TALKING SH*T

Pope Francis Says Journalists Who Say He’s Pro-Russian Have Poop Fetish

Vatican’s No. 1 official says those who interpret his reluctance to directly name Russia as an aggressor in Ukraine suffer “coprophilia”—a sexual fetish tied to No. 2.

In eyebrow-raising comments on Good Friday of all days, Pope Francis lashed out at his detractors, saying they have succumbed to “disinformation, slander, defamation, and coprophilia” in criticizing him for not directly naming Vladimir Putin or Russia as the instigator in the deadly war in Ukraine. (Coprophilia is the technical term for those who have a sexual fetish for feces.) The pontiff made the statements to an Argentine journalist who asked him why he has so far failed to publicly condemn Russia or Putin. “Sad! Such a noble vocation as that of communications being soiled,” the pope wrote, turning his criticism on journalists, according to the Catholic news site Crux. It is not the first time the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has referred to such an esoteric fetish. In 2016, he hurled the same accusation against journalists who peddle in fake news.