I can't mention everything, every time I speak

"He can't mention everything, every time he speaks." I love that line. That's what the pope's spokesperson from the Vatican said today when contacted to comment on what the pope DIDN'T say when he visited Yad Vashem.

And rather than review what the pope said and what Jews and Israelis think he should have said, I think we should review that fabulous comment.

I was a public relations person for almost 20 years before we came to Israel. I have had more than my fair share of media interviews on behalf of the companies I represented. I have said things innocently that were spun so far from reality that I couldn't figure out how the interviewing reporter even got to that point. And frankly, I have made a few off-handed remarks that I naively thought were innocent, only to have my husband open the Toronto Globe and Mail the next day and burst into laughter. "Oh, you are going to love the way they quoted you," he said, before waving me off to what could have easily been my last day at work.

Fortunately the executives at American Greetings had a sense of humour.

So I know how interviews can spiral out of control. Been there. Done that.

Which gets me wondering if that is what happened to the Vatican spokesman.

Okay, I am finished wondering now because as a media spokesperson myself I already know the answer. This Vatican spokesman probably speaks to the press at least 10 times a day. Maybe more. The Vatican is a much more media-interesting place then anywhere I ever worked -- at least most of the time.

Also, Vatican spokesman is not a junior position for the newest priest in town. No organization as big or as important as the Vatican is going to hand over such a responsibility to a newbie. And if the Vatican is anything like places I have worked over the years (which it is), there is a very strict code of conduct for speaking to the media. Who speaks on which topics. What approvals are required before anyone speaks. Who approves the remarks prior to media contact. There is a whole to-do list before anyone gets on the phone with a reporter.

Yes .... mistakes happen. I already mentioned that above.

But that's the point. This was NO mistake. It might have been frustration. It might have been exasperation. It might have been that this guy doesn't suffer fools well and he has categorized The Jerusalem Post reporters as fools. And most important, it absolves the pope of all the things he should have said during his visit to Israel, but didn't.

If I am being totally honest, I have to admit that I only wish I had used that line a few times when I was in a tight spot between a rock and a hard place with a really aggressive reporter. And I think I will submit it to some of the public relations chat groups that I belong to. There must be an award category in one of them called: "Best Weasel Word Media Response of the Year". It would win hands-down.

I could go on listing more reasons why I think that the spokesmen showed his true colours and those of the pope, but I won't. There is so much more to say on this topic, but I can't mention everything, every time I speak.