That's a Headline That'll Wake You Up Faster Than Coffee*

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(*Or Coughee for JJ) Sometimes you will hear a news item that'll jolt you out of a half-asleep state quicker than a double-expresso mixed with caffeine pills and Jolt cola. That happened to me in 2016 when I had the TV on first thing in the morning after the alarm went off and was just about to doze back off when the announcer said David Bowie had died. I got another jolt this morning. While perusing the news online I came across this headline on CBS News' site: POPE FRANCIS ACCUSES CHILE SEX ABUSE VICTIMS OF SLANDER Say what??? Who's pope now, Jared Fogel?? The pope, according to this article, went to Chile to deal with the sex abuse scandal in that country. He met with victims of a priest who had accusations going back to 2002 covered up by the church. Things were apparently going well until Francis told a reporter, "The day they bring me proof against Bishop Barros, I'll speak," Francis said. "There is not one shred of proof against him. It's all calumny. Is that clear?" (Bishop Barros supposedly witnessed some of the sexual abuse and did nothing...except cover it up once the victims began coming forward.) Wowza. Earlier in the month I posted a discussion about the Mormon church replacing their late 90-year-old president with a 93-year-old, and someone commented that the older leaders were "out of touch." I don't know if you can blame this on Francis' age (he's 81) or he just thinks that people aren't going to leave the church no matter what priests and bishops do. At any rate, he's so out of touch with the victims of these heinous crimes that Hall & Oates should write a song about him. Here's another article on the subject, this one from the BBC: