Bronfman said that he wrote his version of the Haggadah, the text that guides the Passover meal while telling the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt, with children in mind. “I was thinking that their ears would be open that night if you tried to gently teach them what Judaism is all about,” he said in a short speech. “I don’t believe in God,” he said later. “I do believe in Judaism. I believe in ethics, morals. Our gifts to humanity are enormous. I remind everybody that the Sabbath was the Jewish gift to civilization.”

Bronfman’s Haggadah, which is illustrated with watercolors by his wife, Jan Aronson, includes quotations from such goyim as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and there is no Hebrew in it. God is depicted as an “energy,” as opposed to an anthropomorphic deity, and Moses plays a starring role…

John Ortved attends the launch party of Edgar Bronfman Sr.’s new version of the Haggadah: http://nyr.kr/X5dHyt

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now better known as Pope Francis, steps into his new role during a time in which the Catholic Church faces numerous challenges around the world. Foremost among them, of course, is the problem of child abuse within the Church and the attempts over the years to cover it up, but there’s also the Vatican’s banking scandal and the question of how long official doctrine can lag behind progress and public opinion on issues like the role of women, gay marriage, and reproductive rights. On this week’s Political Scene podcast, Joan Acocella and Margaret Talbot join host Amy Davidson to discuss how Pope Francis might change the Church. Listen now, and click-through for more: http://nyr.kr/YuL4Wr

(Source: newyorker.com / The New Yorker)

Cartoon by Emily Flake. For more from this issue: http://nyr.kr/14ve6ZN

The Cardinals Who Knew Too Little: Amy Davidson on the Vatican’s mysterious and uneven distribution of information: http://nyr.kr/Yzuzey

Photograph by Andrew Medichini/AP.

Cartoon by David Sipress. For more: http://nyr.kr/YWFWMF

Both because of his personality and the potential for a historic milestone, some journalists have taken to calling this papal election an “Obama moment” for the Church. This metaphor is apt only insofar as both will disappoint liberals hoping for significant change.

Naunihal Singh considers Cardinal Turkson of Ghana, who is favored to be the Church’s future: http://nyr.kr/ZGABhf

Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/Getty.

(Source: newyorker.com)

As the Pope, Benedict XVI reversed the excommunication of frighteningly racist and illegally appointed bishops, and discreetly transferred child-molesting priests to other parishes, among other questionable acts. In today’s Daily Comment, Jane Kramer considers his seemingly “rational, considered decision” to resign: “It may be that, however weakened, Benedict was crafty… A new face, with a new infallibility chakra under his papal hat, may be the Church’s last best hope for…continuing its long march backward.” Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/13loRwU

Photograph by Stefano Dal Pozzolo/Contrasto/Redux.

In the next few weeks, the cardinals of the Catholic Church will prepare for a conclave that will transform one of them into a pope. Early talk encompasses a wide range of candidates, from Milan and Ghana to New York and Argentina, challenging the traditional picture of the pope. But how much of that image is a retrospective one, shaped by the one we already have of the pope in his ceremonial guise? Are we so sure we know what any future pope looks like? Click-through to see the last half-dozen, photographed before they ascended—as a child, a young soldier, a priest shaving outdoors… http://nyr.kr/XxjFXd

(Source: newyorker.com)

(Source: newyorker.com)

Taking over the Church when he was close to eighty, Benedict seemed surprised by events and by the controversy his actions could provoke. For seven years, he has been unable to hit the right note. Perhaps, with his resignation, he has finally done so.

Here, Alexander Stille considers the possibility of a new path for the papacy: http://nyr.kr/Z6rRka (Photograph by Franco Origlia/Getty.)

How do you think Benedict XVI’s decision to step down will impact the institution of the Church?