“Pope Francis criticized the spread of fake news in graphic terms, comparing it coprophagia, according to a translation of the transcript published by the Vatican,” McClatchy reports.
“Coprophagia is the act of eating one’s own feces.”
“Francis also compared ‘disinformation’ from the media to coprophilia, or an interest in feces, often for sexual arousal.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders “privately met with Pope Francis at the pontiff’s residence in Vatican City on Saturday morning before the pope left on a trip for Greece,” Politico reports.
“Sanders thanked the pope for his leadership on issues including the ‘moral economy,’ the struggle to help the marginalized, income inequality, and climate change, telling the pontiff his encyclical on the matter had made a large difference to public attitudes, according to Sachs.“
Rick Klein: “Usually Trump needs creativity – and a certain amount of gall – to shamelessly change the subject at just the right moment. With one answer to a reporter aboard his plane, the pope did the hard work for Trump. Sure, having perhaps the world’s most prominent religious leader say you’re ‘not Christian,’ just days before a primary dominated by religious voters, may not seem helpful. But Trump has shown there’s no public feud he can’t win.”
“It’s hard to imagine evangelicals who might have supported Trump suddenly abandon him because the leader of the Catholic Church raises questions about his values and compassion. And – in classic Trump style – he used the episode to display indignation and anger. His hardline anti-immigration message gets some late airing, blocking out questions about, say, his positions on abortion and the war in Iraq.”
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“Listen, that’s between Donald and the pope… I’m not going to get in the middle of that. I’ll leave it to the two of them to work it out.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, quoted by the Dallas Morning News, on Donald Trump’s dispute with Pope Francis.
“In his most audacious attack yet on a revered public figure, Donald Trump veered into risky political territory as he denounced Pope Francis, seeking to galvanize Republicans who worry about border security and appeal to evangelical voters who regard Francis as too liberal,” the New York Times reports.
“Following the pontiff’s remarkable contention that Mr. Trump ‘is not Christian‘ in proposing deportations and a wall with Mexico, the candidate said Francis’s criticisms were ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unbelievable,’ and charged that the Mexican government had hoodwinked the pope into criticizing him.”
Politico: Pope attack could help Trump in South Carolina
Pope Francis called the wave of terrorist violence that killed at least 127 people in France “a piece” of the “piecemeal Third World War” and said the bloody rampage was “not human,” the New York Daily News reports.
Pope Francis secretly met Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis “who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and gave her words of encouragement,” Reuters reports.
A Vatican spokesman “said he would neither confirm nor deny the report and that there would be no further statement. This was unusual for the Vatican, which normally issues either denials or confirmations.”
Rick Klein: “It’s little surprise that this or any pope would stand up against gay marriage. But having spent time with this particular county clerk – the very public face of outright defiance of the US Supreme Court – has specific ramifications that surely the pope and those around him are aware of. Maybe that was the point – in which case conservatives have every bit as much of the right to cite this papal visit’s political message as their liberal friends.”
After Pope Francis finished his speech to Congress, Rep. Bob Brady (D-PA) “walked up to the rostrum and swiped the half-empty glass from which the Holy See had just sipped,” CNN reports.
“Glass in hand… Brady carefully walked back to his office where he, his wife, a friend and a staffer took turns sipping the water from the glass.”
Philadelphia Daily News: “It may be significant to note here that Brady had pulled the same stunt at President Obama’s first inauguration.”
“Sophie Cruz’s brief encounter with Pope Francis during his parade in Washington this week appeared to be the kind of spontaneous moment that is so endearing about this pope: an initially hesitant young child wrapping an arm around his neck as he offers a kiss and a blessing,” the AP reports.
“But for 5-year-old Sophie, the moment unfolded as perfectly as it was scripted by members of a coalition of Los Angeles-based immigration rights groups. They had been preparing for nearly a year for the young girl from suburban Los Angeles to make a dash for the popemobile to deliver a message about the plight of immigrant parents living in the country illegally.”
“If you want to understand Pope Francis’ politics, look no further than the two American Catholics he singled out in his speech yesterday — Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, who are hardly conservatives. Also note the issues where he was specific (abolishing the death penalty, calling for action against global warming, demanding tolerance for immigrants) and where he was vague (on life and family). No doubt, Pope Francis had something for everyone in that speech. But to us, it was revealing what he underscored and what he didn’t,” First Read notes.
Wonk Wire: Why Pope Francis sounds like a Democrat
Pope Francis “challenged Congress and by extension the mightiest nation in history on Thursday to break out of its cycle of polarization and paralysis to finally use its power to heal the ‘open wounds’ of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution,” the New York Times reports.
“Taking a rostrum never before occupied by the bishop of Rome, the pontiff issued a vigorous call to action on issues largely favored by liberals, including a powerful defense of immigration, a critique of the excesses of capitalism, an endorsement of environmental legislation, a blistering condemnation of the arms trade and a plea to abolish the death penalty.”
Politico: “In white robes that glowed against the austere setting, flanked by two former Catholic altar boys — House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden — the pope delivered a stern exhortation to show more legislative responsibility and compassion for all citizens.”
President Obama “will host an elaborate arrival ceremony at the White House for Pope Francis on Wednesday morning in a highly symbolic encounter between the political leader of the world’s most powerful nation and the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics,” the New York Times reports.
“As it happens, in a historical aberration, Mr. Obama will host such a ceremony twice in one week, with President Xi Jinping of China visiting the White House on Friday. But the pope has generated a wave of excitement in a normally jaundiced capital that ordinary national leaders rarely produce.”
“Pope Francis will arrive at a military base outside the capital on Tuesday afternoon to open his first visit to the United States, and President Obama will be there to welcome him. It is a gesture the president has extended to virtually no other foreign visitor,” the New York Times reports.
“And little wonder. For Mr. Obama, there may be no more potent ally in the world in his quest to bend the arc of history, to use a favorite phrase, than a pope who helped him restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and who has spoken out on issues like economic inequality, immigration, climate change and criminal justice reform.”
The Hill: “Republicans want to use Pope Francis’s visit to Congress this week — the first-ever by a pontiff — to highlight their opposition to abortion rights. Democrats, meanwhile, hope the pope will lend new momentum to their efforts to address climate change, reform immigration law and win public approval for a nuclear deal with Iran.”
“Papal experts say Francis’s address to a joint session of Congress Thursday is unlikely to fit wholesale into either party’s agenda, though they expect it to be more of a headache for Republicans.”
“The possibility of Congress truly, massively embarrassing itself (is that possible?) and the entire country during Pope Francis’s historic address next week is starting to give some members the willies,” the Washington Post reports.
“Even the tradition of bipartisan, goofy, wild cheering, clapping or of standing O’s — or sitting boos — could be seen by many as way out of line. So last week, four House members — Democrats Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Juan Vargas (D-CA), and Republicans Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, asking them to put out some sort of guidance ‘to the House and Senate on the appropriate decorum, protocol and behavior…'”
“As he upends church convention, Pope Francis is grappling with a conservative backlash to the liberal momentum building inside the church. In more than a dozen interviews, including with seven senior church officials, insiders say the change has left the hierarchy more polarized over the direction of the church than at any point since the great papal reformers of the 1960s,” the Washington Post reports.
“The conservative rebellion is taking on many guises, in public comments, yes, but also in the rising popularity of conservative Catholic Web sites promoting Francis dissenters; books and promotional materials backed by conservative clerics seeking to counter the liberal trend; and leaks to the news media, aimed at Vatican reformers.”
Donald Trump was asked by Chris Cuomo on CNN how he would respond if Pope Francis told him that capitalism can be toxic.
Said Trump: “I’d say, ‘ISIS wants to get you. You know that ISIS wants to go in and take over the Vatican? You have heard that. You know, that’s a dream of theirs, to go into Italy.”
Cuomo, taken aback, asked if Trump would actually scare the Pope, who is coming to the U.S. for his first visit next month.
Said Trump: “I’m gonna have to scare the Pope because it’s the only thing.”
Gallup: “Pope Francis’ drop in favorability is even starker among Americans who identify as conservative — 45% of whom view him favorably, down sharply from 72% last year. This decline may be attributable to the pope’s denouncing of ‘the idolatry of money’ and linking climate change partially to human activity, along with his passionate focus on income inequality — all issues that are at odds with many conservatives’ beliefs.”
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.