“Maybe it wasn’t the best way of putting it, but in speaking of the great Russia, I was thinking not so much geographically but culturally,” Francis said, mentioning Russian literary icon Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of his favorite authors.

“It was an off-the-cuff comment that came to mind because I studied it (Russian history) in school,” he said, explaining why he mentioned Peter and Catherine.

[Might one suggest to the Holy Father that he shouldn’t be speaking off the cuff in public at all, let alone on issues clearly outside of his expertise? His role is to be the Vicar of Christ, calling the world to Jesus, not the legacy of Russian tsars. Again, this praise for Russian imperialists came at the same time that he was lecturing American Catholics for their conservatism, which needless to say produced irony that would overflow any collection plate in the US. — Ed]