ROME – Your starter for ten: Which of the following modern pontiffs gave a high-profile interview to a journalist on extremely sensitive subjects, the result of which was controversy inside and outside the Catholic Church, compelling Vatican officials and spokespersons to issue "clarifications" which did relatively little to calm the waters?
- A) Pope Leo XIII
- B) Pope Paul VI
- C) Pope John Paul II
- D) Pope Benedict XVI
- E) Pope Francis
- F) All of the Above
The correct answer, as discerning readers no doubt already have surmised, is “F”. While recent events may invite the impression that contretemps over papal interviews are a defining feature of the Francis papacy, in fact they have a much longer pedigree.
