[and I'm not even catholic]
I don’t think you can be gentle as Pope this time around. Strangely enough, I think Dolan will get it, but I’m not happy about this, even though I like him personally. He’s more blustery than O’Malley, but I don’t think he’d be very firm. I’m not sure O’Malley would be firm, either.
The only positive thing with O’Malley is that he is very tied in with the Neocatechumenate, a Spanish lay movement that had a lot of dubious things about it (in my opinion) but that did seem to produce very faithful Catholics. When I was in Madrid for World Youth Day, the Boston Archdiocese sent what seemed like thousands of young people in the movement who were out there cheering the Pope, singing very beautifully, carrying banners in procession, and bonding with the other members of the very large worldwide Neocatechumenate movement (which isn’t just young people, but is into its second or third generation).
So who knows?
[and I'm not even catholic]