Doubling Down on Pope Francis’ Reforms, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, Feb 16, 2026

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

When he became prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, then-Cardinal Prevost inherited the members of that dicastery who had been appointed by Pope Francis. If the new Pontiff wanted to change the composition of the group, and thereby change the sort of clerics chosen to become diocesan bishops, he could have done so last week, when he made his own appointments to the dicastery. He didn’t.

Rather than choosing his own team, Pope Leo confirmed thirty of the thirty-one dicastery members chosen by Pope Francis. (The only exception was a woman religious who, at 81, was beyond the age of eligibility.) The only Americans on the panel are Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Joseph Tobin of Newark. So the American Catholics who have been wondering whether the new Pope will appoint a different sort of bishops should wonder no longer. …

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