Black Smoke - White Smoke?

Do not miss Father Roderick's podcast from the Vatican as he watches for the puffs of white smoke. Father is one hip cat! Feel the tension - is it white, is it black, no it's gray? Now it's white! What color is this? The bells are not ringing. But it is white! Father says "I don't know what these cardinals are smoking over there." Again smoke! No bells. "Bianca, bianca! ... Total excitement, confusion and emotion." They see smoke for the third time and it is black, but no bells.

This podcast takes you back to the morning of Tuesday, April 19. We'll go to St. Peter's Square to witness the smoke that will indicate the result of the second and third ballots. Will it be white, or will it be black? The tension and excitement of the crowd is slowly building up! ~~Fr. Roderick, Black or White? ~ MP3

Patrick Ruffini comments about nicknames given to the new Pope, other than the ones I have already cited, Papa Ratzi and God's Rotweiler:

Of course, some people can't resist drawing parallels with American politics. Chris Matthews says he's Dick Cheney. Over on The Corner, speculation ranges from W. to Calvin Coolidge. If JPII was the Church's Reagan, then Ratzinger is pretty clearly Bush 41, the less flashy, long-serving "vice president" elected to carry on the father's work. The upshot of a shorter Papacy is that the next Pope is not likely as to be a protege of the current Pope, though Benedict XVI might appoint some solidly conservative Latin American and African Cardinals who would make for attractive, well-rounded successors.

The American Mind has found another moniker for Pope Benedict - "The Grand Inquisitor", coming from the mocking mind of Andrew Sullivan. Sean Hackbarth writes that if Andrew is not happy, it probably means Benedict's election is a good thing.

Confessions of a Political Junkie has an irreverant moniker, which he willl use if the new Pope starts excommunicating Kennedys. Does that include Maria Shriver and the Governator?

On a serious note, I am at a profound loss of explanation as to why I am so moved with emotion over the election of the Pope. I’m not Catholic. Heck, I’m Presbyterian. But, I was deeply excited by the prospect of Ratzinger being elected Pope and look what happened. What I think it is, is the same reason I wanted Bush to win re-election so badly: It sends a message to lefties that their “progressive” movement is not all that they think it is. Ratzinger’s election signals that the Catholic Church, unlike the Episopalians, the Lutherans, the PCUSA, the United Church of Christ, etc. will keep faithful to the idea that we change for God, God does not change for us. It is not so much that Ratzinger is an “ultraconservative.” It is that he is faithful to the Word of God.

Guide to Midwestern Culture is calling it all a "Papal Pile-On". And here at Kerfuffles, Neddy Kerfuffle is wondering just which moniker will stick to "o Papa novo", Pope Benedict XVI.

Right Wing News in "Three Cheers For The New Pope!" is awaiting the ACLU's take on Pope Benedict.

I'm not a social conservative or a Catholic, so here's all I have to say about Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger becoming the next Pope: #1) If someone as openly hostile to religious people as Andrew Sullivan is furious about Ratzinger becoming Pope, then that's obviously a sign that he's a great choice. The only way it could get any better for Ratzinger would be if the ACLU issued a press release denouncing him.

Pope