Maverick Catholics hold out hope for female priests
I actually thought the cool new pope would have something cool and new to say about one of the things that make it hard to be a Roman Catholic: the church’s refusal to allow women to serve as priests.
Pope Francis has all the makings of a revolutionary. In just a few months on the job, he has excited otherwise bored and jaded Catholics with a fresh approach to the papacy, preaching from the book of humility, simplicity and passionate concern for the poor.
Then he went down to Brazil, where the church has lost millions of followers, and criticized leaders there for allowing an "exodus" to other faiths or to the secular life. It was refreshing to hear a pope calling out the cardinals and bishops for being too rigid, "too cold, too distant." He spoke of opening doors and going after "those who are farthest away … those who do not usually go to church."
All good.