Pope Francis reveals football allegiance amid Spanish visit

During a visit to Spain laden with calls for reconciliation and cooperation, Pope Francis stepped briefly out of the ceremonial register to answer one of the country's most charged cultural questions — and answered it by looking elsewhere entirely, pledging support for the United States in Copa competition rather than choosing between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The moment was small in itself, but it pointed toward something larger: a papacy that has learned to speak in the frequencies where people actually live, not only in the cathedrals where they are expected to gather. In a secular age, cu