Habemus Papam

   Yes, the catholic church does in fact have a new pope. And here's the winner of the latest edition of Vatican Idol:

   That's Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who will be better known as pope Francis I. He was elected by 115 of his fellows after 2 whole days of deliberation and voting, winning the 77 votes needed to be able to wear the big hat on the 5th ballot. Not surprisingly, not a whole lot is known about Frankie, other than he's theologically orthodox, and socially conservative. Just like his predecessor Benny was. And ain't that a surprise.
   He is younger than Benny was when he was elected, or installed, or elevated, or whatever the hell they do. Benny was 78.....Frankie is 76. So, we could be facing another conclave in the not to distant future.
   He's supposedly a conciliator, and will be able to come to grips with the sex abuse scandal and financial scandals rocking the church. Just like Benny was supposed to do! And I'm sure he's got good intentions, remembering of course that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. And after successive popes have turned a blind eye to those problems, I'm not holding out any hope for this guy to change things. After all, he's got one huge bureaucracy he has to deal with, and most of them quite obviously will fight tooth and nail against reforms.
   And at age 76, I really wasn't to surprised when they named another of their "old boy" network to wear the red slippers. I mean, you've got 115 old men appointing another old man to run a church supported mainly by old women.
   If the church wants to move forward and attract young members, then maybe.....just maybe.....the idea of Vatican Idol isn't so bad.
   I just wonder if Simon Cowell would agree to be a judge!
   'Nuff said.