Strikes me that the Church picked a life-long man-of-the-people guy, but that Francis is legitimately what he is.
And that's a guy who has far fewer problems with homosexuality, other religions, etc., than Benedict (poster boy for dogma.)
The Catholic righties' heads must be exploding all over the place, especially in the U.S. After all, they've been complaining about other people's "Cafeteria Catholicism" for years... what are they gonna do now that loving everybody and helping the poor is back on center stage?
It's also a genius PR move from the point of view of pedophelia scandals. People aren't focusing on the rapists in the priesthood, because the new Pope is wildly popular... that's the news on the Catholic beat right now, unless you happen to have a predator priest in your own local area.
PFnV
There are no Catholic "righties"....there are either faithful Catholics or non-faithful Catholics. There is no right and left on issues in the church. There is only truth or error.
Again, Im not sure what you mean by...."fewer problems with gays."
Benedict and Francis are pretty much on the same page when it comes to homosexuality. Has Francis actually changed any of Benedict's decision's on homosexuality? As of today, I havent seen any changes....have you?
In fact, Benedict and Francis are very much alike except for their "style" and personalities. They've on the same page in terms of belief and Francis actually plans to finish an encyclical that Benedict had started to write.
Francis is very much in continuity with Bendedict.....not contradiction.
"
Francis has announced that his first encyclical will be, in fact, written “with four hands,” meaning together with his predecessor. Benedict had almost finished the text ahead of his resignation and the new pope said he will be happy to complete it.
Moreover, according to Vatican commentator Sandro Magister,
Francis’ focus on poverty in the church follows a course set out by Benedict in a major speech during his 2011 visit to Germany.
“
Once liberated from material and political burdens and privileges, the church can reach out more effectively and in a truly Christian way to the whole world, she can be truly open to the world,” Benedict said at the time.
An old friend and confidante of the German pope recently reported that
Benedict said that “from the theological point of view,” he and Francis “are perfectly in agreement.” That opinion is shared even by some liberals within the church, who often said media portrayals of Benedict as a dour conservative missed the core of his teachings.
“Perhaps there is less discontinuity between these two popes than the press would have us believe.
Much of what Francis is doing can be seen as an attempt to put flesh and blood on a theology which Benedict had already at least in part articulated,” said the Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, a former head of the Dominicans, in a recent interview with the “Pray Tell” website."
John Thavis, a former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service and a frequent Vatican commentator, said “
there is tremendous continuity between popes,” which he says makes “even slight differences stand out.”
“
It’d be an illusion to expect radical change from Francis,” said ***gioli.
“He is not a liberal Catholic, but a ‘social’ Catholic, with the old and the new mixed in a much more complex way than in a straightforward ‘progressive vs. conservative’ polarity.”
Benedict and Francis: How much difference is there? | Religion News Service
Again, believe what you like but the facts don't support your opinion. Not that you aren't used to that, but in this case it's even more strikingly obvious to those who aren't wearing their Progressive-colored glasses.
