Doubting the Apocryphal.... UPDATE

....story on Rorate-Caeli about Pope Francis derisively musing at traditionally-minded Catholics "counting rosaries." According to the story, brought via Reflexión y Liberación, a liberal Spanish-language site dedicated to "Liberation Theology" and "Neo-Liberalism and Social Justice," Francis called traditionalists a "Pelagian current" in the presence of his visitors. Although not exactly one with the Pontiff's liturgical ars celebrandi or his personality, the Rad Trad stumbles over barriers to credibility concerning this story. Why?

1. He is the Pope and no shepherd, wise or dull, bemoans his sheep in front of others. His duty is to nurture and watch them, not to pass opinions. Unless the Pope is vindictive, and he does not strike me as such, I see no point in a Pontiff mocking part of his flock.
2. According to the story Francis finds laughable the idea that the number of prayers one says has any significance. The Pope reportedly finds a spiritual offering of 3,000+ rosaries from a group of "restorationists" amusing and silly. Yet we know the Pope himself asked for the faithful to pray three Hail Mary's for him daily.
3. "Traditionalists," "restorationists," and people who want to "go back 60 years" are invariably associated with the older liturgical rites. This Pope has publically refused to fire Msgr. Guido Marini and affirmed that Benedict XVI's legislation Summorum Pontificum will not be touched.
4. Reflexión y Liberación promotes hard leftist politics and theology, which Cardinal Bergoglio opposed, either passively or actively, while a Jesuit priest and as an archbishop. This group might be attempting to manufacture agreement or consensus by using a third party subject as a social cynosure. Left-wing theologians have never been known to resort to dissimulation, have they?
5. Pantheists can hardly be equated with Gnostics, who hated the physical world.

This strikes me as a non-story....

UPDATE: The Rad Trad was quite wrong about this, although he is not too surprised. The liberals with whom the Pope met have confirmed the authenticity of their release, although the president of the group "lamenta profundamente" at the publication of the off-color remarks. Francis's propensity for speaking whatever crosses his papal mind before the nearest audio equipment might encourage more of this sort of thing in the future, if his handlers are not careful.