Below is a slightly expanded column in USA Today on the recent release of a Vatican photo of Pope Leo XIV wearing a White Sox hat. For Catholic Northsiders, it was the greatest challenge to the unity of the Church since Pope Leo IX faced Great Schism of 1054. While that was just between the East and West church, the North and South division in Chicago is far deeper and seemingly insurmountable. After all, we were grappling with mere ecclesiastical divisions in 1054. This is Chicago baseball. However, where there is faith, there is hope.
Here is the column:
Like many native Chicagoans, I have been struggling recently with a crisis of faith. Raised Catholic, and even attending the last high school preparatory seminary (Quigley North), I was raised to believe in the supremacy of the Chicago Cubs and the infallibility of the pope.
You did not have to have proof, you just believed.
This year, it seemed that years of unrequited faith was paying off with the Cubs on the top of the National League Central and a new pope who is not only originally from Chicago but also, according to initial reports, a Cubs fan.
The intersection of Addison and Clark had become even more holy ground as faith and baseball met inside the friendly confines.
Then, it happened. One of the most spiritually crushing photos in history: Pope Leo XIV sporting a White Sox hat.
What are the devout to do? It is a bit late for a conversion for most of us. Two decades ago, I was asked by an innocent editor to write a column on the White Sox making the World Series in 2005. After all, I was his only Chicagoan. I tried. I tried very, very hard for two days. I then called him to explain that I could not do it.
Pope Leo as a White Sox fan is a crisis of faith for Northsiders
I was raised to root for two teams: the Chicago Cubs and anyone playing the Chicago White Sox. Does that make me a horrible person? Probably, but it also makes me a Northsider.
When the Cubs went to the World Series in 2016, bars on the South Side offered free beers for every run scored by the Cleveland Indians. I respected that.
After all, as James 2:24 states, “faith without works is dead.” Indeed, a USA TODAY column later gave me credit for the Cubs winning the World Series because I broke the Billy Goat curse. (All right, I had to write that column myself, but only because my fellow columnists were petty Mets and Dodgers fans).
Back to the crisis of faith.
For Northsiders, the only thing more disconcerting would be a picture of the pope sporting a cap for The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
It is not that Northsiders are not used to disappointment. In 1962, we lost a season 59-103. We did it again in 1966. We lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1975 by a score of 0-22. However, this was a fall from a great height after being assured that the Pope was one of our own.
It came when his brother spoke to a reporter and not only confirmed that his brother was a Southside fan, but he was also the outlier in the family. Now, comes the photo of a White Sox hat where the Papal Tiara normally rests.
To my friends back home in Chicago, I offer hope and redemption. Keep in mind that St. Dismas could overcome a life of transgressions and still be saved and canonized.
Even the pope isn’t infallible about baseball
First, we can offer our own form of papal indulgence for the pope’s baseball inclinations. Under church dogma, this is a personal, not papal, declaration.
This is no more a demonstration of infallibility than the White Sox currently sitting in last place in the American League Central.
Pope Leo’s demonstration was not a papal statement ex cathedra. Papal infallibility is recognized when he speaks by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority. In colloquial terms, it means that the pope is infallible when speaking from the “Chair of Saint Peter.” Here, the pope was speaking from his seat at the old Comiskey Park. In other words, he can (and is) fallible when speaking about baseball.
Notably, while the basis for papal infallibility stretches far back in the church, it was formally embraced in 1870 in First Vatican Council.
That date is critical. In 1870, the Chicago Cubs were formed as a professional baseball club. However, at the time of the First Vatican Council, the team was not known as the Cubs. They were called the Chicago White Stockings.
It was not until 1903 that the name was changed to the Cubs. During the period, they were the White Stockings and dominated professional baseball.
The current White Sox weren’t even a Chicago team. They were founded in Sioux City, Iowa, and then played in Minnesota as the St. Paul Saints (which may explain the appeal to the Pope). They moved to Chicago in 1901 and adopted the name of the Chicago White Stockings. The name was later changed to the Chicago White Sox.
For a few years, two teams in Chicago were named the White Stockings.
That was an obvious problem for fans, but such duality is hardly a problem for popes. After all, Catholics believe in the trinity, not just the duality.
So one could say that Pope Leo is both a Cubs and White Sox fan as a matter of history and culture.
Now, I can almost hear readers expressing skepticism, if not contempt, at my theory. However, that is the point of faith. Indeed, Voltaire once wrote that “faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”
I have faith − Pope Leo XIV is a Cubbie at heart.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
I love this article. From watching games on tv I’ve concluded that Wrigley Field is the most iconic baseball park in the US, and the Cubs fans are the very best in baseball. Though a Yankees fan, I was ecstatic when the Cubbies won the World Series in 2016 breaking the 108 year drought. Loyal Cubs fans deserved the victory!
Thanks for the laugh. If we lose our sense of humor, we’ve truly lost everything. 😊
I’m confused, Why isn’t the Pope a Cardinals fan? 🐦
touché
As a Christian and a born Catholic, I greatly deem Pope Leo to be a political antagonist who is straying out of his lane by meddling into U.S. government policy and law. Warming the hearts of Americans with his baseball cap and middle-America appeal, he has already crossed the line with his “retweets” against the administration, and wasting NO time appointing a bishop “call[ing] for priests, deacons and parish leaders to accompany migrants to court and stand in solidarity with them.” WHAAAAAT?????
“Cardinal at Pope Leo’s Chicago event calls out US immigration policy”
https://www.newsweek.com/cardinal-pope-leo-chicago-event-us-immigration-policy-donald-trump-2086130
“Pope Leo XIV may call for changes to US immigration system, Cardinal Cupich says”
https://abc7chicago.com/post/pope-leo-views-new-may-call-changes-us-immigration-system-chicago-cardinal-blase-cupich-says/16383737/
Imagine that: a priest or deacon standing beside an immigrant IN COURT, before the judge. The implied pressure; the perception of the judge in the eyes of the Catholic public if he rules in a way adverse to the migrant or with a priest there beside him; the subliminal messaging…..
I consider this an unwarranted and inappropriate compromise of the separation of church and state, and I question whether this played a role in the pope’s election. And I do not believe I am being “sacrilegious” for saying this, but I am sorry to whom I may offend or alienate with my opinion.
@lin
I don’t disagree, lin. The Vatican seems to be yet another globalist tendril these days – the globalists really do believe they are imbued with the authority to dictate to whomever they please. I honestly don’t know how many of the devout would be willing to question Papal infallibility, though.
Agree with Jeff L. – no matter for whom he roots! The columns on politics and legal topics are informative, even when I disagree, but in the current environment it is truly a pleasure to take a break and discuss something really important. On Chicago teams I am neutral, apolitical and nondenominational, but would love to see a game at Wrigley (and Boston’s Fenway).
Professor Turley did not mention how the Cubs were blessed by Merkle’s Boner in 1908, but cursed by Bartman’s Catch in 2003.
I was raised Catholic; for laughs, my father asked one of our priests whether it helped when a batter crossed himself approaching the plate. The priest said, “Yeah. If he can hit.”
I would like to pay tribute to former White Sox first baseman Gail Hopkins, who while playing for the Sox, studied for a PhD in biology across the Dan Ryan at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Later Hopkins got an MD at Rush, becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Let’s see a Cubbie do this.
Fascinating story. Thanks for sharing. Here is…the rest of the story
Baseball, medicine, service converge in Hopkins’ life
Gail emphasizes taking “a long view of life” and “never giving up on goals.” After a successful baseball career, Gail revived his dream of becoming a doctor. Plans to begin medical school in Mexico were put on hold, however, when an opportunity to play baseball in Japan presented itself.
In 1975, playing for the consistently losing Hiroshima Carp, Gail hit a home run that won a championship, and he became a hero to Hiroshima fans.
Following the 1976 Japanese season, the Hopkins returned to Chicago for Gail to begin studies at Rush Medical College. The dean at Rush, however, cleared the way for Gail to combine independent study at Rush with another season of Japanese baseball.
Following that season, Gail retired from baseball to continue his medical studies and a residency at Loyola after which the Hopkins returned to California to begin a practice and be close to family. In 1994, however, Gail joined a practice near Chicago where the couple now lives.
Throughout the moves, the family has always found its place in a local congregation, establishing warm friendships. Gail has been an elder in several churches, and the Hopkins have opened their home to small fellowships for worship and Bible study. Gail also serves on the boards of Pepperdine and Ohio Valley Christian College. As a board member, his vision for Christian education is to provide a wholesome environment where young people are challenged to use their talents, to learn about their world and themselves, and to discover that values do count in a culture that values education as a means to a job.
Gail sees a symmetry in his study of life sciences and medicine along with a strong belief that “life is theological.” Regardless of what we do in life and whatever problems we encounter, God provides the anchor for stability, he says.
For now, Gail and Carol, blessed with good health and a joy in their family and what they’re doing, hope to continue to use their talents and opportunities and experience all that life offers.
https://archive.ph/20130703234516/http://www.christianchronicle.org/article760422~Baseball,_medicine,_service_converge_in_Hopkins'_life
“Let’s see a Cubbie do this.”
Never happen.
On the other hand, if you need someone to sabotage your own team . . . consult Steve Bartman.
Our family has been Sox fans since they began…. southsiders!! When the family’s immigrated to Chicago from Ireland and Lithuania, they have always been sox fans…… growing up, I didn’t even know there was this team called the Cubs….LOL! That was a great article! Enjoyed it!! Now, Born on the southside and living in Montana…. still love the Sox! LOL keep em coming!
“. . . were petty . . . Dodgers fans . . .” (JT, who I used to respect)
Number of World Series titles won by the Cubs: 3. By the Dodgers: 8.
Envy is never pretty.
This essay is, unfortunately, Quatsch, as the Germans say. The Pope was born at the old Mercy Hospital, nine blocks north of Comiskey Park, and nine miles south of Weeghman Park, built for the Chicago Whales of the upstart Federal League before the league foundered and the Cubs picked it up. He is a southsider and thus a Sox fan by birth.
And so what if the Sox’s origins were in a small town, miles away? The Chicago Bears started life as the Decatur Staleys, by and for workers in a cornstarch factory.
Even if the Cubs and White Sox were to combine forces, they would not be able to stop the Tigers this season. It would take a miracle.
Indeed you’re right, Seem the ends of I-94 from Chi-Town to the Motor City are red-hot this year.
Tiger [AL] and Cubbies [NL] are at the top of their respective Division. Would be nice to see a Series between the two.
https://www.mlb.com/standings/
But there’s still a lot of time to go before the Pennant Races (best time for Baseball).
Have to admit that going out to Kaminski Park (Sox Park) and stopping for a Red Hot Chicago Dog at Fat Johnnie’s and cold draft of Suds is a Blessing!
I thought that the Pope’s attire meant that he was acknowledging that the White Sox were beyond earthly help and needed an extra boost.
Now I understand why fellow Chicagoan Turley sometimes goes off base in his opinions. Whether it is a character flaw or some sort of weird goings on in the brain, what leads to being a Cubs fan can screw up other opinions as well. I mean, let’s face it: one only has to go to Wrigley Fieldl and hear fans screaming with excitement anticipating a home run when a ball is hit into the air, only to watch as the opposition shortstop makes a routine catch of a pop-up. Maybe it’s because Wrigley is the world’s largest outdoor bar.
When I was in law school at that prestigious school adjacent to “The Midway,” I could attend games at which a mere 3000 people were present; Cubs fans taught me the meaning of “fair-weather fans.”
. . . but their current team is kinda good; my Sox are not. Nuts to you, Turley.
Brilliant analysis. I’m a Lutheran pastor, but attended Loyola University (Chicago of course. The other Loyolas are minor league). Diehard Cubs fan. My interpretation of the End Times predictions involved the Cubs, and, like every other interpretation, has proven itself inaccurate. See, I figured at some point the Cubs and some other team skunked out of a World Series appearance would play for the championship. Seventh game. Tied score, bottom of the ninth, two outs. Cubbie at the plate. He hits a towering fly ball… Back…. Back… Way back… And just before it clears the walls of the Friendly Confines, our Lord Appears in glory, ushers in the Last Judgement, and the Cubs enter eternity still being deprived of the championship. When the Cubs-Indians Series actually entered the ninth game, ninth inning, I started making sure my life was, as far as possible, in order….. But whatever Pope Leo’s preference, apparently Jesus is a Cubs fan cuz they won the series and at long, long last, were crowned as champions!
Pure genius Professor Turley! What a way to start my day!
Spoken like a true, long suffering Cubs fan. They have lived in Purgatory for most of history, occasionally even reaching down to the Inferno, and then suddenly they think they see Paradise with a World Series only to see that torn away by the Pope and the Wretched White Sox. “Oh the Humanity.” I think I saw tear stains on the column.
well done. But watch out for the hard charging Reds
Now please comment on whether barbecue sauce should be tomato, mustard, or vinegar based – or if sauce is appropriate at all.
What are the devout to do? It is a bit late for a conversion for most of us.
We have our ways as Catholics to convert heretics like you despite your claim of “bit late for conversion”.
Poking with soft cushions and the comfy chair work wonders.
Confess!
😂
Thanks, prof. That was quite funny.
LOL! It’s nice to have a break from your coverage of partisan political pettiness.