POPE FRANCIS   ...  an assessment of his papacy

Now that it is almost a year since Pope Francis went to his eternal reward perhaps it is an appropriate time to offer an assessment of his papacy.

Overall he was quite a good pope. He did not have the intellect of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI but he made up for that with his pastoral zeal. I loved that his first trip abroad was to the island of Lampedusa.

Did he make mistakes? Of course he did. His worst mistake? Undoubtedly this happened in his first year as Pope when he was asked by journalists about gays in the Church. His response was: "Who am I to judge?" Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. As Pope he was indeed the very man to judge.

Gene