There is deep malaise among people who work in the curia about whether or not Francis's reforms will improve working conditions for its over 3000 lay employees.
As Pope Francis gave the red hat to thirteen new papal electors and four others, he faced very public criticism from four cardinals and an Australian journalist.
As U.S. Catholic leaders elect the latest head of its national conference, there are few signs that they are willing to embrace the pastoral priorities of the pope.
The prospect of a Trump presidency has sent shivers up the spines of most officials in the Vatican, though Americans who work in the Curia feel differently.
Francis has made it clear he wants to renew the John Paul II Institute by developing the guidelines in "Amoris Laetitia," which traditionalists have criticized.