In wake of B16 resignation…

…world media assumes heavy burden of

a) gossiping about why a humble and weak old man is turning his office over to somebody stronger and better able to do it and

b) telling the Church who that needs to be–because they are so qualified to do that.

This is the hour when having a heirarchy of ents that is totally out of touch with global media opinion and tragically unhip really pays off. Global media will have almost zero impact on the outcome of the conclave. And words cannot express how grateful I am for that.

A word to world media experts on the papacy. When you Google him be sure to include “Pope” or “XVI” and “-Cumberbatch”, lest you confuse your pretty heads about the state of play in the Church. There’s also no truth to the rumor that the Pope is resigning to voice the role of Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy.

Meanwhile, if you actually want to know what’s going on, here is what you do: turn off every voice in the MSM and pay attention to these three guys:

John Allen –

Rocco Palmo –

Matthew Bunson

Best commentary so far: “The Pope is really setting a high bar for giving something up for Lent.”

Also great: “Pope joins Twitter, loses interest in his real job.”