Michael D'Antonio : In Pope Francis ' first days it 's hard not to plumb meaning of his gestures . He says among them was a visit with disgraced Cardinal Law , implicated in sex abuse scandal . On the status of women , priestly celibacy , contraception and sexuality , Francis is as firmly rooted in the past as his predecessors . The Vatican has been rocked by the revelations and is now under investigation for possible cover-up. D'Antonio : Pope embodies tension between Christian values , imperial church .
Michael D'Antonio : In Pope Francis ' first days it 's hard not to plumb meaning of his gestures . He says among them was a visit with disgraced Cardinal Law , implicated in sex abuse scandal . The Vatican has been rocked by the revelations and is now under investigation for possible cover-up. D'Antonio : Pope embodies tension between Christian values , imperial church .