¹ An abbreviated version of this article was presented at the College Theology Society Annual Convention at the University of Portland on May 29, 2015. I am especially grateful to Professor Reid Locklin of the University of Toronto for responding to my paper there. My presentation included a PowerPoint slide show that may still be useful in illustrating many of the points made here; see http://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/BretzkeFrancisEffectOnChurch.pptx.

² As veteran Vaticanista John Allen observed in a recent column for Crux, “Pollsters and sociologists continue to debate whether there's a discernible ‘Francis effect’ on Catholicism in terms of measures such as Mass attendance and willingness to self-identify as Catholic. One arena in which there's no doubt that Francis has had an impact, however, is journalism, specifically the willingness of media organizations to invest in Vatican coverage. Recently, for instance, the Wall Street Journal hired veteran Rome correspondent Francis X. Rocca, a friend and colleague” (John L. Allen Jr., “Beyond Powerlessness over Anti-Christian Persecution,” Crux, April 18, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/18/beyond-powerlessness-over-anti-christian-persecution/?s_campaign=crux:email:daily).

³ The core of the present article was completed by the beginning of May 2015. Some additional modifications (mostly in the form of notes) have been added as events unfolded in the church.

⁴ The Italian adage is used generally to downplay the significance of what might be considered to be historical events of grand importance. For a concise translation and explanatory gloss on the Latin motto and similar Latin ecclesial expressions, see James T. Bretzke, SJ, Consecrated Phrases: A Latin Theological Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013). This was the episcopal motto of Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, the ultraconservative who from 1959 to 1966 was the prefect of the “Holy Office,” whose formal title was the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (today the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). Ottaviani was known for his fierce resistance to many of the changes adopted by Vatican II, as well as his pivotal role in preventing any relaxation of the discipline outlawing artificial birth control expressed in Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.

⁵ For a video of the event (from the first white smoke to the appearance of Pope Francis), see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfAbTLlewjs. Paul Vallely, in his Pope Francis: Untying the Knots (London: Bloomsbury, 2013), reported that an old rival of the new pope's in Buenos Aires refused to allow the bells in his church to be rung in celebration; see Mark Lawson, “Pope Francis: Untying the Knots by Paul Vallely–review,” http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/02/pope-francis-untying-knots-review.

⁶ This part of Jorge Maria Bergoglio's past is very fairly treated in Vallely's Pope Francis (see especially chapter 3, “Jesuit Secrets,” and chapter 4, “What Really Happened in the Dirty War”).

⁷ For a contrast with the first appearance of Papa Ratzinger, see http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/popebenedictxvi.htm.

⁸ As this tradition went, the coming of the Antichrist would be realized in the election of a Jesuit as pope who would then take the name “Peter” (which no other pope had ever dared even to contemplate). Undoubtedly Bergoglio was well aware of this old prediction, and so his choice of Francis blocked total fulfillment of the prophecy.

⁹ Support for this thesis can be easily found in any number of places. See, e.g., Garry Wills, “The Pope Is a Christian!” New York Review of Books, March 29, 2015, http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/mar/29/pope-francis-against-rome/.

¹⁰ One emerging, leading example of a voice that certainly supports the ecclesiology of the Francis Effect is that of Manila Cardinal Luis (“Chito”) Tagle. See, e.g., Joshua McElwee, “Cardinal Tagle: Church Should Not Look to ‘Idealized Past’ with Nostalgia,” National Catholic Reporter, May 22, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/global/cardinal-tagle-church-should-not-look-idealized-past-nostalgia.

¹¹ See Bretzke, James T. SJ, “Cultural Particularity and the Globalization of Ethics in the Light of Inculturation,” Pacifica 9 (1996): 69–86CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

¹² Though Rahner was writing about ethical argumentation, his basic insight can be employed in many other disciplines as well and is worth quoting here: “In order to substantiate moral precepts, proofs, often very rigorous and subtle, are adduced; and yet we gain the impression that these proofs tacitly and without reflection really assume from the outset the very conclusion at which they aim, that the conclusions are, so to speak, smuggled [hineingeschmuggelt] into the premises of the argument (in good faith, of course) and that the proofs are convincing only to someone who was convinced of what was to be proved even before any proof was forthcoming” (Karl Rahner, “On Bad Arguments in Moral Theology,” Theological Investigations, vol. 18, God and Revelation, trans. Edward Quinn [New York: Crossroad, 1984], 74).

¹³ The principal cultural anthropologists I am referencing are Victor Turner, Mary Douglas, Clifford Geertz, and their disciples and colleagues. For a good explanation of these terms by a theologically trained cultural anthropologist with extensive cross-cultural personal experience in Korea and Europe, see William E. Biernatzki, SJ, “Symbol and Root Paradigm: The Locus of Effective Inculturation,” in Effective Inculturation and Ethnic Identity, Inculturation: Working Papers on Living Faith and Cultures, no. 9, ed. Ary A. Roest Crollius, SJ (Rome: Centre “Cultures and Religions”—Pontifical Gregorian University, 1987), 49–68. See also Victor W. Turner, Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1974); and Mary Douglas, Natural Symbols: Explanations in Cosmology (New York: Parthenon Books, 1970); Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (New York: Praeger, 1966).

¹⁴ Obviously here I am referring to the foundational work of Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), as well as the seminal insights of Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, especially in the latter's Models of the Church, expanded ed. (New York: Doubleday/Image, 2000).

¹⁵ O'Malley first introduced this concept in his seminal work, Four Cultures of the West (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press/Harvard University Press, 2004), and then employed it with respect to many of the ecclesial cultural paradigm shifts that occurred in Vatican II in his What Happened at Vatican II (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press/Harvard University Press, 2008). I would observe that instead of the “four cultures” that O'Malley describes, it would be more accurate to call these “four aspects” of cultures.

¹⁶ O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II, 47.

¹⁷ Ibid.

¹⁸ The clearest example that I can find for this epideictic rhetorical approach is Pope Francis’ allocution to the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), May 18, 2015, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/speeches/2015/may/documents/papa-francesco_20150518_conferenza-episcopale-italiana.html; English translation: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-address-to-italian-bishops-conference--2?utm_campaign=dailyhtml&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dispatch.

¹⁹ Mother Church Rejoices, October 11, 1962, in which the pope critiqued those “prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster” while at the same time encouraging the assembled Council Fathers “to use the medicine of mercy rather than the weapons of severity” in their pastoral approach in responding to the primary purpose of the council itself. For the official Latin text, see http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/la/speeches/1962/documents/hf_j-xxiii_spe_19621011_opening-council.html; English translation: http://conciliaria.com/2012/10/mother-church-rejoices-opening-address-of-john-xxiii-at-the-council/.

²⁰ One of the more detailed early presentations of Pope Francis’ thought is found in the interview he conducted with Fr. Antonio Spadoro, SJ, in the summer of 2013 and published simultaneously in a number of Jesuit periodicals around the world, such as “A Big Heart Open to God” in America, (September 23, 2013), http://americamagazine.org/pope-interview.

²¹ O'Malley, Four Cultures, 232.

²² For a compilation of Burke's “quotable” pronouncements, see http://www.stpeterslist.com/13590/i-smell-heresy-11-cardinal-burke-memes/. Michael O'Loughlin develops this connection further: “In their quest to reform the liturgy, some Catholics hope to remake the culture”; http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/06/05/in-their-quest-to-reform-the-liturgy-some-catholics-hope-to-remake-the-culture/?s_campaign=crux:email:daily.

²³ For another take on the role that “culture” plays in Francis’ reform, see veteran Vaticanista Andrés Beltramo Álvarez's book La Reforma en marcha: Emoción y deconcierto en tiempos de Francisco (Barcelona: Stella Maris, 2015); see also http://www.romereports.com/pg161281-andres-beltramo-pope-francis-reforms-are-a-cultural-revolution-en.

²⁴ The locus classicus for Francis’ “field hospital” metaphor is his interview with Fr. Spadoro (see note 20).

²⁵ “Sensus fidei in the Life of the Church” (2014), http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20140610_sensus-fidei_en.html; “In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at the Natural Law” (2009), http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20090520_legge-naturale_en.html.

²⁶ “Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus), April 11, 2015, https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html.

²⁷ See note 25. For a largely quite positive commentary on the ITC document, see John Berkman and William C. Mattison III, eds., Searching for a Universal Ethic: Multidisciplinary, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Responses to the Catholic Natural Law Tradition (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014). M. Cathleen Kaveny, one of the essayists, believes the document does show a rhetorical shift to the epideictic style (Kaveny, “From a Heart of Stone to a Heart of Flesh: Toward an Epideictic Rhetoric of the Natural Law,” ibid., esp. 229–33). I must admit I do not entirely share her optimistic view of what is in play in this particular text. For a more critical review of both the document and this essay collection, see my review in Catholic Books Review: An Online Journal, http://catholicbooksreview.org/2015/berkman.html.

²⁸ Pope Francis is referenced directly four times in the document, though the quotes hardly furnish more than a bit of “garnish” to a dish that was clearly already in the oven.

²⁹ See two key paragraphs of the ITC “Sensus fidei” document: “The magisterium also judges with authority whether opinions which are present among the people of God, and which may seem to be the sensus fidelium, actually correspond to the truth of the Tradition received from the Apostles. As Newman said: ‘the gift of discerning, discriminating, defining, promulgating, and enforcing any portion of that tradition resides solely in the Ecclesia docens.’ Thus, judgement regarding the authenticity of the sensus fidelium belongs ultimately not to the faithful themselves nor to theology but to the magisterium” (§77); “The faithful must reflect on the teaching that has been given, making every effort to understand and accept it. Resistance, as a matter of principle, to the teaching of the magisterium is incompatible with the authentic sensus fidei” (§80).

³⁰ One of the effects, perhaps, of the current papacy is the renewed interest this concept has occasioned. It was the central theme of the annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America meeting in Milwaukee (June 11–14, 2015) and was featured in “Wake Up, Lazarus,” a theological electronic mailing list that takes up different themes and invites theologians to post short reflections (http://wakeuplazarus.net/2015/sensus.html).

³¹ For a helpful article that covers some recent scholarship and proposes an expansion of the understanding of sensus fidelium to involve the entire triplex munera of priest, prophet, and king in which all the baptized participate, see Ekpo, Anthony, “The Sensus Fidelium and the Threefold Office of Christ: A Reinterpretation of Lumen Gentium No. 12,” Theological Studies 76, no. 2 (June 2015): 330–46CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For more works on the relation of the sensus fidelium and the magisterium of the church, including the role of dissent, see James T. Bretzke, SJ, Magisterium and Moral Theology Bibliography, https://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/MagisteriumBibliography.pdf.

³² In a theological conference hosted by Georgetown University on May 23, 2015, Cardinal Walter Kasper delivered a talk in which he outlined what he believed Pope Francis desired in terms of the relationship between the magisterium and the sensus fidei of the whole church, which Kasper termed a “listening magisterium.” Just how this would be worked out concretely remains to be seen. See http://ncronline.org/news/global/cardinal-kasper-francis-wants-hierarchy-listens-sensus-fidei.

³³ Echoes of similar contemporary pushback on the part of curial cardinals are reported by John Allen, The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church (New York: Time Books, 2015). Allen recounts that an Italian curial cardinal told him that “Bergoglio won't be here forever, but we will.” See Paul Vallely's review of Allen's book in the Boston Globe, April 23, 2015, http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/04/23/book-review-the-francis-miracle-inside-transformation-pope-and-church-john-allen/ITzXYlLhoq2KarQlNWf4oM/story.html.

³⁴ For an example of one Vatican expert who believes that real change needs to go more deeply and more quickly, see Robert Mickens’ interview with veteran canon lawyer Ladislas Orsy, SJ, “Can Pope Francis Succeed in Reforming the Curia?,” National Catholic Reporter, May 26, 2015, http://ncronline.org/blogs/roman-observer/can-pope-francis-succeed-reforming-curia.

³⁵ Here we see another aspect of the “Francis Effect,” the resurgence of influence of the chair of the Council of Cardinals, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, whose career nose-dived during the papacy of Benedict XVI. See John Allen, “Comeback of Honduran ‘Vice-Pope’ Symbolizes Pope Francis Era,” Crux, May 12, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/12/comeback-of-honduran-vice-pope-symbolizes-pope-francis-era/.

³⁶ Pell, however, has encountered some problems of his own. First, he was criticized for certain expenditures (no doubt leaked by disgruntled curial officials), and as this article was completed a new story emerged involving Pell's confrontational handling of clerical sexual abuse victims while still archbishop in Australia. See http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/06/04/cardinal-george-pell-and-the-australian-abuse-probe/?s_campaign=crux:email:daily. Pell has begun his own counteroffensive by initiating legal action against one of the more critical journalists, Peter Saunders. See http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/george-pell-seeks-apology-from-peter-saunders-over-60-minutes-interview/story-fnii5smt-1227387416928?sv=210afb7429bee287ae5274b057ad5543.

³⁷ See, e.g., John Allen's column for Crux, May 3, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/03/pro-life-anxiety-over-pope-francis-looming-ecological-manifesto/.

³⁸ The CDF seems to be functioning very much the same as in the previous pontificate. The May 7, 2015, appointment of Pell's successor in Sydney, the conservative bioethician Archbishop Anthony Colin Fisher, OP, as a CDF consultant would not be taken by many as a progressive tendency.

³⁹ There are many instances of this exercise of “freedom” in Cardinal Müller's various interviews. See, e.g., “Cardinal Müller Says No to Second Marriage without Annulment,” http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/news/cardinal-muller-says-no-to-second-marriage-without-annulment/1016. Conservative Vaticanista Sandro Magister floated the rumor that Pope Francis’ long-awaited encyclical on climate change had been scrapped because of feared opposition from the CDF (http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2015/05/11/e-questo-sarebbe-il-teologo-di-fiducia-del-papa/), but Vatican press spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, denied this claim (http://m.ncregister.com/daily-news/father-lombardi-eco-encyclical-on-track-for-expected-june-publication/). When the Vatican released the title of the encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home on May 30, 2015, Magister was quick to grouse that using an Italian rather than a Latin incipit for a document destined for the whole world was a poor move (“‘Laudato sii’: Un'enciclica tutta francescana,” May 31, 2015, http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2015/05/31/laudato-sii-unenciclica-francescana-fin-dal-titolo/).

⁴⁰ Gammarelli's, located behind the Pantheon and across from Santa Maria sopra Minerva, is the preeminent ecclesial tailor shop that furnishes not only the papal cassock but most other hierarchical sartorial finery.

⁴¹ See http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/new-cardinal-vatican-should-be-voice-voiceless.

⁴² Despite the positive dimension of bringing the periphery into closer proximity to the bureaucratic center of Roman Catholicism, some honest questions have been voiced about the long-term effectiveness of this increased geographical and cultural diversity. See, e.g., David Gibson's analysis, US Catholic, February 17, 2015, http://www.uscatholic.org/news/201502/pope-francis-diversifies-his-cardinals-will-they-have-clout-where-it-counts-29819: “But will diversifying the College of Cardinals make it look more like the church's global flock of 1.2 billion members? Or will it leave the electors so fragmented by geography, language, and viewpoints that they won't be able to serve as a counterweight to career churchmen in Rome? ‘Prelates who have no Vatican experience, who don't speak Italian, and who don't themselves have the experience of running a large and complex ecclesiastical operation, may feel a natural tendency to defer to the old hands’ who have been blamed for Rome's troubles, veteran Vatican expert John Allen wrote on the Catholic news site Crux. The bottom line is that Francis may run the risk of bolstering the old guard rather than cutting it down to size.” For a contrary interpretation based on the same data, see the lament posted by conservative blogger Deacon Greg Kandra, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2015/02/for-anyone-who-wants-to-go-back-to-the-way-things-were-before-francis-its-game-over/.

⁴³ Examples of episcopal protégés of the Burke/Rigali faction would certainly include Salvatore Cordileone (San Francisco), Robert Vasa (Baker, Oregon, and now Santa Rosa, California), Thomas Olmsted (Phoenix), and Michael Barber, SJ (Oakland). Another “culture warrior” who could be counted in this fraternity (even if not having the same strong personal connection with Rigali and Burke) would be Robert Morlino (Madison, Wisconsin), who in an interview with Raymond Arroyo on EWTN asserted that bishops “are chosen by God” and therefore “govern by divine right.” The pope is just the “instrument” of God in this appointment process, and Morlino indicates that it is theologically problematic to judge or remove a bishop, since he has been chosen by God (interview broadcast on February 12, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVp-0IPh1Q; the remarks on episcopal divine right come at 7:00 into the interview).

⁴⁴ For an example of how a new “Francis Bishop” prioritizes challenges that the church must address, consider the “echo” of Pope Francis by Bishop McElroy, who participated, along with 120 other ecumenically representative religious leaders and President Barack Obama, in a three-day conference, “Catholic-Evangelical Summit on Overcoming Poverty,” organized by Georgetown University (May 11–13, 2015). In his remarks, McElroy lamented that “society has learned to live with the notion that certain people have fallen outside the covenant, and that's just the way it is. Our God does not believe that this is acceptable.” Catholics also need “a spiritual framework of buy-in” when it comes to poverty; the degree to which Catholic communities accept the church's social teaching has “diminished.” Believers must be “converted from a culture of indifference to the poor to a culture of solidarity with the poor,” he said, calling for structural reform “rooted in social and economic reality.” Growing inequality threatens the very existence of the United States. “A permanent, excluded underclass is contrary to the vision of our founders,” he said. “We seek to be a society that offers opportunity to everyone. The level of inequality we have now stamps out that opportunity, and we become a distorted society” (quoted in Michael O'Loughlin, “Catholics, Evangelicals Team Up to Fight Poverty,” Crux, May 12, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/12/catholics-evangelicals-team-up-to-fight-poverty/).

⁴⁵ See Archbishop-elect John Wester's interview with the National Catholic Reporter on the role of bishops in the Francis era, at http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/santa-fes-new-archbishop-reflects-role-bishops-francis-era.

⁴⁶ Speaking at the same Georgetown conference as Bishop McElroy, President Obama observed that “nobody has shown that better than Pope Francis, who I think has been transformative just through the sincerity and insistence that this is vital to who we are, this is vital to following what Jesus Christ our Savior talked about” (quoted in Charlie Spiering, “Obama: Churches Should Focus More on Poverty instead of Abortion and Gay Marriage,” Breitbart, May 12, 2015, http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/12/obama-churches-should-focus-more-on-poverty-instead-of-abortion-and-gay-marriage/). For more on Obama at the Georgetown conference, see Michael O'Loughlin, “Obama: Christians Need to Act More like Pope Francis,” Crux, May 12, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2015/05/12/obama-christians-need-to-act-more-like-pope-francis/.

⁴⁷ See the address of then Archbishop-elect John Wester to the Utah League of Women Voters, in which he says that real immigration reform has to begin with ourselves, so that we first see undocumented immigrants not as “illegals” but as brothers and sisters (http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2452684-155/bishop-wester-immigration-reform-may-require).

⁴⁸ See http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/05/02/abp-elect_wester_my_first_priority_is_to_listen/1141254. See also “John C. Wester: Politically Engaged, Social Media Savvy,” Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com/582274/news/archbishopelect-a-humble-person.html.

⁴⁹ A theologian who focused on Catholic identity and evangelization to counter what he considered increasing secularism in Germany, Tebartz-van Elst was first named an auxiliary bishop of Münster by Pope John Paul II in 2003, then promoted by Benedict XVI to the See of Limburg in 2007. His lavish renovations of his episcopal palace (€40 million) provided the tipping point that led to his removal from the diocese by Pope Francis in October 2013.

⁵⁰ See, e.g., the events leading to the removal of Bishop William Morris of Towoomba, Australia, by Pope Benedict XVI in May 2011.

⁵¹ Consider in this context the case of Auxiliary Emeritus Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, who was told in 2011 that he must resign as pastor for violating the communio episcoporum by speaking in favor of extending the statute of limitations in filing reports by victims of clerical sexual abuse. Gumbleton had been a thorn in the magisterial side for decades on a number of issues ranging from war and peace to acceptance of homosexuals among the clergy.

⁵² Though Finn's “resignation” was one of the more notorious recent examples of cover-up of clerical sexual abuse, it is not the solitary instance in which Pope Francis has taken more decisive action. Another example would be the very quick acceptance of the resignation of Belgian Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Brussels on the heels of a Belgian court's award of €10,000 in damages to a sexual abuse victim in a ruling that held the archbishop responsible for failure to take action on prior abuse complaints (see http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=25101). This sort of swift action would have been highly unlikely under Francis’ predecessors.

⁵³ The county prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, responded in a public letter to the misinformation circulated by one of Finn's strongest backers, Fr. Gregory Lockwood (http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article20340576.html).

⁵⁴ For a sampling of these reactions, see “Hated for Being Catholic: The True Reason Why Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-Saint Joseph Was Sacked on April 21 Is Obvious; He Was a Catholic,” Gloria TV, http://www.gloria.tv/media/1e9B8K7yo1Z; Frank Walker, “Finn Removal: Before It's Over FrancisChurch Will Be So Squeaky Clean There Won't Be a Catholic Left,” http://www.pewsitter.com/view_news_id_201798.php; Tantumblogo, “Poor Bishop Robert Finn Finally Hounded from Office,” https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/poor-bishop-robert-finn-finally-hounded-from-office/. Of all the conservative reactions, Donahue's was the most disingenuous, as it seemed to suggest Finn had been sacked for moving toward greater transparency in removing any semblance of cover-up by episcopal superiors of the misdeeds of their clerical subordinates (http://www.catholicleague.org/bishop-robert-finn-resigns/).

⁵⁵ For a sampling of more balanced left-of-center reactions, see Michael Sean Winters, “The Resignation of Bishop Finn,” National Catholic Reporter, April 21, 2015, http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/resignation-bishop-finn; Brian Roewe and Soli Salgado, “Reaction to Finn's Resignation: Sadness, Relief Settle on Diocese,” National Catholic Reporter, April 21, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/reaction-finns-resignation-sadness-relief-settle-diocese.

⁵⁶ For an analysis of Pope Francis’ own possible impact in Cuba, see John Allen, “Francis Has the Chance to Help Catholicism in Cuba,” Crux, May 11 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/11/francis-has-to-help-catholicism-in-cuba/.

⁵⁷ See Jodi Rudoren and Diaa Hadid, “Vatican to Recognize Palestinian State in New Treaty,” New York Times, May 13, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/world/middleeast/vatican-to-recognize-palestinian-state-in-new-treaty.html. But see also John Allen, “No Novelty in Vatican Reference to ‘State of Palestine,’” Crux, May 13, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/13/no-novelty-in-vatican-reference-to-state-of-palestine/, as well as his follow-up on the broader context of Vatican diplomatic attitudes to Palestine, “Explaining the Vatican's Perceived Pro-Palestinian Tilt,” Crux, May 18, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/18/explaining-the-vaticans-perceived-pro-palestinian-tilt/.

⁵⁸ The May 23, 2015, beatification of Salvadoran martyr-bishop Oscar Romero is also widely viewed as a result of the Francis Effect and a more positive toleration, if not acceptance, of liberation theology. On this point, see John Allen, “Beatification of El Salvador's Oscar Romero a Turning Point for Catholicism,” Crux, May 18, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/16/beatification-of-el-salvadors-oscar-romero-a-turning-point-for-catholicism/. Another commentator suggests Romero's own vision corresponds to Francis’ plan for the church; see Pat Marin, “Does Romero's Beatification Signal Where Francis Is Leading the Church?” National Catholic Reporter, May 19, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/global/does-romeros-beatification-signal-where-francis-leading-church. For why Romero's path to sainthood was blocked during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, see the discussion around Ashley Beck's Oscar Romero: Archbishop of San Salvador and Martyr (Salford, UK: Catholic Truth Society, 2015). An interview with Beck can be found at http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/05/21/why-did-romero-have-enemies-at-the-vatican/.

⁵⁹ E.g., Gustavo Gutiérrez's positive remarks at a Vatican press conference on May 12, 2015, in the context of his participation as a guest theologian at the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis: http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/12/liberation-theology-founder-praises-new-atmosphere-under-pope-francis/. L'Osservatore Romano even published on May 18, 2015, an excerpt of a new book by Jon Sobrino on his memories of the death and funeral of Archbishop Oscar Romero (http://www.osservatoreromano.va/it/news/lo-sconcerto-e-il-coraggio). Sobrino had been the subject of a critical 2007 notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See also Jim Yardley and Simon Romero, “Pope's Focus on Poor Revives Scorned Theology,” New York Times, May 24, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/world/europe/popes-focus-on-poor-revives-scorned-theology.html, which gives an overview of the history of liberation theology highlighting contrasts between Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

⁶⁰ For an overview of the whole affair, see John Allen, “Why the Vatican's Crackdown on Nuns Ended Happily,” Crux, April 16, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/16/why-the-vaticans-crackdown-on-nuns-ended-happily/. For the “joint report” of the LCWR and CDF, see http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/joint-final-report-on-the-doctrinal-assessment-of-the-leadership-conference-of-women-religious-lcwr. For a perspective from the secular press, see Laurie Goodstein, “The Nuns Spoke Out, but the Archbishop Listened,” New York Times, May 15, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/us/the-nuns-spoke-out-but-the-archbishop-listened.html.

⁶¹ Lest there be too much jubilation over the resolution of the LCWR standoff, the editors of the National Catholic Reporter observe that as long as there are no systemic changes to this particular mode of exercising the munus guberandi in the CDF, there would be little to prevent another such scenario from occurring. See “Hierarchy's Flaws Persist despite Collegial End to LCWR Investigation,” http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/editorial-hierarchys-flaws-persist-despite-collegial-end-lcwr-investigation.

⁶² For example, Pope Francis’ audience with an international group of male and female religious working in the Archdiocese of Rome on May 16, 2015, provided important context for how he sees the role of women in various sectors of the church, including spiritual direction. See Cindy Wooten, “Church Needs Women's Voices, Input, Experiences, Pope Tells Religious,” National Catholic Reporter, May 18, 2015, http://ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/church-needs-womens-voices-input-experiences-pope-tells-religious. For a translation of the full transcript, see http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-q-and-a-with-consecrated-persons.

⁶³ The event received only a short mention (with no photo) in L'Osservatore Romano, which probably indicates not everyone was pleased by this papal outreach. For a report, with photo, see Robert Mickens’ “Letter from Rome,” http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/preview/keeping-secrets/1197.

⁶⁴ On this point, see Elise Harris, “Is a Springtime of Leadership Blooming for Women in the Vatican,” Catholic News Agency, April 18, 2015, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/is-a-springtime-of-leadership-blooming-for-women-in-the-vatican-30844/.

⁶⁵ Of the top 571 diocesan key posts in the 197 US dioceses, 32 percent are filled by women, as compared with 18 percent in Congress and 5 percent of Fortune 500 CFOs. Nevertheless, 35 dioceses still have no women in these posts; many of these are run by bishops more closely allied with the ethos of Pope John Paul II and/or Pope Benedict XVI. Data is taken from Michael O'Loughlin, “Most US Dioceses Have Women in Key Posts, But Some Have None,” Crux, May 14, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/14/women-us-catholic-dioceses-leadership-data/.

⁶⁶ In his General Audience of April 28, 2015, Pope Francis stated: “Why is it expected that women must earn less than men? No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal” (http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-firmly-backs-equal-pay-women-citing-christian-radical-equality).

⁶⁷ See Emily McFarlan Miller, “Cupich Names Woman to New COO Role in Chicago Archdiocese,” Chicago Sun Times, April 30, 2015, http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/566203/cupich-names-woman-new-coo-role-archdiocese-chicago.

⁶⁸ I have analyzed the synods in depth in two public lectures: “Re-Reading the Roman Tea Leaves on the Synods on the Family,” https://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/BretzkeSynodOnTheFamilyWadeLecture.pptx (PowerPoint slides), https://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/BretzkeSynodOnTheFamilyWadeLectureScript.pdf (script); “Life Matters: Reflections on the Extraordinary Synod on the Family,” https://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/BretzkeSynodOnTheFamilyBCTalk.pptx (PowerPoint slides), https://www2.bc.edu/james-bretzke/BretzkeSynodOnTheFamilyBCTalkScript.pdf (script). For a video of the October 2014 lecture, see http://www.bc.edu/schools/stm/edevnts/CampusEvents/PastLectures/2014/10-28-2014.html.

⁶⁹ See http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20140626_instrumentum-laboris-familia_en.html.

⁷⁰ The working language of the report was Italian. There was criticism of the first English translation, which seemed to be too positive regarding gay and lesbian issues, so that translation was replaced by what clearly is a “dynamic un-equivalence” translation (e.g., removing from the Italian the term dei partners and replacing it with these persons). Unfortunately, this inferior translation remains the most accessible version: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/10/13/0751/03037.html. The various translation issues are treated briefly in my two synod presentations (see note 68).

⁷¹ For an English translation of the pope's October 6, 2014, Italian address, see http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/october/documents/papa-francesco_20141006_padri-sinodali.html.

⁷² In this same vein, Peter Steinfels proposes that the 2014 “parrēsia openness” might be carried over in the October 2015 Synod to include a fuller discussion of the church's teaching on contraception, which certainly would hardly have been imaginable, or even possible, before. See Steinfels, “Contraception and Honesty: A Proposal for the Next Synod,” Commonweal Magazine, May 14, 2015, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/contraception-honesty-0.

⁷³ For the full text, see http://www.we-are-church.org/413/index.php/activities/synod-on-the-family-2014/340-mr-and-mrs-pirola-s-address-to-the-synod-on-the-family-6-october-2014.

⁷⁴ This interview, given to Life-Site News on October 9, 2014, can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MOfho3wGi4&list=UUYImiD9L0dMycenfBy2al0Q.

⁷⁵ “His [the pope's] mind and will in the matter [of the teaching] may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church [Lumen Gentium], November 21, 1964, §25 [emphasis added], http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html).

⁷⁶ E.g., Cardinal Walter Kasper's Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life, trans. William Madges (New York: Paulist Press, 2013), which Pope Francis acknowledges as having done him much good.

⁷⁷ This terminology and list come from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's original proposal (February 4, 2015) of language for faculty contracts and handbook for teachers in the San Francisco high schools under his direct supervision, a proposal that proved controversial (http://www.catholic-sf.org/printer_friendly.php?id=63175). The archbishop later released a revised preamble to the faculty handbook that is quite different in both tone and content (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0YiEphdTy4XeU1Zc1ZZSHpVS2M/view?usp=sharing).

⁷⁸ One example comes from the blog of John Zuhlsdorf (“Fr. Z”), in which he criticizes the pope's failures to expand on the spiritual work of mercy of “admonishing the sinner” (http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/04/a-curious-lacuna-in-misericordiae-vultus-the-bull-for-the-holy-year-of-mercy/). Regrettably this is not a solitary voice crying in the wilderness; some seminarians I know likewise have criticized “hyper-mercy” in the sacrament of reconciliation.

⁷⁹ Pope Francis prefers this translation of the Latin, which is a reference taken from the homilies of the Venerable Bede on the call of the tax collector in Matthew's Gospel; it speaks of God's mercy in choosing him as bishop and then pope.

⁸⁰ For example, see his homily (for Monday, March 23, 2015) based on the readings of Susanna in the book of Daniel and the woman caught in adultery in John's Gospel: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/23/pope_%E2%80%9Cwhere_there_is_no_mercy_there_is_no_justice%E2%80%9D/1131468. See also his allocution to priests, exhorting them always to treat penitents with mercy, and not to deny the sacraments to people: http://cnstopstories.com/2015/04/27/no-boring-homilies-pope-tells-new-priests-at-ordination/.

⁸¹ See note 26. For an explanation of the significance of this Jubilee, see Archbishop Rino Fisichella, “Non grandi raduni, ma autentico spirito evangelico,” Famiglia Christiana, March 14, 2015, http://www.famigliacristiana.it/articolo/fisichella.aspx. Fisichella has been given the task of organizing the practical aspects of the Jubilee Year.

⁸² For a brief overview, see Joshua McElwee, “Proclaiming Jubilee, Francis Envisions Non-Judging, Non-Condemning Church,” National Catholic Reporter, April 11, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/proclaiming-jubilee-francis-envisions-non-judging-non-condemning-church.

⁸³ A very “pro-Francis” view of the pope and his adversaries can be seen in the interview with the reputed ghostwriter of Evangelii Gaudium, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Catholic University of Argentina, in the centrist Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (May 10, 2015), saying that despite strong resistance to the pope there simply is “no going back” (for an English translation, see http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/news/no-turning-back/1220). For a negative view, likewise in Corriere della Sera, focusing on conservative quarters in the Italian church, see Massimo Franco, “Un Papa troppo ‘severo’: Il 20 per cento dei vescovi è con lui” (A Pope Too “Severe”: 20 Percent of the Bishops Are with Him), May 20, 2015, http://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/15_maggio_20/papa-troppo-severo-solo-20-cento-vescovi-lui-8e2d05c4-feb3-11e4-ab35-8ecb73a305fb.shtml (for an English translation, see http://www.corriere.it/english/15_maggio_20/pope-seen-as-too-strict-6b18254c-fee9-11e4-ab35-8ecb73a305fb.shtml). Franco's article was countered by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the vicar of Rome, in an interview with Angelo Zema, “Il cardinale Vallini: ‘Papa Francesco non è isolato’” (Cardinal Vallini: “Pope Francis Is Not Isolated”), Roma Sette, May 18, 2015, http://www.romasette.it/il-cardinale-vallini-papa-francesco-non-e-isolato/. Vallini's interview was criticized in turn by Robert Mickens in his weekly “Letter from Rome,” Commonweal Magazine, May 20, 2015, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/letter-rome-31.

⁸⁴ Bishop Thomas Tobin, “From Bishop Tobin: Random Thoughts about the Synod on the Family,” October 21, 2014, http://www.diocesepvd.org/from-bishop-tobin-random-thoughts-about-the-synod-on-the-family/.

⁸⁵ See Robert Mickens’ May 11, 2015, National Catholic Reporter column, “Merciless Zealots in Defense of Life and Truth,” in which he observes that the May 10, 2015, Rome “March for Life” had the personal participation of Cardinal Raymond Burke, in addition to the official backing of six Vatican officials, including Cardinals Angelo Amato (Congregation for the Causes of Saints), Marc Ouellet (Bishops), and Zenon Grocholewski (retired), as well as Archbishops Vincenzo Paglia (Pontifical Council for the Family) and Zygmunt Zimowski (health care). “But like many groups that identify as pro-life in the United States,” Mickens noted, “numerous organizations that joined the Italian march were clearly not pro-life at all, at least not in the broad sense. The slogans they displayed on banners or sang in protest-like chants added up to saying no to three things and three things alone: abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage.…One would have looked in vain for even a single sign calling for an end to the death penalty. And unless the sun was just too blinding to see them, there were no banners to ban the bomb or protest placards to put an end to war. As for outcries against the immorally lucrative international arms trade that continues to stoke the ‘piecemeal’ Third World War, as Pope Francis calls it, none could be heard” (http://ncronline.org/blogs/roman-observer/merciless-zealots-defense-life-and-truth#.VVEcYE8nxIM.twitter).

⁸⁶ See Michael Sean Winters, “Douthat, Poverty, and Partisanship,” National Catholic Reporter, May 18, 2015, http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/douthat-poverty-partisanship.

⁸⁷ Mutatis mutandis, Michael Gerson's observations on the decline of formal religious affiliation in the United States can be applied to this segment of the church: “One option, clearly, is for conservative Christians to imagine themselves as an aggrieved and repressed remnant. This attitude is expressed as stridency, but it is really the fear of lost social position. America, once viewed as the New Israel, becomes the new Babylon. The church engages the world to diagnose decadence and defend its own rights” (“The End of Casual Christianity,” Washington Post, May 25, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-end-of-casual-christianity/2015/05/25/75e6b06c-009f-11e5-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html).

⁸⁸ Dwight Longenecker, “Why Same-Sex Marriage Is Impossible for Catholics,” National Catholic Register, April 29, 2015, http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/why-same-sex-marriage-is-impossible-for-catholics/.

⁸⁹ Episcopal reaction to the run-up to the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage likewise showed a bit of the Francis Effect. While all the bishops publicly reiterated support for Catholic teaching, a couple of them made headlines, unimaginable in a John Paul II or Benedict papacy. Saying that while they personally would vote no on allowing same-sex civil marriage, Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry acknowledged that Catholics could in good conscience support the measure, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin that it was not the place of the bishops to dictate how people must vote. See http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/irish-bishop-catholics-can-back-gay-marriage-in-good-conscience and http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/archbishop-declines-to-tell-catholics-how-to-vote-in-referendum-1.2218795. Of course, these statements were quickly and sharply condemned by conservative watchdogs.

⁹⁰ Longenecker, “Why Same-Sex Marriage Is Impossible for Catholics.”

⁹¹ There has been an increasing number of examples of a “hermeneutic of suspicion” (some bordering on conspiracy theories). E.g., in reaction to a theological symposium held in May 2015 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome: “European ‘Progressive’ Bishops Planning Synod Coup: Secret Meeting in Rome on Monday,” Rorate Caeli, May 22, 2015, http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2015/05/breaking-european-progressive-bishops.html; Edward Pentin, “List of Participants Who Attended Gregorian ‘Shadow Council,’” National Catholic Register, May 27, 2015, http://m.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/list-of-participants-who-attended-gregorian-shadow-synod#.VWgCYM9Vikq. A silver lining was suggested by Sandro Magister, who found the “defection” of some German bishops to be a hopeful sign: “Synod: The Battle of Germany,” http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351056?eng=y. Nevertheless, spokespersons for some of the participants said there was no attempt to change doctrine or undermine the church; see Cindy Wooden, “Study Day on Synod Did Not Aim to Change Doctrine, Spokesman Says,” National Catholic Reporter, May 27, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/study-day-synod-did-not-aim-change-doctrine-spokesman-says. Pentin published a copy of the Study Day program, which shows the range of the discussion (http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/secret-study-day-invitation-and-program/).

⁹² See Sarah MacDonald's balanced postelection assessment, “Ireland's Approval of Same-Sex Marriage a ‘Reality Check’ for Catholic Church,” National Catholic Reporter, May 26, 2015, http://ncronline.org/news/global/irelands-approval-same-sex-marriage-reality-check-catholic-church.

⁹³ Hanna Ingber, “For One Irish Couple, Backing Gay Marriage Is a Matter of Family Values,” New York Times, May 23, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/europe/for-one-irish-couple-backing-gay-marriage-is-a-matter-of-family-values.html (the article contains a link to the video itself). Like the Pirolas, the Whytes indicated they were faithful, observant Catholics, married nearly fifty years, but they felt they could no longer in good conscience support a position that denied marriage equality to individuals such as their gay son. In this case, as with the Pirolas, Cardinal Burke weighed in negatively, but he was not seconded by the president of the Irish bishops’ conference, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, who urged respectful debate and discussion; see http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/06/03/irish-church-leader-distances-himself-from-cardinal-burkes-comments-on-marriage-referendum/. Cardinal Kasper also struck a moderate tone, expressing respect for the democratic process of the Irish referendum; see https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-unions-now-central-to-synod-agenda-after-irish-vote-cardinal-kasper.

⁹⁴ Quoted in Conor Barrins and Robin Millard, “Church Unnerved by Ireland's Huge ‘Yes’ to Gay Marriage,” Yahoo News, May 24, 2015, http://news.yahoo.com/church-reels-irelands-huge-yes-gay-marriage-005218265.html. Besides Cardinal Burke's negative comments, perhaps the strongest official condemnation of the Irish referendum came from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, prefect of the Holy See's Secretariat of State, who pronounced the vote a “defeat for humanity,” but also explicitly echoed Archbishop Martin's words: “The Church will have to take this reality on board in the sense of a renewed and strengthened evangelisation” (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/vatican-calls-irish-referendum-a-defeat-for-humanity-1.2226957).

⁹⁵ Reported by Inés San Martín, “Colombian Bishop Floats Idea of Gay Apostle, Lesbian Mary Magdalene,” Crux, May 15, 2015, http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/15/colombian-bishop-floats-idea-of-gay-apostle-lesbian-mary-magdalene-says-no-one-chooses-to-be-gay-or-straight/. Córdoba's remarks are particularly noteworthy, as he studied psychology and theology at the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University, whose professors strongly held that homosexuality was a profound disorder that was not a constitutional orientation, and that views to the contrary were just due to the “gay lobby” among American psychologists, who succeeded in declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder in the 1973 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It was not entirely surprising that the reaction was swift and furious, and Bishop Córdoba had to “clarify” his remarks and reiterate his support for Catholic teaching (http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/16/colombian-bishop-apologizes-for-gay-apostle-remarks/).

⁹⁶ Examination of the “Francis Effect” certainly has not been confined to the religious press. In the mainstream secular press the pope has enjoyed consistently positive assessments; see, e.g., Timothy Egan, “Pope Francis and the Art of Joy,” New York Times, May 15, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/opinion/pope-francis-and-the-art-of-joy.html.

⁹⁷ Consider, for example, the recent “slip” of Msgr. Nunzio Galantino, the general secretary for the Italian Bishops Conference, during one of its meetings: “Quando la Chiesa era cattolica e la messa era in latino…” (when the Church was Catholic and the Mass was in Latin…). However, Galantino in general has shown himself more open than many to pastoral solutions to various questions such as irregular marriages, married priests, and the like. This quote was seized upon by Antonio Scocci in a very good illustration of one cultural view of the church that finds increasing discomfort with the “Bergoglio effect”; see Scocci's “Effeto Bergoglio in Irelanda: La Messa e’ finite” (Bergoglio Effect in Ireland: The Mass Has Ended), http://www.antoniosocci.com/effetto-bergoglio-in-irlanda-la-messa-e-finita/; an uneven English translation can be found at https://fromrome.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/the-bergoglio-effect-in-ireland-the-mass-has-ended/.

⁹⁸ On the definitions of these terms, see James T. Bretzke, SJ, A Handbook of Roman Catholic Moral Terms (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2013), 25–26, 219. See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§2477–79.

⁹⁹ Cf. Germain Grisez, The Way of the Lord Jesus, vol. 1, Christian Moral Principles (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1983): “Catholics ought to conform their consciences to her teaching in every question, every detail, every respect” (566); “Our submission to the Church's teaching is not submission to mere human opinions, but to the very word of God” (570).

¹⁰⁰ For an essay lamenting the impact of the “Francis Effect” on the authority of the magisterium to “bind consciences,” see Fr. Linus Clovis, “The ‘Francis Effect’ Is Silencing Catholic Bishops, Priests, and Laity,” https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/the-so-called-francis-effect-is-silencing-catholic-bishops-priests-and-lait.

¹⁰¹ See especially Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern world (Gaudium et Spes), §16, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1790. I develop the church's teaching and tradition on conscience more fully in A Morally Complex World: Engaging Contemporary Moral Theology (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004), 109–43.

¹⁰² For an imperfect English translation, see http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-to-the-synod-fathers.

¹⁰³ Spiritual Exercises §22: “In order that both he who is giving the Spiritual Exercises, and he who is receiving them, may more help and benefit themselves, let it be presupposed that every good Christian is to be more ready to save his neighbor's proposition than to condemn it. If he cannot save it, let him inquire how he means it; and if he means it badly, let him correct him with charity. If that is not enough, let him seek all the suitable means to bring him to mean it well, and save himself” (http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/seil/seil06.htm).

¹⁰⁴ For an illuminating discourse on the path to unity, see Pope Francis’ message for the Day of Christian Unity held in Phoenix, May 23, 2015, at http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-sends-greetings-for-us-christian-unity-event.

¹⁰⁵ Tobin, “Random Thoughts.”