they done found a pope

according to "drudge" and cnn: benedict XVI, joseph ratzinger of germany

since i'm just part of the peanut gallery looking in... how about some updates from someone who was actually raised catholic (andrew sullivan):

Ratzinger?! The dread rises...

And so the Catholic church accelerates its turn toward authoritarianism, hostility to modernity, assertion of papal supremacy and quashing of internal debate and dissent. We are back to the nineteenth century.

There is simply no other figure more extreme than the new Pope on the issues that divide the Church. No one... What this says to American Catholics is quite striking: it's not just a disagreement, it's a full-scale assault... For American Catholics, I foresee an accelerating exodus. But that, remember, is the plan. The Ratzingerians want to empty the pews in America and start over. They will, in that sense, be successful.

and then...

I should shut up now. And pray.

eep! mr. john "i don't really like gay people and i protected child-abusing clergymen but i reached out to people of all faiths and mended ties between people from differing cultures and wasn't a total douchebag" paul deux seems so lovely now.

even if you're not a catholic, it's a fact that the pope is one of the most powerful and influential politicians in the world (and spiritual leader of over 1 billion people - i mean, like whoa). and i've got to run back to class, but yeah, this is heavy stuff. maybe more later.