Papers Please

Here is a weird article I found today.

Apparently rumors are circulating that Pope Benedict forgot a very important piece of paper when he traveled to Brazil.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Even the pope needs a passport.
But did Benedict XVI forget his when he flew to Brazil this month for his first papal visit to the world's largest Roman Catholic country?

A respected Brazilian newspaper columnist insists the pope didn't have it with him when he landed in Sao Paulo, and high-ranking officials from the Vatican to Brazil's presidential palace aren't commenting.

Merval Pereira, who writes for Rio's O Globo newspaper, reported Tuesday that the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, also showed up in Brazil without his passport.

The two were allowed to enter the country, but Pereira said the government found a way to penalize the oversight without causing a stir. It quietly fined Italian airline Alitalia SpA for allowing the two foreigners to travel without documentation to Brazil.

Read the complete article here.