This book is an engaging treatment of Pope Francis within Roman Catholicism as a system from the Protestant perspective. Many have seen Pope Francis only from the perspective of the Council of Trent or from a few of the favorite encyclicals promoted by more traditional Roman Catholics—and fail to see Francis’s pontificate from a global perspective, in a time after the Second Vatican Council, the most recent Roman Ecumenical Council. Leonardo De Chirico is a scholar of Vatican II and is an informed writer aware of all Roman Catholicism in such a way as to avoid the selective provincialism that often hinders an accurate understanding of such a pivotal pontificate. De Chirico has provided a tour of Francis, his thought, his impact—and has aided the reader in seeing the threads to the past that provide the context for even the seemingly novel. Far from a radical departure or an anomaly—Pope Francis was fully Roman Catholic, loyal to the core of global Roman Catholicism for the twenty-first century. "As always, Leonardo De Chirico is at God´s service through gently and skillfully fencing on behalf of the kingdom. His clear writing and his well-researched material are always insightful and useful. In this book, comprised of dozens of articles written throughout Francis's pontificate, we learn about the Roman Catholic world in a very creative and biblical way." --Emilio Garofalo Neto, Senior Pastor, Semear Presbyterian Church, Brasilia, Brazil "The Roman Catholic Church aspires to be two things: authoritarian and inclusive. The embodiment of these two values lives in the papacy, as each successive pope swings between one or the other. This was true of Pope Francis I. As Leonardo De Chirico demonstrates, the legacy of Francis is seen in his inclusive overtures, often confusing both the curia and evangelicals. This volume gives clarity and cohesion to the reader in understanding the fully Roman Catholic nature of Francis's papacy and the continued need for reformation and gospel fidelity in the church." --Jeremy Writebol, Lead Campus Pastor, Woodside Bible Church, Michigan, USA "Understanding modern Catholicism is a bit like gazing at a painting by Salvador Dalí everything seems full of meaning, yet the longer you look, the less certain you are that what you see corresponds to reality. Few contemporary observers of Catholicism help us see it as clearly as Dr. Leonardo De Chirico. In his analysis of Pope Francis's pontificate, he not only portrays the Catholic world of today, but also traces its lines deep into the past." --Pascal Denault, Pastor, Église réformée baptiste de Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada Leonardo De Chirico is both a pastor and scholar. He is pastor of Breccia di Roma, a church he helped to plant in Rome in 2009. His PhD dissertation was published as Evangelical Theological Perspectives on Post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism . He has written many books and is a lecturer of historical theology at Istituto di Formazione Evangelica e Documentazione, the director of the Reformanda Initiative, and the leader of the Rome Scholars & Leaders Network.