Il Papa's plane hadn't even landed in Brazil before Religion Reporters, eager to paint the Pope as The Hammer, had gotten something wrong. The headlines made it seem as if he'd come to Latin America slashing, having excommunicated some Mexican politicians mid-air. As John Allen's transcript of the chat aboard the papal plane reveals, the Pope didn't pronounce anything; he simply indicated support of the Mexican bishops and explained Church law on the topic. I'll let Fr. Z. 'splain it for us. Be sure to read the comment on his post, which contains the Vatican's official clarification. He does a smackdown on the Italian press for the same story here.
In the meanwhile, there were a total of 11 questions, which were asked and answered spontaneously, most of which were much more interesting. See esp. his remarks about the cause of Archbishop Romero.
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