My co-worker has a theory that Ratzinger was chosen because (She thinks she read somewhere that) Germans were leaving the church in droves.

I think a few million German ex-Catholics (at most) are a lot less important than the many millions in other parts of the world who would have been happier with another choice.

But in Germany, being Germany, if you leave a church you don't simply stop attending, you have to go and get a piece of paper saying that you've left, otherwise you have to pay church tax. So they have better statistics on actual membership than anywhere else.

I think at the moment it hasn't really sunk in here yet that there is a German pope. The tabloids were doing their best to persuade us there was no way Ratzinger had a chance.

papabile

Leaving aside all the politics, I adore this word. Every time I see it, I think "lunchables! only, it's popeables!"

Now with Limburger cheese!

I'm still seeing papal as paypal, so I can't even get as far as papabile.

So far, I'm finding that Ratzinger didn't choose that word "enemy" -- the reporter did. What Ratzinger reportedly said (well, it was an interview with a French paper, but this is offered as a quote, so I'm reading it as a translation of such) was

In the 1950s someone said that the undoing of the Catholic church in the 20th century wouldn't come from Marxism but from Buddhism. They were right."

Yesterday's livejournal post and the reason for the visit? All the justification they need. Your doc doesn't need to tell you explicitly that s/he's prescribing BC pills for medical reasons and not contraception.

Right, but that's a (fun! exciting!) new problem, and the last time I saw her was a garden-variety annual exam. But I don't have my medical records in front of me, so I'll take your word for it that she found something to write down last year so the medical system didn't get excommunicated, or whatever.

(Sorry for the cryptic TMI.)

papabile

Leaving aside all the politics, I adore this word. Every time I see it, I think "lunchables! only, it's popeables!"

Whereas I read it as pap-a-bi-ley, which sounds like a pasta dish to me.

Some dotty old lady IMMEDIATELY started talking about how God can't forgive suicide. Dude. So not the point right this minute.

Well, I guess it could have been more crass. She could have started complaining that she was going to be late to her manicure and oh the humanity.

My brain can be tasteless.

I'm still seeing papal as paypal, so I can't even get as far as papabile.

When I'm not seeing paypal, I'm seeing palpable, which...not much better. In fact, much much worse.

Theme park tyrannosaurus rexes, velociraptors, batman, young Darth Vader&co and clones and the Pope now achieve the same level of despisitude.

She could have started complaining that she was going to be late to her manicure and oh the humanity.

Oh, please. My main concern was being late to work.

Some dotty old lady IMMEDIATELY started talking about how God can't forgive suicide. Dude. So not the point right this minute.

Well, I guess it could have been more crass. She could have started complaining that she was going to be late to her manicure and oh the humanity.

At least the second one is remotely her business, as opposed to making pronouncements about the state of other people's souls.

The picture on the front page of the Times is a little scary. He looks like he's getting ready to ascend.

'Papabile' means a bunch of wires and strings and popes, to me. Naturally, you hang it above the cradles of Catholic babies....