Newsmaker of the Year: RNA members chose Pope Francis as the No. 1 Religion Newsmaker of the Year (if anybody at RNA knows, I’d be curious to know how many times this makes for him):

Pope Francis, who despite health problems, travels to far-flung countries, convenes a synod with unprecedented lay involvement, denounces anti-LGBTQ+ laws, oversees the Vatican repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery and faces controversy over his comments about the Israel-Hamas war and the church’s handling of abuse claims against priest-artist Marko Rupnik.

Speaking of Francis, the National Catholic Reporter’s Christopher White looks ahead to his 87th birthday on Sunday. And at the Washington Times, Mark A. Kellner notes that Francis says he’s better and won’t resign but plans to be buried outside the Vatican’s walls.