Dear Father Reese, giving Pope Francis a grade is way too premature.  Your essay gives worthwhile things to ponder, but - with all due respect - passing a grade is simply preposterous and does, I am afraid, reveal some lack of humility which is something you might consider working on.  Zhou Enlai, the first Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, famously responded to the question what he thinks of the French Revolution: "That's much too early to tell".  Though I am no fan of the man, I do agree he makes a terrific point.  So, let Pope Francis do his necessary Reform Work in an environment that still can stand comparison with the Roman and Byzantine Imperial Courts of yore.  Francis dismantles the Vatican Court shrewdly, and step by step.  I, for one, consider it a miracle he is still alive.  To poison an whole canteen at Santa Marta makes such a mess - it would be far easier to dispatch him had he lived in the remote and easily controlled Papal Apartments.  Not kidding...