THE media continues to roll out its rather brutal comparisons between Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict. This time, Rolling Stone magazine has jumped into the fray, describing Francis’ pontificate as a ‘Gentle Revolution,’ whilst stating that Pope Benedict is…
…a staunch traditionalist who looked like he should be wearing a striped shirt with knife-fingered gloves and menacing teenagers in their nightmares. —Mark Binelli, “Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin'”, Rolling Stone, January 28th, 2014
Yes, the media would have us believe that Benedict is a moralistic monster, and the current pope, Francis the Fluffy. Likewise, some Catholics would have us believe that Francis is a modernist apostate and Benedict a prisoner of the Vatican.
Well, we’ve heard enough in the course of Francis’ short pontificate to get a sense of his pastoral direction. So, just for fun, let’s take a look at the quotes below, and take a guess at who said them—Francis or Benedict?