By the same token, the new and stringent Ultramontanism on the Catholic Left - in which even the mildest questions about how things are working in this pontificate are denounced as treasonous disloyalty - is an affront to the open conversation for which the pope [FRANCIS] has called.
The most important appointment Pope Francis has made is the appointment of the Australian cardinal, George Pell, as the Vatican's financial overseer.
The pope [Francis] knows that the marriage culture is in crisis throughout the world, and so is the family.
[Pope Francis] is 78 years old and knows that his will be a short pontificate.
[Pope Francis] has felt the mercy of God in his own life and wants to share that experience with others.
"You don't believe what you read in the papers about anything else; why do you believe it about the pope?" That's where I'd start.
