The post-Vatican II papacy has had a very different public style or persona than was the case prior to the Council. With his various travels and his U N. speech, Pope Paul VI began the transition from a more reserved public presence to one much more present on the world stage.
Pope John Paul II greatly expanded this style by his many more journeys and his very outgoing and dramatic personality. I favored this development at the time, but even then I was not totally at ease about how this would affect not only the papacy itself but also its impact on the bishops individually and collectively. Today, I’m very concerned with the impact of this current papal style not only on Catholic bishops, but also on the ecumenical discussions with partners like the Eastern Orthodox.
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