There is no pope. There is no pope. There is no pope. The phrase didn’t occur to me as the bell of St. Benedict’s Abbey  tolled over and over again for 10 minutes starting at 1:00 pm (8:00 pm in Rome) to mark the resignation of the Pope. The phrase occurred to me when the bell stopped tolling and the Abbey grew silent. St. Benedict’s Abbey tolled its bells as the Pope stepped down. Ther... More

“Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses” “I have great faith in the Holy Spirit to move papal conclaves, but I would concede that I may be running ahead of the Spirit on this one.” And thus E.J. Dionne Jr. is off and running. Initially I was dumbfounded because I didn’t think anyone would actually seriously propose what I tossed off as a joke in my “first reactions&... More