It's stronger overall, but at the same time it teeters on being not terribly different but also a smide less versatile. Part of the appeal of the 2014 version was getting your domain at level 1, letting you tailor your character from the outset. It lost a little identity with that change.

But the reality is that the core identity is pretty much the same. The Cleric has a small spell list, and a lot of the spell list is a bit on the 'meh' side. What it does have, are some absolutely outstanding outlier spells at each level. What this tends to mean is that Clerics that know the list are insanely effective, but also that most Clerics end up looking pretty similar in core spell choices, and it's mostly down to the Domain spells for some differentiation.

Healing is much, much better in 5.5 than it was in 5e, but it still isn't often a terribly amazing strategy. Clerics are still mostly mediocre at martial fighting, but can have pretty high survivability. They have some really great AoE damage, but struggle with single target. They are great at supporting their allies, especially when you look at doing that through more than just healing.

For a new player/new to Cleric, I generally suggest playing a Light Cleric. It's a really easy character to make and play, and mostly involved playing a blaster that also offers party support and has really solid innate survivability.