Will the surgery (or acceleration) of a rushing pope slow down?
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has often looked like a Pope in a hurry. In his eight-year papacy, he has tirelessly sought to reshape the Roman Catholic Church into his most pastoral image and set up more than half of the College of Cardinals to elect his successor. He has previously opened taboo debates about married priests, the role of women in the church, embracing gay Catholics and communion for the divorced and remarried. He has maintained an exhausting travel schedule around the world. But as Francis, 84, is recovering in a Roman hospital after undergoing major colon surgery, experts are wondering if his papacys first major health challenge will slow him down or speed up the reforms he has promised . So far, he has raised major questions about the future of the church and its governance, but often withdraws from bold action, preferring instead to take the time to build a broader consensus that perhaps avoids division. , but also delays real change. Now, church analysts say, time is clearly essential. Undoubtedly this is a split in his pontificate, so far he has never stopped, said Carlo Marroni, a Vatican expert for the financial daily Italys, Il Sole 24 Ore. Now time is rushing. Not that Francesco ever had illusions about his mortality and his small window to endorse his vision of a more inclusive church that emphasizes the marginalized achievement of church law.