[tw]

From CBS New of 20 April 2014:

How much change can Pope Francis bring to the Catholic Church?

"The change in the image of the papacy and the Vatican throughout the world" in one year, ... "is nothing short of remarkable."

But a church riven by internal conflict and laboring under the shame of its priestly child-abuse scandal ... is still waiting to see what substantive changes this "Pope of the People" might bring.

"So the question comes up then: what's changed really?" asked Phillips.

"Nothing," Father Dodaro replied, "unless you think style is a lot more important than content -- and a lot of people do." ...

Still, Francis has raised expectations of change in at least one area -- the complex theological quagmire of the Church's response to Catholic couples who divorce and then re-marry. It is anticipated that they might be accepted back into the Church.

"That's the expectation, yes," said Father Dodaro.

Will it happen? "I don't know," he said. "Pope Francis wants this debate to take place. That's remarkable in itself."

... Radical reform of Church doctrine is not what they had in mind when they chose Francis.

Longtime writer on Church affairs Massimo Franco thinks the popular view of Francis as a potential reformer may be based on wishful thinking. ...

Already there is grumbling that Francis doesn't understand how the Church's powerful administrative structure -- the Roman Curia -- really works; that he doesn't value the Cardinals who run its various departments or appreciate the work they do. ...

"These cardinals who are working in the Roman Curia are seasoned Church bureaucrats," ... "So there's pushback, yes. Now, is that significant? I think not. You'd have to be naive to think you were going to come in and reform the Roman Curia and everyone was going to applaud you."