Religion ghost? No, the new president of Argentina has openly bashed Pope Francis

Javier Milei is a practicing Catholic, but Argentina’s new president of has made zero attempts to hide his opposition to much of the cultural and economic agenda of Pope Francis.

In a stunning outcome that few would have predicted even a few months ago, this libertarian economist and former soccer player was elected Argentina's president. In this political story, there is no “religion ghost,” since many politicos openly called the election a referendum on Pope Francis’ status in his home nation.

Milei, 53, won a resounding victory last Sunday with nearly 56% of the vote in a runoff against Sergio Massa. This was the highest winning percentage in a presidential election since the South American nation returned to democracy in 1983.

The self-described anarcho-capitalist — who many have compared to former President Donald Trump — said in a victory speech that the “reconstruction of Argentina begins today.”

“Argentina’s situation is critical,” Milei told a crowd of supporters. “The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism, no room for lukewarm measures.”

Milei made headlines earlier this year with his caustic descriptions of Pope Francis, was born in Argentina and once served as cardinal of Buenos Aires. The pontiff became a campaign lightening rod after Milei called Francis “a communist” and “leftist son of a b----.”

Francis’ message against the accumulation of wealth — including criticism of an “economic system that continues to discard lives in the name of the god of money” — has been seen by some voters as an endorsement for Peronism, which some have argued is left-wing populism in the style of Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In it’s report on the election, The New York Times stirred religion and populism into this snarky mix:

Mr. Milei overcame criticism and questions about a variety of unusual behaviors during the campaign, including his harsh attacks against the pope, his clashes with Taylor Swift fans, his claims of being a tantric-sex guru, his dressing up as a libertarian superhero and his close relationship with his Mastiff dogs that are named for conservative economists — and are also all clones.

There was big news in Virginia on Thursday.

The banner headline atop today's Richmond Times-Dispatch makes that evident.

This is the straight-news, inverted-pyramid version of what happened:

Federal prosecutors on Thursday moved to drop their corruption case against former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, bringing to a close a case that gripped the state capital, tarnishing the former governor’s reputation and the state’s.

In a brief motion, federal prosecutors asked the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to send the case back to a district court. There, the U.S. will file a motion to dismiss the indictment against Bob McDonnell — once touted as a potential Republican candidate for national office — and against Virginia’s former first lady.

“Today is a great day in which my family and I rejoice,” Bob McDonnell said in a statement. “More than 3½ years after learning of an investigation, the final day of vindication has arrived.”

The Justice Department said in a brief statement: “After carefully considering the Supreme Court’s recent decision” overturning Bob McDonnell’s convictions “and the principles of federal prosecution, we have made the decision not to pursue the case further.”

In September 2014, a federal jury in Richmond convicted Virginia’s 71st governor and the former first lady on corruption charges stemming from their acceptance of more than $177,000 in gifts and loans from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., then-CEO of Star Scientific, in exchange for promoting the company’s dietary supplement, Anatabloc.

So where is the religion angle in this long-running political drama? Why highlight this story here at GetReligion?

Because there's a strong faith component to the former governor's reaction to the dropped charges — and the Times Dispatch absolutely nails that focus in its coverage.