Phil Lawler, who has a book out about Pope Francis next month, has a telling anecdote that he relates at Catholic Culture:
How popular is Pope Francis? With the public? With bishops and priests? With young seminarians? Ask different people, and youll get different answers. Its hard to gain an accurate reading.
But heres a remarkably revealing clue, nearly hidden in a feel-good story about an American seminarian, Nick Sentovich, who is a 3rd-year student at the North American College in Rome, and like all third-year seminarians, he was given the opportunity to assist during the papal Mass on Christmas Eve.
Usually, a lottery decides who will serve during the Christmas Eve Mass, but there werent enough students who expressed interest this year, Sentovich said, so everyone who applied was accepted.
Emphasis added, obviously. But thats not the only thing that should be obvious.