From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Pope Francis and the Church of Rome.

Hello again, I'm Orminolny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans cut about most.

The new pope is known for simple living and care for the poor.

His challenges include priestly sex abuse, Vatican corruption, and declining membership.

He's the first pope from Latin America, a doctrinaire conservative, no fan of women's empowerment,

from an increasingly secular country.

He's apologized for failing to better protect the faithful when Argentina's

military dictators abused and killed many thousands of people. Will he be the breath of fresh air

some Catholics say they've been waiting for? Or another apostle of the status quo? On the

reporter's notebook later on, a network of laboratories for measuring climate change begins in Los Angeles.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Mormon Alney, back with To the Poet.

The Church of Rome looked at the New World to find Pope Francis, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Today, we'll hear about his past life in Argentina, his theological leanings, and the challenges he faces in Rome and around the world.

On reporter's notebook, NASA is turning Los Angeles into a giant laboratory

for measuring climate change just the way forecasters measure the weather. First is news update.

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