Aboard the plane from Rome to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Pope Francis was presented with a book about Pope John Paul II by a Polish photographer. Taking hold of his new gift, which had a picture of the beaming sainted Pope on the front cover, Francis joked that while his predecessor is a “saint, I am the devil”. For those in the grip of chronic anti-Francis syndrome, a condition for which symptoms often include a sense of humour loss, the remark was taken as another sign that this pontificate is taking the Church in the wrong direction.