John D.S. Allen: “The Taliban will never accord Afghan women and girls the respect and the place in the future Afghan society that they…”

The voice of the people as expressed through the loya jirga is the highest expression of the Afghan people.

This was his very first decision and to embrace this Franciscan spirit as his first decision I think sends a very clear symbol that in terms of returning the church to the sort of core sense of what it's all about, this is a reform.

Their question is how are we going to implement that doctrine at the retail level, OK, in the trenches? Are we going to put the emphasis on judgment or are we going to put the emphasis on mercy?

This is an opportunity for reform from the bottom up. And it's an opportunity for leadership from the top down.