Sane Pope Francis observations

Once again courtesy of Ross Douthat.  History will judge the effectiveness of Pope Francis.  I'm rather taken with him, and hope he goes farther than he's going in challenging the Church to stop looking at others more than ourselves.  I hope his non-European background will bring a new and radical approach to Christian discipleship.  I do wonder why so much of his condemnation is against what we might know as 'conservative' sympathies.  Unless the global Catholic Church is different, conservatives in the American Church are a minority.  I also wonder about his constant off the cuff style, and the continual need to have folks rush out and say 'the Pope didn't really mean this or that.'  Nonetheless, I'm reserving judgement and just enjoying the fact that Francis seems a decent sort trying to live out Jesus in a world ready to reject Him.  Nonetheless, there are valid Briticisms and concerns, and Mr. Douthat, as is his tendency, fairly and sensibly points to them in a way that's worth noticing.