It seems to me that on many subjects where the Catholic Church has boxed itself in, Francis does not intend to change the teaching now, but to open them to reexamination. The worst example is not celibacy which will go in time (at least on the diocesan level), but abortion where at present both sides are committed to sloganeering and half truths. (For example: Thomism admits of vegetative, animal, and human souls and does not insist that the human exists until late in pregnancy. On the other hand, a potential human life is not simply a growth to be excised for no good reason.) Likewise birth control. By emphasizing the wisdom of the people as a whole, he diminishes the self-importance of conservative Vatican theorists and their authority to overrule the consensus of the people of God. it is very interesting: what he is attempting; and refreshing. He is the first pope that I’ve liked since John XXIII. If he dares to consecrate some bishops who won’t just parrot the Vatican line, a pope after him might be able to again call a council that isn’t just a rubber stamp.