Abstract

The Catholic Church is, like many other organizations in our time, under constant and strong environmental pressure to change its traditional structure and modernize itself. This paper examines the way the Church has reacted to these pressures during the pontificate of Francis, analysing, in particular, the multiple strategies devised by the pope in the first seven years of his pontificate, namely: 1) to exalt his personal qualities as a media star; 2) to transform synods of bishops into arenas of authentic debate; 3) to devise ingenious mediations, which allow satisfying (at least partially) all parties concerned.