Leading U.S. Catholic voice on what some call pope's "radical" views

Pope Francis recently made a revelation. He told new parents he was baptized on this day, Christmas, 78 years ago. The pope also talked about gifts this season and asked the world's Catholics to become "missionaries of joy." He urged people not to worry about the holiday rush, but "think of all the good things life has given you."

"Our holy father comes through as someone who is just living a simple life, he's not acting out something, he's simply living that life of joy," Louisville Archbishop and U.S Conference of Catholics President Joseph Kurtz said. "I think he lives in the present moment."

While he is praised for living in the moment, the pope has caused some tension within the Church for his pioneering vision. Austen Ivereigh, in his biography "The Great Reformer," calls the pope somewhat of a radical saying "dynamic disconcerting leadership, which while delighting most Catholics and attracting people beyond the boundaries of faith, has dismayed and disconcerted number of parties within the church."

But Archbishop Kurtz said in that context, the term "radical" has a different meaning.

"I think the fact that he sees the person first. He has often said that he favors reality over idea," Kurtz said. "It's not that he doesn't want to talk about ideas, but he doesn't want to gets so far away and argue about ideas that you miss the person in front of you."

In the fall of this year, Pope Francis made headlines after a draft report by bishops debating family issues was expected to cause a seismic shift in the Catholic Church's view towards gays. While the language of that document was quickly reworked after an overwhelming amount of criticism, the Pope's opinion remained.

"The pope always adds, 'I'm the son of the church. I'm not one to change doctrine, I know there's something beautiful in the doctrine, and in the truth of Christ, but in doing that, wasn't it Jesus who saw the person first in front?'" he said. "I think that's' what Pope Francis is doing and basically saying the role of the Holy Father is to serve and the role of those who assist him is to serve ... And I hope when I go back to Louisville, Kentucky, that I'm able to say, that's what I want to do I want to serve people which is getting again to use that word radical getting back to the roots. Our mission is to present Jesus Christ to the world in every age."

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the United States for the first time in September 2015 for the highly-anticipated World Meeting of Families. The three day event will focus on what Kurtz called "the mission and vocation of family to the world and the Church."