It was obvious to anyone with half a brain when this pope was elected. He's a hardliner, he was Pauls Hatchet man.
I'm just supprised it took him this long.
Unless this pope dies in the next 2 years I think you'll see the American Catholic church go thought some major upheavals.
What pope's tend to forget is that religion is not static. It needs to reflect the needs of the people today as much as the teachings of the past.
Church's need to evolve & change with the times or they will be left in the past. Or they hold their believers in the past, unwilling to grow & adapt.