1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar

One of the big geopolitical issues facing the cardinals is China and the plight of the estimated 12 million Chinese Catholics there.Under Francis, the Vatican in 2018 inked a

with Beijing governing the appointment of bishops, which many conservatives decried as a sellout of the underground Chinese Catholics who had remained loyal to Rome during decades of communist persecution. The Vatican has defended the accord as the best deal it could get, but it remains to be seen if Francis’ successor will keep the policy.Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrives to celebrate Mass at his titular church, San Gabriele Arcangelo all’Acqua Traversa three days before the conclave to elect the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, in Rome, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrives to celebrate Mass at his titular church, San Gabriele Arcangelo all’Acqua Traversa three days before the conclave to elect the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, in Rome, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

According to Vatican statistics, Catholics represent 3.3% of the population in Asia, but their numbers are growing, especially in terms of seminarians, as they are in Africa, where Catholics represent about 20% of the population.Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo, said he is in Rome to elect a pope for all the world’s Catholics.

“I am not here for the Congo, I am not here for Africa, I am here for the universal church. That is our concern, the universal church,” he told reporters. “When we are done, I will return to Kinshasa and I will put back on my archbishop of Kinshasa hat and the struggle continues.”

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the chatty French-born archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, lamented last week that there hadn’t been enough time for the cardinals to get to know one another, since many of them had never met before and hail from 70 countries in the most geographically diverse conclave in history.— Everyday around the world, or at least, the internet, guitar bands are born out of an obsession with

Luckily for those musicians, its members have never ceased music-making, and on Friday, Sept. 20 its singer,and his rock band the Voidz will release a new album, “Like All Before You.” There’s a lot to dig into — like the metallic riffs of “Prophecy of the Dragon,” or the minimalist synth production of “Flexorcist.”

— Paramount+ has cornered the market on new music docuseries, and on Tuesday will continue that title when it premieres the three-partLeather pants optional but strongly encouraged.