‘Is the Pope a Catholic?’ The rhetorical question that’s losing axiomatic power(Pope Francis kisses the hand of the Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar after an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on September 5, 2024.) “Is the Pope a Catholic?” is old and well-used rhetorical repartee. It doesn’t require and answer. Or it didn’t until recently.After Pope’s Francis recent remarks about inter-religious dialogue in Singapore, theologians and laity are questioning whether what he said was authentically Catholic.As so often, when the Pope shoots from the hip, he causes either excitement or chaos depending...