Popity Popey Popishness

Except for a snarky post upon his election, the Vega ain't had much to say about the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict the XVI. His past, including a stint as a member of the Hitler Youth wasn't of great concern since, after all, American Bandstand hadn't been invented yet, so what's a youth to do? And his role as John Paul II's enforcer raised barely a blip on my consciousness since every Pope relies on a small group of cardinals who have a fanatical devotion to his Eminence.

But the Vega must now speak out. Enough! Enough with the "All Pope All the Time" news channels. Enough with the constant analysis of what the election of this Pope will mean to American Catholics, such as this drivel that appears on the front page of the Times today.

WASHINGTON, April 20 - The election of an unstintingly conservative pope could inject a powerful new force into the intense conflicts in American politics over abortion and other social issues, which put many Catholic elected officials at odds with their church.

Pope Benedict XVI ascends to power at a tumultuous time for his church in American politics: Catholic voters, long overwhelmingly Democratic, have become a critical swing vote. Republicans have become increasingly successful at winning the support of more traditional Catholics by appealing to what President Bush calls the "culture of life" issues, including abortion, euthanasia and research on embryonic stem cells. Mr. Bush carried 56 percent of the white Catholic vote in 2004, up from 51 percent in 2000 - a formidable part of his conservative coalition.

Um. I'd like to point out that Pope Benedict XVI didn't succeed Barbara Boxer as Pope. He succeeded the most conservative Pope in our lifetimes. And consider the logic of those two paragraphs: Catholic elected officials are often at odds with their church and yet they went ahead and told their congregations to vote for Bush at the urging of a German cardinal?

The press seem to have amnesia when it comes to recent polls regarding Catholics' view of Church hierarchy in recent years.

Despite the Nooner's crazy talk ("inner adult"?), it would seem that Benedict was elected more because of his age than despite it, and because the Italian block seems to have split their vote.

To The New York Times, the Post, CNN, etc., etc., the new leader of the free world wasn't elected in Rome the other day. The world is not waiting breathlessly to hear his next pronouncement. I mean, an assignment in Rome is pretty cool, the vestements are camera friendly, and Latin sounds...er...ancient, but enough already. Let's give this one a rest.