Of all the many questions that Pope Francis has raised in his brief papacy, perhaps none is as insistent, or as crucial to his legacy, as the debate over whether he represents a real change in the church, or if his pontificate, which has heralded so much promise for so many, is just style over substance.
Critics who look at the gushing reception for the pontiff – much in evidence during this visit to the U.S., the pope’s first – say that while he has changed the tone of the papacy, he hasn’t done anything to change church teachings. And that, they say, is where the rubber hits the road.
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