I never thought I'd say this (at least not in public), but I really do sympathise with Chicken Licken...
After many hours of mini-hysteria, I have finally conceded that it was only an acorn, not the sky, that fell on my head earlier this afternoon.
My first thought on hearing that Papa Ben had shockingly resigned, was, rather (predictably?) solipsistically, 'Well, there goes my number!'
I was never going to be a one-pope girl the minute JP2 died. Now, my crush in The Vatican was hellbent on pushing my number up. :-)
It is afterall, all about me...
My next thought was, 'Is he alright? What really brought this on? Is he sick? Did something happen? Talk to me! Talk to me!
:-)
Well, it has been rather sudden. Even his closest aides apparently didn't know until this morning...
Then... panic set in.
Oh no. Was there something really constitutionally wrong with what Pope Benedict did?
I mean, no Pope had resigned for 700 years!
Was Popedom not for life?
Was it not 'till death us do part' like it is for marriage?
Were we witnessing the ultimate "catholic divorce" here, oxymoronic as it may sound?
I had smugly reacted to the recent abdication of Queen Beatrix of Holland in favour of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, with the silent retort, 'Well, the Queen of England or The Pope would never do that!'
Um...
Head spinning, frenzied conversations and head scratching being the order of the day, it has been an interesting few hours.
A friendly priest provided much needed calm: No, it is not a sin for a Pope to resign. In fact, resignation in light of poor health is very much encouraged. JP2 was advised to step down long before he died.
Calmness restored, much in the manner of a well-known recently departed British film-maker's catchphrase of 'Calm down, dear!' thoughts now turn to...
Who is next in line?
Who will be my next alpha fix?
Who gets my religious affections?
Who will my hypergamous intent focus itself on next?
There is an impressive list of candidates already.
But...as they say, one enters the Conclave as a Pope and emerges as a Cardinal.
None of these highly-placed priests are guaranteed successors to 'God's Rottweiler'.
They are all fiercely conservative though, as Big Ben is known to be.
The Church will be safe in the hands of whoever emerges from the White Smoke: I am fairly confident of that.
In the meantime, I pray for the health of Papa Benni.
Long live The Pope!
