The left-leaning German weekly Der Spiegel, whose circulation is more than 800,000, devoted Saturday’s front cover to Pope Francis. The cover headline – “Du Sollst Nicht Lügen” (“Thou Shalt Not Lie”) – indicates some of what’s inside: a 4,500-word study on what the magazine sees as a crisis in Francis’s pontificate. Here are five areas where it takes a particularly critical stance.
Division in the upper levels of the Church
“Only behind closed doors do cardinals and archbishops speak,” the report says, hinting at its access to senior prelates. It suggests that the Pope might “squander his authority” by speaking at the wrong moment, and being silent when he could speak.
