Likewise, this reform follows his pattern: all the others reforms he has enacted in the Curia have begun with a motu proprio or a chirograph.
In general, the Pope has left the details to be determined after announcing his intentions – discussion of the statutes of the new dicasteries has typically come after his announcements.
He has done the same with the new John Paul II Theological Institute. He issued a motu proprio, setting the direction, and he left the discussion of statutes, which govern the practical details of reform, to others.
A second characteristic of Pope Francis' leadership style is that he likes to do reform "in the making."
What does this mean? A response to the question can be provided by Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium.
In the exhortation, the Pope stressed that "giving priority to time means being concerned about initiating processes rather than possessing spaces", and so "what we need, then, is to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society and engage other persons and groups who can develop them to the point where they bear fruit in significant historical events. Without anxiety, but with clear convictions and tenacity."
The Pope begins reforms, and then he waits for things to organically move in the direction for which he is calling.
Finally, it is an old saying in leadership that "people are policy." Pope Francis seems to approach personnel decisions uniquely. Rather than firing people, the Roman Pontiff prefers to add new people or new groups to decision-making processes, in order to rebalance the general discussion.
At the renewed John Paul II Institute, it seems unlikely that the Pope will dismiss the full professors, who are hired into tenured positions. Instead, he will add to the faculty new chairs on different topics in order to broaden the conversation.
And then, if history is a good predictor, he will wait to see what happens next.
Andrea Gagliarducci is an Italian journalist for Catholic News Agency and Vatican analyst for ACI Stampa. He is a contributor to the National Catholic Register.