No, the Pope did not endorse a gay-friendly children's book

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 28, 2015

The Guardian headline is an eye-catcher:

Pope Francis sends letter praising gay children's book

Wow! That’s newsworthy material for sure, isn’t it? Let’s take a closer look.

Did the Pope write the letter in question? No.

Did the letter praise the book? No.

So what’s the real story? There is none. But don’t expect that fact to stem the tide of inaccurate reports, flowing through the mass media, following the Guardian’s lead.

Here’s the reality: An author whose books are sympathetic toward same-sex partnerships wrote to Pope Francis. She received a polite reply from a Vatican official. That’s the whole story, and if you have trouble thinking of an appropriate headline, maybe it’s because there’s nothing worth reporting.