What they're saying about Pope Francis around Rome...

...according to my one graduated colleague who's a priest, who I ran into a few weeks ago when he was visiting campus after a summer teaching gig near the city

"John Paul was a showman, Benedict a thinker, and finally we have a pastor."

I'm not sure I like that distinction where Francis isn't a thinker; it could allow people to dismiss a lot of what Francis says.

I also am now not clear if these were priests (I think that's what he meant), or regular people (a distant possibility - though why would they say John Paul was a showman?).