"18th-Century Monarchs" -- and a Renaissance Prince

Phil Lawler on "the Pope Francis effect":

Still I have no question that this new approach represents a shift in the way Vatican officials view the papal office—a shift that Pope Francis is doing everything that he can to encourage. The “old” approach treats the Pope like an 18th-century monarch, and suggests that when he is in the room, everyone else present pales into insignificance. The