I hate to be a cynic but here it goes.
This is the BEST positive press the Catholic church has gotten, at least in this country, for several years. They are on every TV station and people have been glued to their sets. Every media outlet is all over this story. Where will they bury John Paul II? Who will they choose? What color smoke? Every chanell ran stories on the John Paul II and how great he was. Pumping up the church in a positive light. Lots of people are feeling good again about all churches and all religions. BTW I think this is good. But...
So here's the cynical part, maybe by having an old Pope they will repeat this again in the near future. I know I'm an ass, but there is always an underlying motive to big decisions and organizations like the Catholic Church. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, just something my peanut brain thought about when I heard the new Pope's age. Just an observation.
