‘Pope of Mercy’ has been a breath of fresh air for the Church

AS a reporter covering the Vatican, you sometimes find yourself late at night dreaming of a time when you’ll have a no-holds-barred exchange with the Pope himself.

You dream these dreams, of course, in the full realisation that it probably will never happen.

On Jul 28, however, those of us travelling aboard Alitalia flight 4001 from Rio de Janeiro to Rome literally lived the dream, as Pope Francis came back to the press compartment shortly after takeoff for an unscripted and unfiltered exchange with the media that lasted a full hour and 20 minutes.