Michael J. Matt | Editor
In 2007 URI celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On the far-right is Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Question: What explains the love affair going on between the Vicar of Christ on earth and the modern executioners of his Mystical Body in the media? The Rolling Stone magazine cover, Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year”, the Advocate’s glowing praise, and now CNN Money (Fortune) is listing the Holy Father as the “Greatest Leader” in the world today—edging out frontrunners Angela Merkel, Warren Buffet and Bill Clinton.
Really?
Meanwhile Pope Benedict XVI and even Pope John Paul II are vilified by the same media as intransigent traditionalists, personally responsible for the spread of AIDS and the sexual abuse of children by priests all over the world. In dramatic fashion, for example, PBS Frontline recently took it upon itself to highlight this contrast between Francis and his “evil predecessors” in the deeply disturbing documentary Secrets of the Vatican (viewer discretion strongly advised).