I've been getting ready for a book talk Jan. 10 at one of my favorite book shops, Kramerbooks in Washington. Booklovers in DC tend to be very sharp, so I'm keeping up on what Pope Francis has been up to, just to be prepared for any questions.
I continue to admire Pope Francis, but with reservations. Nothing has changed my opinion that he has a blind spot when it comes to women. True, he has convened a commission to consider ordaining women as deacons. That would give them more participation in the liturgy and allow them to preach at Mass.
But in the 21st century, when virtually no other profession is restricted to one gender, he's insisted that the priesthood is and always will be for men only.
He says he's for feminism, provided it doesn't "demand uniformity" or "negate motherhood," whatever that means.
Indeed, his regard for the maternal would qualify him for writing Hallmark cards. Recently he described us mothers as "testifying to tenderness" and praised us for our "unconditional selflessness."
I'm all for motherhood, but motherhood doesn't define us. That's too limiting.
On other fronts - social justice, care for the environment, and his righteous anger at capitalist greed - I've admired him. What's not to like about a man who washes the feet of prisoners, installs showers for the homeless in Vatican City and treats them to pizzas, and lives modestly, advising members of the clergy that they should do likewise?
I just didn't think he could convince a very rigid hierarchy to go along. But I forgot one power that Popes have that makes their job easier than the presidency. They can name cardinals - the princes of the church - and bishops - who oversee hundreds of parishes in each of their dioceses. And unlike the president, pontiffs don't need anyone to "advise and consent" first. Popes also can demote prelates who disagree with them.
And Pope Francis has been using that power energetically. I am particularly impressed with new Cardinal Joseph Tobin. Tobin was uncomfortable with Pope Benedict's Vatican and its investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which scolded U.S. nuns for their "radical feminist" agenda.
Tobin also has confronted president-elect Donald Trump and vice president-elect Mike Pence on their anti-immigration positions.
Where Tobin will serve is also important: Newark, New Jersey, a city that no previous Pope felt merited a cardinal. Prelates holding that position had been ensconced in major cities like Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles. Vatican observers note that this move ensures that the New York media market has more than conservative Cardinal Timothy Dolan to turn to for comment.
Of course, the church has lots of bishops and cardinals, and many of them are not in sync with Pope Francis's agenda. Just last fall, after a traumatic presidential election that challenged the church to pursue social justice vigorously, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops remained tethered to the old days.
In his trenchant assessment of the bishops' annual conference last November, columnist Michael Sean Winters skewered the US Bishops for not speaking out strongly enough in defense of immigrants, and for ignoring the crisis of climate change, the threat of nuclear proliferation,and the evil of hate speech.
Pope Francis doesn't have to worry about another election. He has the power, through papal appointments, to reshape the church. But here's the worry: the Pope just turned 80. We should all pray for his continued good health, and his desire to keep on making good appointments. Sometimes your true legacy is the followers you leave behind.
Celia Viggo Wexler is the author of Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope.