Since he was elevated to the papacy April 24, Benedict has little by little settled down to the business of being pope.
He has met with world leaders -- the presidents of Italy and South Africa, so far -- and resumed the ad limina visits in which bishops come to the Vatican to report on the issues of their dioceses.
Benedict and Vatican officials have taken pains to portray the new pope in a softer light than his reputation as hard-line doctrinal watchdog for his predecessor might suggest. For more than two decades, he enforced church teachings and silenced dissidents.
In the weeks since his election, however, Benedict has been described as a shy, gentle man willing to listen to all points of view who will be more broad-minded as pope.
He even loves cats, the public was told.
Yet last week, the highly regarded editor of the Jesuit magazine America, Father Thomas Reese, was forced to resign after steady criticism from Benedict's former office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
