From Reuters, a glimpse at how this pope is different from the last one:
Two of Leo’s long-time associates told Reuters they expect the 69-year-old Pope to take a deliberative approach to the challenges facing the Catholic Church and may require months before making major decisions.
“Leo is taking his time,” Rev. Mark Francis, a friend of the new pontiff since the 1970s, told Reuters. “While he is going to continue in the path indicated by Pope Francis, his disposition is very different.”
Leo was first appointed a bishop by Francis in 2015 and then chosen by the late pope to take up a senior Vatican role two years ago. He has frequently praised his predecessor in his first weeks.
He has also repeated some of Francis’ main themes, and has echoed the Argentine pontiff’s emotional appeals for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
But the two men have different temperaments, according to Rev. Francis, who attended seminary with Leo in Chicago and later knew him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s.
“Leo is much more focused and methodical and not inclined to hasty decisions,” he said…
… Rev. Anthony Pizzo, who has known Leo since 1974 when they attended Villanova University outside Philadelphia together, said the pope is someone who listens carefully and seeks to hear many viewpoints before making decisions.
“This is going to be his modus operandi,” said Pizzo, who leads the Midwest U.S. province of the Augustinian religious order, to which Leo also belongs.
“When you first come into leadership, listen well, get to know your constituency … to make a well-informed decision,” Pizzo added, describing the pope’s thought process.
There’s more. Read the rest.
