Is Pope Francis more liberal in person than Pope John Paul II?

The introverts had their revenge with the election of Pope (now Pope Saint) John Paul II in 1978. His Polish church had been defined by its opposition to the world and its powers since the Nazis and the Communists divided the country in 1939. read more

Therefore, in my opinion, Pope Francis is not more liberal than John Paul II. They are shepherding the Church through different eras, but have a similar degree of love and fidelity for Jesus Christ, His Church, the total deposit of faith, and a special fondness for the documents of Vatican Council II. read more

In fact, many teach at John Paul II institutes in various parts of the world. All would pass the most stringent tests of orthodoxy. Yet all worry that the pope, and the bulk of the post-Vatican II Catholic church, have gone too far in assimilating the values and vocabulary of modernity. read more

But the Pope Francis revolution is probably best described as humanist — and that makes it a much bigger challenge to Catholics in the West, both conservative and liberal. Let me be clear: I'm not arguing that Francis is a secular humanist, or capital-h Humanist, by any means. read more