http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/maureen-dowd-francis-the-perfect-19th-century-pope.html?ref=opinion&_r=0Francis, the Perfect 19th-Century Pope
SEPT. 26, 2015
Washington — AFTER attending a canonization Mass at Catholic University with the pope who rails against the excesses of capitalism, I walked off campus to a festival of capitalism.
Vendors were hawking pope bracelets, buttons and T-shirts.
Excited by seeing the humble black Fiat in person and infused with Papa’s warning against the numbing effects of the “culture of prosperity,” I resisted all sales pitches. Until I got to the last guy.
He was selling blue-and-white T-shirts for $10 with the declaration “Coolest Pope Ever.”
Francis is undeniably cool. He once worked as a nightclub bouncer in Buenos Aires. He got a serenade to “Frank, baby,” from his fan Stephen Colbert. He spurred nuns to have a tailgating party at Catholic U. before his Mass, inspired the Internet to erupt in photos of dogs sporting miters and persuaded a blubbering John Boehner that he would never have a day that good again.
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