Pope: It’s a sin to spread fake news

In an interview with a Belgian newspaper, Pope Francis said: “I think the media have to be very clear, very transparent, and not fall into — no offense intended — the sickness of coprophilia, that is, always wanting to cover scandals, covering nasty things, even if they are true.” Here’s more on coprophilia. Gotta say …

Welp, we have some more work to do on the Pope

Just kidding. I mean who am I to work on the Pope. but some remarks he made yesterday were disappointing, and not just to the LGBTQ crowd. In a private meeting with bishops from Poland, Pope Francis said that  schoolchildren are being taught they can choose their gender as part of what he called an “ideological …

Vatican: Pope’s meeting with Kim Davis is not an endorsement

Responding to critics who decried Pope Francis’ recent meeting with law-breaker Kim Davis, which netted her two rosaries and a “Stay strong,” the Vatican said this: The brief meeting between Mrs. Kim Davis and Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, DC has continued to provoke comments and discussion. In order to contribute to an …

Like you’d ever have the chance, but:

Since Pope Francis is on U.S. soil for the first time, if you had 10 minutes with him, what would you say? I’d congratulate him on bringing the conversation around to wealth and income inequality, and then I’d ask him to look at his church’s history with women, and focus his attention there, as well. …

Pew: Over half of U.S. Catholics have left the church

Leftover sends this, in preparation for Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.: Over half of U.S. adults who were raised Catholic have left the church at some point. Some come back. Some don’t. I think most of the people I know who’ve left are what this survey calls “cultural Catholics.” I wish there was the …

The Pope is coming to the U.S.

(As if you didn’t know.) Here are some ways he has (so far) made life uncomfortable for people of a certain political stripe.  

Can a weapons manufacturer be called a Christian?

Our Favorite Pope® Francis says no. At a rally for young people in Turin, Italy, the Pope said: “It makes me think of … people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn’t it?” The Pope also mentioned people who invest in weapons. About those …

Here’s the drama behind the Pope’s environmental encylical

Charles Redfern (Hey! I know that guy!) has written a piece for Huffington Post that examines what went on behind the scenes of Pope Francis’ (leaked already) encyclical letter on the environment. For all we may want to applaud the Pope as setting new standards for forward-thinking, Chuck writes: Our craving for dramatic arcs clouds …

In an acknowledgement of the church’s true purpose:

Pope Francis has ended the benighted investigation into U.S. nuns — some of whom were known collectively as Nuns on the Bus. This makes sense, as the nuns appear to be at the forefront of doing precisely the kind of church work favored by Pope Francis. Funny how different news outlets have different takes on …

Pope: Catholics don’t have to “breed like rabbits”

With a dateline “ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE,” the Associated Press reported yesterday that: …it’s not true that to be a good Catholic “you have to be like rabbits.” On the contrary, he said “responsible parenthood” requires that couples regulate the births of their children, as church teaching allows. He cited the case of a woman …