Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis faces new phase of papacyIn 1990, as Argentina's Jesuits were divided over the church's role in the country's politics and society, frustration with the future Pope Francis' leadership style resulted in his two-year exile in Cordoba. Then-Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio used his solitary time in a Jesuit residence to pray, write and read — including a five-volume series on the history of the papacy.Francis later would describe his "dark night of the soul" as a "time of purification" for his inner life. Three decades after that spiritual crisis — at age 88 — Francis is facing...