Pope: "My Only Formal Source of News is Reading a Leftist Anti-Catholic Newspaper for Ten Minutes a Day"

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"The only bad thing about La Repubblica is that it uses so many big words."

Well, even only a few days later, this is an old story item to veteran Pope watchers. And of course, the Pope didn't say exactly that. But no one can claim that the title of this blog is an inaccurate or unfair parsing of what the Pope actually did say in an interview with an Argentinian journalist: He doesn't watch television or use the internet. And he leafs through La Repubblica--a leftist, anti-Catholic newspaper--for not more than ten-minutes a day.

The Pope's only formal source of news is a leftist anti-Catholic newspaper.

La Repubblica was founded forty years ago in part to oppose the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Keep in mind that Pope Francis is if anything more concerned with world events than any other pope of modern times. His last encyclical was half about income inequality. His next encyclical will be about "climate change".

If I read nothing but La Repubblica, I would be concerned about climate change too.

And I wouldn't be a Catholic.

When this story came out a few days ago, here's what happened:

Traditionalists and other anti-Pope Francis Catholics shook their heads. Nothing surprises us any more.

A few Catholics in the middle were finally jolted into quitting their daily intake of Ultramontanist Kool-Aid.

Jimmy Aiken wrote a 60,000 word blog post precisely explaining why reading La Repubblica for ten minutes a day does not formally contradict any infallible teachings of the Magisterium.

The world continued to turn. For now at least.

Welcome to the New Normal.

In just two years Jose Maria Bergoglio has moved the Papal Normal line to a location previously  inconceivable. Most of us don't even realize it.

Say what you want about his two predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. You don't like the John Paul II altar girl thing? Fine. You don't like how Benedict didn't wear a cassock in the early 1960's? Fine. But you have to admit, these men were Catholic titans compared to Bergoglio.

John Paul read two complete philosophy journals before going to bed.

Benedict wrote the equivalent of two complete philosophy journals before going to bed.

Francis finishes up the La Repubblica comics before going to bed.

John Paul was Winston Churchill.

Benedict was Konrad Adenauer.

Francis is Chance the Gardener.