An abundance of commentary and analysis has been thrown around in recent weeks regarding the beliefs of Pope Francis, particularly relating to their supposed place on the political spectrum. The Catholic leader has been widely praised by Christians, as well as non-Christians and the non-religious altogether, for taking what many feel is a modern, reformist stance on many important issues, including climate change, marriage equality, and the role of capitalism. But some argue that Pope Francis has not actually reformed any Vatican policy or doctrines, but rather engineered a shift in tone, a sort of message shake-up for an institution with strong roots in tradition and history. Emma Green, managing editor of TheAtlantic.com, adopts this line of thinking in her recent piece, and argues further that trying to fit the Pope into the current American political landscape is somewhat of a fool’s errand.
