new and eternal life. May Pope Francis rest in God’s peace. May his memory be both a blessing and a call to action for justice in our world and Church. And may the seeds of reform and renewal planted during his papacy continue to grow and flourish.
