Is the Pope a Catholic? Depends who you ask. For traditionalists, mentioning Pope Francis is not an ice-breaker: Sarah Palin, former Republican vice-presidential candidate, finds him unsettlingly liberal. A stalwart of my local church said plaintively: “What does he mean, he doesn’t want to live in the papal apartments? He should be communing with God.” But for lots of people who normally detest Catholicism, the Pope somehow transcends the brand.  Jonathan Freedland, the Guardian columnist, who is Jewish, summed up the trend in an article that suggested Pope Francis could take the place of Barack Obama and Che Guevara as a liberal pin-up on account of his critique of capitalism.

It’s a bit early to talk about a rapprochement between liberals and religion — there’s already a backlash on that front from disgruntled Lefties — but this Pope has confounded critics of Catholicism by making criticisms of the institution rather better than they can. Only this week he alarmingly suggested in a sermon that people who gave money to the church but cheated the state should be thrown into the sea with a millstone around their neck — in fact, he was quoting from the gospel of Luke.

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New research suggests that Britain is still invested with a Christian sensibility. The think-tank Theos found that most Brits are spiritual even if  not churchgoers. Well, yes. Soon, lots of Londoners will be carolling: O Come Let Us Adore Him — even though they may be hazy about the doctrine of the Incarnation.

What’s clear is you should never underestimate the resilience of Christianity, its potential to rise from the dead. Which makes sense, when you think about it.

Melanie McDonagh | Read the full article in standard.co.uk