Augustinian Reformer or Radical?

Pope Leo XIV's upcoming Synod on "Community in the Modern World" reflects his 46 years as an Augustinian (solemn vows 1981). The working document, drafted with input from his former brothers, proposes revolutionary changes: optional clerical celibacy, lay-led parishes in priestless areas, and shared financial transparency. "Augustine's Rule was about adapting," argues the pope who served as Prior General (2001-2013). His Villanova math training shows in the proposal's statistical models predicting clergy shortages. Traditionalists accuse him of Protestantizing the Church, but Augustinian scholars note these ideas echo the order's 13th-century reforms. The most contentious item? Letting divorced/remarried Catholics receive communion after "communal discernment." As one cardinal grumbled: "He's applying monastery rules to the universal Church."