A veteran liberal theologian has poured cold water on continued expectations that Pope Francis will steer a different course from Pope Benedict.
Fr Gabriel Daly OSA points to the fact that Francis “continues to lay stress on the continuity between Benedict’s pontificate and his own”, and says while many expect Pope Francis to be “an instrument of reform”, it still “remains to be seen how far Francis will depart openly from Benedict’s attitudes and actions”.
Writing in a new book The Church: always in need of reform Fr Daly describes the Pontiff’s decision to issue in his own name an encyclical, Lumen Fidei, mainly written by his predecessor as “a curious move”, and says the Pope’s decision to reappoint Cardinal Gerhard Müller as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is “difficult to understand”.
Praising the manner in which Francis presents himself as Pope, Fr Daly says “only time will tell whether substance will follow style”.