The Early Church Fathers had to deal with many of the same issues that we are confronted with today: a pagan populace, divisions in the Church, materialism among the faithful, rich and poor, sexual sin, and so on and so forth. It is enlightening to see what they preach about the subject (you will find no calls for increased governmental payments to the poor among them, by the way).
I notice with our current Holy Father a certain resemblance to St Basil's thought processes. And so understanding the Early Fathers of the Church may help one understand Francis a bit.
On St. Basil
Synaxis of The Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, & John Chrysostom, Jan.30
THE EARLY CHURCH AND ABORTION: THE WITNESS OF BASIL OF CAESAREA
St Basil The Great (329-379)
Saint Basil the Great "Orator of Orthodoxy"
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