Sarah Palin 'Taken Aback' by Pope Francis' 'Liberal' Remarks
Former Republican Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has recently stated that she has been "taken aback" by some of the remarks that Pope Francis has made to media in recent times.
In an interview with Jake Tapper on the CNN program The Lead that aired Tuesday, Palin was asked by the reporter as to her opinion of the Pontiff.
Palin responded that she was cautious to have an overall opinion of Pope Francis given her mistrust of news media.
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"I'm surprised that he came out with a couple of things in the media but then again I'm not one to trust the media's interpretation of somebody's message," said Palin.
"But having read--through media outlets--that he's had some statements that to me sound kind of liberal, has taken me aback."
Palin stressed after making the remark that while Pope Francis' remarks "surprised" her, "unless I really dig deep into what his messaging is and do my own homework, I'm not going to just trust what I hear in the media."
Since becoming the Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church earlier this year, Pope Francis has created much media attention for his remarks regarding atheists, gay clergy, the social issues and "ideological Christians."
Many have interpreted these remarks as showing a possible change in Vatican policy, while others have countered that his words were being taken out of context.
Regardless, according to a survey by Global Language Monitor, Pope Francis is the most talked about person on the Internet, beating out Edward Snowden, Kate Middleton and Ted Cruz.
Tapper's interview with Palin came as the former Alaska governor had a book published titled Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas.
The book centers around Palin's Christian beliefs and also focuses on the seasonal debate over the "War on Christmas" in the United States.
"Interwoven throughout are personal memories and family traditions, as well as more than a dozen family photos, which illustrate the reasons why the celebration of Jesus Christ's nativity is the centerpiece of her faith," reads the book's description on Amazon.com.
"Palin believes it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored. She also encourages readers to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our religious convictions and ignore the politically correct Scrooges seeking to take Christ out of Christmas."
The book has receive critical reviews already, with groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State taking issue with Palin's interpretation of alleged Christmas censorship.
"I forced myself to get through a short excerpt of the book provided by NBC's "Today" show, and based on what I've seen this book is nothing but a shameless attempt to pander to the lowest rungs of the Religious Right, which would explain why the prose is on roughly a fourth-grade level," wrote Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United.
"I'm a Christian minister, but because I don't support the right of government to make theological decisions for all of us by erecting crèches at courthouses, I guess in Palin's mind that makes me a scrooge. I'm not telling anyone that they can't celebrate 'traditional faith' in this country."
