I'm not Catholic but I've been as taken with Francis as the next person since he became Pope. I mean, just look at the guy's smile; it's pretty hard not to like him. My admiration for him only increased with this series of speeches and homilies, all of which are earnest pleas for the church to reorient their entire lives to emanate love for all. He wants that to bleed out into a restructuring of how society helps the poor and underprivileged, how Catholic authorities relate to their parishioners, and how each of us treat each other day to day. In a way, I view him as the same sort of person as Barack Obama: a charismatic person who presides over an institution allergic to being reformed for the better who, behind the scenes, will occasionally act in a disappointingly pragmatic way towards said institution as a result. Just as Obama had his drone strikes, deportations, etc., there are a host of things I vehemently disagree with Francis and the Catholic Church as a whole on and they admittedly tarnish my idea of his character as a whole. But, having recently read a book about the history of the papacy, I'd honestly say this guy is one of the best Popes we've had, same as Obama was one of the best presidents. Perfect? No. But much better than average? Definitely. Especially after reading this, I truly think the world is better for having his voice and influence in it.