When Pope Francis speaks about inequality, as he does frequently—and most recently Friday in an address to several United Nations agency heads in Rome—liberals and conservatives gather and, like the blind men with the elephant, claim that the singular thing he has just said means completely different things. (Author Elizabeth Stoker has fashioned another analogy: a Bingo card. Which parts of Francis’ remarks did you hear?)

What did Francis say Friday? He condemned the “economy of exclusion,” according to the Associated Press. He called for “worldwide ethical mobilization” with the poor. He cited “the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society” as ways to combat poverty. “Francis urged the U.N. to promote development goals that attack the root causes of poverty and hunger, protect the environment and ensure dignified labor for all,” the AP reported, quoting him saying, “Specifically, this involves challenging all forms of injustices and resisting the economy of exclusion, the throwaway culture and the culture of death which nowadays sadly risk becoming passively accepted.” Yes, “culture of death,” for Francis also spoke of life “from conception to natural death.”

In other words: raise taxes on the rich, make government better, and keep Terri Schiavo on life support.

Of course, it’s not remotely that simple. Yet the stakes couldn’t be higher: More than one billion people worldwide are ostensibly supposed to believe this man is literally infallible (though not most of the time, but you get the idea). And many more billions seem inclined to see the Pope as a moral beacon regardless of their religious beliefs. And so we fight over what the he said like dogs over a scrap of meat.

On the one hand, there is this MSNBC article. Headline: “Pope Francis Calls For Wealth Redistribution.” It was, according to the reporter, “one of the most economically liberal statements made by any Pope.” It contextualized the remarks in Francis’ broader progressive agenda, citing his “bold statements on LGBT equality and sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church” (as well as the 900 recently defrocked priests). And the “culture of death” phrase isn’t mentioned.