Rope the pope

Well. That didn't take quite as long as the media made it out to be. The media was wrong? Well, I know it's difficult to believe, but yeah. They overexaggerated things.

The new Pope has been chosen. Well. Welcome Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. New Pope, if you will. Sort of like replacing Coca Cola Classic, isn't it. Many will not like it just because it's new and different, but I'm hanging tough with you Joe.

You've got some big shoes to fill. John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, at Wadowice, Poland, the third child of a devoutly Catholic retired army officer-turned-tailor.

Despite his prominence and the respect in which he was held by his fellow Catholics, his election as Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978 -- the first-ever Slavic pope, and the first non-Italian to occupy the post for 455 years -- came as a surprise.

Well, I'm a reformed Catholic. He did a pretty good job in my opinion. That Catholic church has been through a lot in the past 20 years (heck, the past 500 haven't been easy). They've made some horrible decisions lately. I think the Catholic churches in the states that declared bankruptcy to avoid paying the hefty damages from Priest wrongdoings (tisk, tisk) was a bad idea. Speaking of that, so, do the Priests atone for those sins? To Whom? What's the penance for that, sheesh. I remember swearing earning me a few Hail Mary's and a resounding Our Father (The Lord's Prayer for the rest of you), I can only imagine what pedophilia costs.