The first American pope has been a font of endless, odd connections to the New World that clang against the public perception of the ancient Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV is a notable fan of the Chicago White Sox, a penance for sins if ever there was one. He has Creole roots through family members from New Orleans. He plays pandemic sensation turned New York Times tentpole Wordle daily. Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. pointed out last week that he’s related to many of America’s most enduring exports.
Gates found that Pope Leo was distantly related to Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Hilary Clinton through a single Canadian ancestor. That same Canadian link ties the pope to Justin Trudeau, Jack Kerouac and Justin Bieber.
The Canadian-born singer, who became a pop star with a boost from stateside stars, might need a bit of absolution after a slang-mangling confrontation with paparazzi went viral this week.
“You’re provoking me — you’re going to take this video out of context like you always do,” Bieber told a crowd of paps in Malibu on Saturday. “You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?”
The slightly off, somewhat forced usage pushed the semi-regular Bieber outburst to virality. The internet quickly turned the outburst into jokes, even as Bieber started sharing troubling half-apologies to social media.
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