Confession time. The front page of the print edition, as well as the lead item on the Webs site, is not what I had originally planned.

That’s the thing about news. It is constantly changing.

Our original plan was to lead the paper this morning with the pope’s Mass in Yankee Stadium, including out interviews with several people from Delaware County who made the pilgrimmage to see and hear the pontiff in person.

That was before something almost surreal took place right here in Delaware County.

As reported by our police reporter Rose Quinn, it’s hard to fathom exactly the kind of violence that took place on a quiet street out in Bethel Township.

You can read Rose’s account here.

It boils down to this: Police believe a man showed up at a house on Warner Place armed with a knife and a machete. The man fatally stabbed his estranged wife. The couple’s 11-year-old son saw what was going on and called police.

Authorities say a Good Samaritan neighbor then arrived on the scene and shot the man in the shoulder. The suspected stabber then turned his knife on himself as lay on the ground. He died later at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

I know there will be those who believe that in the grand scheme of things, the story on the papal Mass is more important. I won’t argue with them. It is.

That was our plan. And we did not abandon it. We covered the pope’s trip all week, emphasizing the local connections and those who were taking in the various events.

But the truth is the pope’s Mass was taking place in New York City. The bizarre fatal attack occurred right here on a quiet street in a neighborhood in Delaware County.

I think we made the right call. I know others will disagree. Feel free to offer a comment if you think we made the right call.