On a tour of New England, the Pope took a few days off to visit Cape Cod for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the beach in the Popemobile when there was a commotion just off shore. A helpless man, wearing an Yankee hat, was struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a massive shark. As the Pope watched in horror, a speedboat pulled up with two men, both wearing Red Sox hats, inside. Without a moment's hesitation, one of the men commenced to beat the shark with a stick, while the other hauled the Yankee fan from the water. Shortly thereafter, the men pulled the now-dead shark into the boat too.

Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to him. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions. Even in the Holy See, I had heard that there was a bitter hatred between Red Sox fans and Yankee fans, but now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not true." Having said this, he threw the Popemobile into gear and disappeared over a nearby dune.

Back on the boat, the silence was broken by one of the men who asked "Who was that?"

"That was the Pope" the other replied. "He is the conduit through whom God communicates His infallible wisdom to the hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world."

"Well," the first said, "he doesn't know s*** about shark fishing. How's the bait holding up?"