Differences between the American Pope and the Argentinian Pope in the first month of their mission.
Pope Leo, in his first month as the Vatican leader, has taken a very different approach from his predecessor, Pope Francis, according to the news outlet.
He has led dozens of public events since being elected as the first American pope on May 8, but has made no significant appointments, announced no plans for foreign trips or said where he would live.
Reuters described the approach as a contrast to when Francis, originally from Argentina, was elected in March 2013 as the first pope from the Americas, adding: In his first month as pope, Francis announced that he would be the first pope in more than a century to live outside the Vatican, appointed his successor as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and created a new formal advisory group of senior Catholic cardinals.
Among the challenges facing the American pope, the report said, is the Vatican’s 83 million euro ($95 million) budget deficit, which Reuters reported in February last year had caused divisions among senior cardinals under his predecessor.
Reuters also cited declining adherence to the faith in Europe, ongoing revelations of clerical sexual abuse, and doctrinal debates over issues such as the inclusion of LGBT Catholics and the possibility of ordaining women as priests as other issues facing the 1.4 billion-member church.
In part, the report said: Francis, who sought to modernize the church, has not formally changed many doctrines, but has drawn criticism from conservative cardinals by opening the way to Mass for divorced people and prayer services for same-sex couples.
Reuters predicted that the leadership of Pope Leo, who is the youngest pope since John Paul II was elected at the age of 58, could last 10 years or even longer.