[Dionysus]

[Uh? Salford diocesan press officer, Fr John Flynn (@jcaflynn), now says on Twitter that he took down the interview because he couldn't verify it – but "I am sure it is real". With respect, I don't see how he can be sure, since by his own admission he hasn't checked the authenticity of the transcript – and the clues that it's bogus are compelling.]

[Latest: The Diocese of Salford link to the interview is now dead. So I think we have our answer. The "interview" has almost certainly been concocted to appeal to a certain sort of conservative American. It's meticulously done, so it did take me a few minutes to be sure it was fake. I'm leaving it online because the hoax is interesting in itself. I mean, why bother?]