As Pope Francis concludes his widely celebrated visit to the American Northeast this weekend, it’s clear that he is effortlessly transcending his faith tradition and leaving in his wake a flood of near universal goodwill, during a time when skepticism and cynicism toward organized religion may be at its zenith, with high-profile Christians making the news for all the wrong reasons.

Here is how it’s happening and what Christians of all stripes can learn from Pope Francis.

1) He leads with love.

This is the heart of Francis’ message; the extravagant, lavish, scandalously diverse love of God for all people; not some people or deserving people or appropriately repentant people or morally acceptable people or saved people, but all those who have breath and beating hearts.

The Pope isn’t defined by the stuff he hates or the people he attacks or the pulpit-slamming tirades he unleashes. Most of all he doesn’t broker in the caveated love that so…