Pope Francis will open the academic year at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, in a schedule change that will see him replace Cardinal Sarah.
The news of the pontiff’s substitution for Sarah comes just weeks after Francis chose Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and Mgr Pierangelo Sequeri to head the institute, whose full name is the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.
The selection of Archbishop Paglia and Mgr Sequeri as the new grand chancellor and president of the institute proved controversial. Critics suggest that the pair possess ideas on marriage and the family that go against the approach which the institute has traditionally upheld. The commentator Philip Lawler asked "whether Pope Francis is deliberately moving away from the teachings of St John Paul II on marriage, family, and life."
