Crowds at Parti Quebecois whistle stops during the provincial election have been chanting: “We want a country!” They’re perfectly entitled to both the desire and its democratic expression, of course, even as Quebec Liberal leader Philippe Couillard is equally justified in asking rhetorically: “Don’t we already have one?”

I was a little nervous about Pope Francis’ meeting with the clergy of Rome last week. As a seminarian and a new priest, I always looked forward to Blessed John Paul’s annual Holy Thursday letter to priests. To my disappointment, Pope Benedict XVI did not continue that tradition, but replaced it with an annual encounter with the clergy of Rome in the first days of Lent. Pope Francis opted this year to continue Benedict’s practice, and so met with the parish priests of Rome last week.

Can a pope be too popular? The question may seem odd but it is worth asking as the papacy of Pope Francis turns one year old.

As we approach the first anniversary of the election of Pope Francis, it is not difficult to find him top of mind.

Last week we had the honour of hosting Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, in Kingston at the annual St. John Fisher Dinner. The Fisher Dinner, named in honour of a great man of letters before his courageous defence of marriage and martyrdom under Henry VIII, supports the work of our Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy at Queen’s University and the missionaries of Catholic Christian Outreach who are an essential part of our mission.

Among the thornier challenges Pope Francis has presented to Church hierarchy is to see if a path exists to bring divorced and remarried Catholics back into a full life of faith.

The delay in the passage of Quebec’s Bill-52, which would allow euthanasia in certain circumstances, gives individuals and groups on both sides of the issue time to reflect on better ways to move forward on providing effective end-of-life care both in Quebec and elsewhere.

As we approach the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, I received a thoughtful e-mail from Mary, a regular reader of The Register. She complained that my columns “undermine Pope Francis.”

It was one of those almost-invisible gestures that defy a seemingly impregnable political fixation.

Just about my least favourite question (unfortunately, often posed these days) is: “What do you think of the new Pope?”