Justin Welby was hailed as the “Archbishop of Banterbury” in a Daily Mail headline last week after footage of him reducing the Pope to fits of laughter was released to the public.
Archbishop Welby was filmed leaning towards the Pope mischievously, while visiting him at the Vatican, and reportedly telling him the following joke: “What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.” This apparently prompted the Pope to erupt with mirth.
But when Cindy Wooden of the Catholic News Service shared the joke on Twitter, Lambeth Palace said that the story was not true. Perhaps this prompt denial is more significant than what really caused the Pope to guffaw so heartily. The joke is old and seemingly innocuous, but Lambeth Palace was keen to deny it was ever told. Is this because they assume that liturgists are prone to oversensitivity?
