Compared to Benedict-Palpatine, he's practically a gay rights advocate.
He hasn't said or done anything that the church hasn't said or done before he took the office.
The main difference is that Pope Benedict was a less charismatic, more intellectual theoretical theologian while Pope Francis is a more charismatic, down-to-earth person. But the church's positions have not changed. The media is just reporting everything he says with an unwarranted spin.
For instance, his remark about "who am I to judge" the gays did not imply that he thinks that gay relationships are ok. The church has long said that homosexuality is not a sin as long as you don't act on it. "Who am I to judge" is just a diplomatic way to answer the question he was asked and also fully in line with catholic doctrine that judgement is not men's but god's responsibility. (Which obviously never hindered people to judge in god's name). In the same interview he said about homosexuality that "The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well." Everybody can read up what the catechism has to say on that issue...
People are just longing for a more progressive shift in the church and are thus willing to interpret everything he says or does accordingly. He certainly puts a focus on humanitarian messages, which is a good thing, and I fully believe that he is sincere in this focus. But he is also a conservative catholic with all the bullshit that comes with that. Another helping factor is that most people, including most catholics, have little knowledge about their own faith and its doctrines, and thus can't put his statements into proper context.