As a so-called "cradle Catholic" I've been bemused by the wall-to-wall media coverage of the current Papal Conclave. Hasn't the Church supposedly spiralled down into irrelevance in recent decades? Many of the TV channels have a little pop-up screen in the corner of their programmes, with a camera focussed on the Sistine Chapel chimney; amazingly, at least one channel (CNN) is keeping this pop-up in place even during ad breaks. The CBC's venerable Peter Mansbridge, enjoying a jolly in the Eternal City while covering the event, told his audience that he has never in his long career seen so many cameras and reporters gathered in one place.
At first I though that the interest was all down to the unusual circumstances of Pope Benedict's resignation. There has been speculation that he quit as a result of some sort of looming scandal, involving either sex or money (very Downton Abbey!), so people may be hoping to hear all the gory details once a new Pontiff is in place.
From my reading of the media, though, I now think there's a simpler and more trite explanation: the Conclave, for most people, is no more than the latest reality show. That seems a bit unbecoming for so solemn an event, but as reality shows go, the Conclave has at least two real pluses: (1) it actually is real; and (2) there's no sign of either Simon Cowell or Nicki Minaj.
Footnote, March 14: the Canadian papabile, Marc Ouellet, didn't get the job, but the ever-parochial Toronto Star has still managed to find a local angle: a Toronto businessman called Francis Pope! Who is, of course, listed in the phone book as "Pope, Francis".
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