Comments about ‘Vatican comes to the defense of pope's book on Christmas’

What next....? Santa rode a camel to deliver gifts to the newborn? Herr Pope needs to decide if he wants to be the leader of the world's Catholics or a scripture scholar. I am thinking that in the future a bit of "Peace on Earth. Goodwill to Men!" would do nicely.

If the pope has good reason to believe some traditions aren't factual what's wrong with him trying to interject some truth?

@cjb;

If one part is false it could lead to the understanding that many more parts are also false.

Most people would rather have a highly-detailed story about God than discover God from within themselves as they live their God-given lives.

Does it really make any difference whether there were animals in the manger where Jesus was born? Yes--but only if you need the story.

My spiritual guideline has always been: "If Walt Disney could have made a movie out of it, it isn't God. Not even close."

Does it really ruin Christmas to separate the basic story from the trappings of unsupported tradition that have crept into the Nativity over time? Should I toss my Nativity creche out because the cute little sheep probably wasn't there? Should I take down the Christmas tree just because Christ probably wasn't born right after the winter solstice? Does the uncertainty about the year of Christ's birth prevent me from enjoying the season?

Nope.