Pope Francis is the best hope we progressive Catholics have had since the unfortunate election of John Paul II in 1978, and his subsequent dismantling of the hopes engendered by Vatican II. He seems like a decent, reasonable person who has a concern for the poor and a disdain for pretentiousness and power. I'm a little nervous because he's certainly conservative, but he does not seem to be a repressive sort of conservative or one who confuses church unity with uniformity. I hope will tolerate us on the left, and show us at least some respect. There's no reason why there has to be uniformity in the Catholic Church - it will be a much healthier organization if it fosters a wide spectrum of thinking.

The Pope's actions in the 1970s do raise a question, but that was a long, long time ago. Can his actions then predict what he'll do now as pope? I don't think so. I think our society expends too much energy on placing blame and demanding retribution for past offenses. We have too many current problems that need fixing.

-Joe-