Communicator Pope Mixes the Personal and the Professional

FOR anybody in the information business, Pope Francis would be a dream, and a nightmare, to work for. He is a natural communicator, whose openness and vulnerability somehow come across the airwaves. But the most memorable moments of his papacy, such as his long public embrace of a man terribly disfigured by a skin disease, are completely unscripted. Perhaps they have to be. And every so often, he will say something edgy that clearly defies any PR advice he is getting: for example, when he responded to the massacre of journalists at Charlie Hebdo magazine by insisting that people should avoid insulting what others hold sacred. Whatever you may think of that particular comment, a charismatic religious leader will always reserve the right to spring surprises.