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This might be my favorite sentence of the day:

The buzz around the Borgo Pio this afternoon was the pope taking the regular employee elevator today. There is an excitement here.

OMG! He took a regular elevator! He rode back to the Vatican in a bus instead of a limousine! He’s not wearing the red shoes! This is becoming like Tiger Beat for the papal set.

I don’t really begrudge Catholics their excitement over the selection of a new pope. But enough’s enough. There’s really no sign yet that Francis can—or even wants to—change the way the church is run in any significant way. Riding in an elevator sure isn’t one. After all, Jimmy Carter wore cardigans, and how far did that get him?

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

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