By FIONA MURPHY | Sight Magazine

Almost six months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV is forging his own path in shaping the Catholic Church’s tone and priorities, Vatican experts said in a panel discussion on Wednesday.

Speaking at Religion News Service’s symposium “God, Government and the Algorithm: The New Rules of Belief and Power” at Trinity Commons in New York City, three leading voices on Catholicism – Rev James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author; Christopher White, Georgetown University scholar and former National Catholic Reporter journalist; and journalist Nate Tinner-Williams, founder of Black Catholic Messenger – reflected on how the first United States-born pope is balancing continuity and change in a polarised church and world, moderated by Claire Giangravé, RNS Vatican reporter.