I hope I'm not the only one who finds the 24 hour news media's uberobsession with the slow death march of his Excellency morbid. Do we really need papal kidney failure updates on the hour? His passing will hopefully put an end to death week here in America. I hope the pope passes soon and that his suffering is minimized.

I do feel for this pope and his many followers around the world. I might be anti-religionist and an atheist, but that doesn't mean I don't respect this man. Quite the contrary. Pope John Paul II was a man of great charisma and while I don't agree with many his decisions, most notably his hard line on birth control which is especially disturbing considering so many of his constituents live in over populated AIDS ravaged countries, I respect him as person who brought great solace to many people in this world. He's also been an incredible traveler and his facility with languages is simply remarkable.

Like many people of my generation, he's the only pope we've ever really known. The images I have of him in my mind most center around him traveling around the US in the pope-mobile or being "reported" on by Father Guido Sarducci. I also remember his visit to Yad Vashem in Israel and his apology, albeit tepid, for the holocaust.

Most of what I know about the selection of a new pope comes from Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. I'm going to be following the succession closely because I can't help but be fascinated by these machinations of the church. What happens after the pope passes away is that all the eligible cardinals and there are close to 200 of them, lock themselves in the Vatican in a Conclave, basically inside the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals stay in there until they elect a pope.

I don't know how many of you have been inside the Sistine Chapel. It's small. I'd love to be a fly on the wall following the intrigue and diplomacy as upwards of 200 old men maneuver to enthrone a new pope. It's one of those things that most of the people in the world will never be privy to, which makes it all the most fascinating.

Personally, not that I have any real interest here, but I would love to see a pope from Africa, South America or the Philippines where the great majority of Catholics live. However, I suspect that the new pope will be from Italy or another Western European country and probably be equally or more conservative than his predecessor.

But that's all besides the point. To all my Catholic friends and any Catholic readers who happen by this post, I extend my greatest condolences in this moment of loss and I hope for future of a peace and prosperity.