UNITED STATES
WBUR

Tue, Oct 27, 2015
by Eileen McNamara

One could hardly tell from the media’s preoccupation with all things papal that Islam, not Catholicism, is the fastest growing religion in the world.

In the 19 months since Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, an enchanted media has been dispensing a steady diet of “news” from Vatican City about everything from the pontiff’s preferred footwear to the birthday breakfast he shared with a few homeless men.

That the humble Jesuit from Buenos Aires has captured the public imagination is certain. Witness the throngs who greeted him in Washington, Philadelphia and New York during his U.S. visit last month. But the journalistic excess — more than 4,000 mentions in The New York Times alone — is matched by the breathless quality of the coverage.

One could hardly tell from the media’s preoccupation with all things…