Vatican II started a major and ongoing reconciliation process leading to things like the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (1999, quietly res

Vatican II started a major and ongoing reconciliation process leading to things like the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (1999, quietly resolving the core issues of the reformation) and Pope Francis commemorating the 500th anniversary of the reformation at a Lutheran church in Sweden (2016): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_on_the_Doctrine_of_Justification https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_on_the_Doctr... https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir.html/content/vaticanevents/en/2016/10/31/dichiarazione-congiunta.html https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir... I think attitudes vary regionally and by congregation and an ecumenical focus doesn't necessarily translate to a positive perception of the pope but it can and not just all that recently.