Tom Roberts

Editor-At-Large, National Catholic Reporter

An overarching theme in the church since Vatican II is the struggle that has existed between the idea of faith as a tick list of orthdoxy statements within a community tightly defined by clear borders and a more pastoral notion of a community on the move, a community in which faith is less dependent on rules and the absolute adherence to dogma in all its details than on the relational aspects. Francis is a robust example of the latter, urging the community to encounter the other, especially those on the margins, and not to be afraid of making mistakes. He emphasizes that the nature of God is mercy and has been highly critical repeatedly of "doctors of the law." He makes the case quite eloquently and persuasively for the change that is underway.