Reporter asks Pope Francis whether he is Catholic on route to the US

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Pope was asked by a reporter whether he is Catholic on route to the US
He arrived in America last night on the papal plane for a five-day trip
Faced fierce criticism for an important manifesto railing against capitalism
Critics have said his intended liberal reforms to the church are un-Catholic

By Hannah Roberts In Rome For Mailonline

Published: 07:55 EST, 23 September 2015 | Updated: 20:18 EST, 23 September 2015

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‘Is the Pope Catholic?' is supposed to be the appropriate retort to the blindingly obvious.

So Pope Francis must have been a little surprised to be asked that very question on Tuesday night.

The pontiff was giving a press conference as he flew on the papal plane to the US, where he has faced fierce criticism after publishing an important manifesto railing against capitalism, Big Business and Big Oil.

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Pope Francis is pictured on board the papal plane en route to the United States on Tuesday September 22

Critics have also claimed that Francis’s intended liberal reforms to the church are un-Catholic.

He has relaxed teaching on abortion, asked that gays be welcomed in the church and suggested that he may allow priests to marry in the future.

On the flight to Washington, Francis was asked by a journalist: ‘Holy father, your reflections and denunciations against the inequality of the world economic system and arms trafficking are uncomfortable - they affect very powerful interests.

'On the eve of this journey some bizarre reactions have emerged. Sections of American society have asked themselves if the pope is Catholic. They already talked about a communist pope. What do you think of these accusations?’

The pope responded that he is willing to declaim his faith to appease his naysayers. He said: ‘If it is necessary that I recite the Creed, I am ready to do so.’

He defended himself against accusations that he is communist saying that he has been misrepresented as a ‘leftie’.

Everything he has said about economics is part of Catholic teaching, he claimed.

Pope Francis walks with President Barack Obama after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland

His encyclical, Laudato Si, or Be Praised - an important papal document released in June - was a blistering attack on the global economic system and man-made climate change.

It was seen by many in the US as an attack on freemarket economies and, touching on themes that included air conditioning, even on the American way of life

Francis responded to the journalist saying: ‘As to whether I am communist or not, I am certain to have not said a single thing more than what is in the social doctrine of the church.

‘I follow the church, and I believe I am not making a mistake by doing this. Maybe some things I have said have given the impression that I a bit leftie, but this is an error of interpretation.

'My doctrine on economic imperialism and in Laudato Si is in the social doctrine of the church’.

Francis deflected the question with typical good humour, telling an anecdote about a parishioner who was convinced Francis was ‘the anti-pope’ because he doesn’t wear the red shoes that his predecessors favoured.

Pope Francis arrived in the US last night for a five-day trip taking in New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

He will address the United Nations, the US Congress and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.