The Pope who calls himself 'a sinner' is, certainly, a man of contradictions. But who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio? How did the man who was loved and loathed by his fellow Jesuits back in Argentina become Pope?

Examines Pope Francis' controversial rise to power from Jesuit to Cardinal and eventual accession to the papacy.

The broader implications of the water-cooler conversation: Cardinal Pell at the Royal Commission. With Catholic Church stewardship in the spotlight, what's the effect on church leadership & the impact on the community?

Melany was only 12 when her father died. As a young adult she realised she could no longer shut out the past. Meeting Helen Dunne - a professional shroud maker, was a turning point.

The Assyrians are a vibrant community who have made a great contribution to Australian life since the 1950's. Persecuted for centuries & a people without a country, their church has become the focus of their cultural identity.

An ultra marathon runner is determined to raise awareness of domestic violence in rural communities by undertaking an 860km run through NSW.

Should Australian churches be offering sanctuary to asylum seekers? Geraldine Doogue is joined by Robert Manne, Anne Henderson, Rod Bower, Peter Kurti & Tim Costello for a Moral Compass special.

A small town in Poland becomes the centre of an initiative to improve vexed relations between Poles and Jews by reconsecrating an abandoned Jewish cemetery.

The bitter conscription debates that raged through the First World War divided Australia. The struggle was embodied by two men, Prime Minister Billy Hughes and Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix.

When Rosendo Salvado founded the tiny religious community of New Norcia in Western Australia in 1847 he also began an extraordinary correspondence with a dear friend in France.

This week on the Moral Compass "A Good Exit: Who Decides" The complexities of dying in Australia today. Geraldine Doogue is joined by five guests to grapple with this highly topical issue.

Part one goes inside Cessnock and John Moroney Correctional Centres in NSW where two very different chaplains help offenders meet the challenges of incarceration and find meaning in their lives.

Chaplain Suzie Johnson is an Evangelical Christian with a big heart who works at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre. Zoe and Lesley are inmates who have been profoundly affected by Suzie's support.

Chaplain Kim Miller visits James who will soon be released from Lithgow Correctional Centre. To help James adjust to life on the outside Kim offers him a place at Friendship House. But will James turn up?