Wednesday brought honest news about the Chicago White Sox, who are very dishonest, refusing to pay players while demanding a salary cap that will be killed by the union. How about potential primary owner Justin Ishbia — who might not take over until after the 2034 season, if at all — appearing at the Vatican with a 2005 uniform signed by Sox players?

Standing beside him was a fan named Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV. In the minds of Chicago writers, this was an attempt at organizational salvation after 4 1/2 decades of Reinsdorfian hell. In truth, Ishbia showed up in Rome to sell a lost franchise — and a hokey stadium — to a man who has nothing to do with Chicago politics. If the Pope made phone calls to Illinois, he would be told that Jerry Reinsdorf has voiced no interest in paying for a ballpark and wants the public to do so.

The public has no interest — in the stadium or the Sox. So what was the point, Justin? Reinsdorf turns 90 in February. He might run the show until he’s 98. We assume the Pope will be around then, but at this point, Ishbia should begin important talks with Reinsdorf in which he states — “I’ll pay for the damned stadium, all $4 billion of it, right now!” — though he is only a limited partner. Then he will announce it, and until he does, it means nothing. This is what Reinsdorf wants late in his grumpy life: Someone to build a park while he continues to run the team.

Shame on him, the Pope should say.

Ishbia spoke to both Chicago newspapers — a revelation when both are lucky to survive. He was trying to give life to a team destroyed by Reinsdorf, who has allowed the Sox to lose at least 100 games in three straight seasons. This is happening when the Bears are 7-3 and soaring toward the NFL playoffs. This is happening when Connor Bedard is growing up and winning with the Blackhawks. This is happening after the Cubs won a postseason series. Chicago is winning, at long last. The Sox suck and should go away. Ishbia doesn’t agree.

“It was an amazing experience,” he told the Tribune. “It was spiritual and moving and awesome, and we spoke about Chicago. (He’s) an international beacon of the community of Chicago, the city of hope, opportunity and community for all, and I shared a vision of a new White Sox ballpark, a house of joy for families and kids of Chicago and visitors alike.

“And in the conversation I extended an invitation for him to visit Chicago and throw out the first pitch on opening day should this ballpark come to fruition. As part of that, I also presented to him a 2005 World Series championship team jersey, signed by the team, as a symbol of teamwork and perseverance. I said ‘I’m hopeful you’d bless our stadium, and our stadium will be a place that creates joy and happiness and many championships for decades to come.’ ’’

What did Pope Leo say? “He looked at me and smiled and said, ‘Thank you, and I’d love to, schedule permitting,’ ” Ishbia said.

Or, if Reinsdorf gets out of the way.

Ishbia told the Sun-Times: “I just asked him to bless the new stadium. I don’t know when it’s going to occur, I can’t say an exact date, but, it will at some point. I asked him to bless the stadium and bless the individuals and people who’ll be working on that stadium and the fans who will come to that stadium. I asked him to bless and wish for many years of good fortune. And I said we’re hopeful that with your blessings, it will be a place that creates joy and happiness — and many championships to come. I slid that part in there, so hopefully the man upstairs is going to acquiesce. We’ll see.”

The man upstairs is only hoping baseball has a full season in 2026, with the collective bargaining agreement expiring on Dec. 1 of next year. Acquiesce for the Sox? Why? “It was a really wonderful experience and one that I won’t forget. I shared the desire and the vision of a new stadium one day, and hopefully he’ll be there,” Ishbia told the Sun-Times. “I’m 48, right? And so whether a new stadium occurs in four years or 34 years, I don’t know, but I’m going to be involved in a stadium at some point with the White Sox. And I said to him, ‘I would love for you to be there and throw that first pitch.’ And he looked at me, and he smiled and he said, ‘Thank you,’ and then he said, ‘I’d love to — schedule permitting.’ ’’

Schedule permitting!

It might be the Pope’s way of saying he doesn’t care much about the Sox. If Ishbia is 48 and the stadium isn’t built for 34 years, he will be 82 — near Jerry’s age. But at least the Pope wanted the Sox jersey from the only championship season since 1917.

“He looked at me and he goes, ‘No, no, no, hold on — that stays here with me,’ ” Ishbia said. “He was excited to have this jersey with, I’m guessing, some of his heroes, the Paul Konerkos and Ozzie Guillens of the world. It was really cool that he didn’t want to follow protocol. He wanted to have it near him.”

So, Ishbia was a multi-billionaire fan. He made it clear to the Sun-Times that he is far beneath Reinsdorf in the current hierarchy. “I have zero to do with the organization today. I’m a passive owner. And by the way, I don’t want to use the word ‘owner.’ I use the word ‘steward.’ For me, Jerry today is the chairman, and he is the steward of the franchise,” he said. “And one day, I’ll have a good fortune of being the steward … anything that has to do with business or baseball operations is solely, 100 percent, in Jerry’s court.

“My view is, this is a community asset. This belongs to the city of Chicago. It’s my job as steward, when it’s my turn, to do my very best to create wonderful, happy memories and moments for Chicago fans all over the city and all over the world.”

This moment happened on Nov. 19, 2025.

Justin Ishbia has the sole option to buy controlling interest in nine years.

Figure out a stadium at some point. Announce when and where at a press conference. Until then, no one should care about a Sox fan’s vacation outside St. Peter’s Basilica.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.