VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

ROME
Part 1 of this article appeared in the Aug 2-15 issue: A revolution underway with Pope Francis

Amid the clamor over Pope Francis’ comments on gays, women, the Vatican bank and other juicy topics during a July 28 in-flight news conference, one stray but revealing remark largely slipped through the cracks.

Asked if he had run into resistance to change in the Vatican, Francis delivered a mildly rambling response stressing the presence of many helpful and loyal people, along with the blunt judgment that the place’s quality has declined from the era of “old curialists” who simply did their jobs.

Then came the telling line: “It’s true,” the pope said, “that I haven’t done very much.”

In a sense, of course, he was being modest. Francis has done a great deal, mostly to reverse negative impressions of the church and to…