The Suspense Builds! Who Will Be The Next Pope?

[Yes, they just picked one. That will be at the end.]

Most of the media around the world insists on breathlessly “covering” an ongoing non-event- a gaggle of Catholic Church poohbahs meeting in secret to pick a successor to Ratzinger, who recently retired as Godfather of “God's” flock on earth.(1) The only actual news will occur when they announce their pick for new cult chairman of the board.

Since nothing visible is happening except dumb brainwashed acolytes hanging around outside to stare at a chimney from which smoke signals are emitted, the “coverage” consists of broadcasting their ooh-and aahs (as BBC did 3/13) and endless uninformed and sure-to-be-wrong speculation about Who It Will Be.

You've gotta hand it to those cunning capos of the Catholic Church, They have a masterfully manipulative means of building suspense- by using the “smoke” part of smoke and mirrors. Figuratively and literally. Literally with this daily ritual of emitting a puff of smoke so “the faithful” will know when the Great Decision has been made: Black Smoke: not yet! White Smoke: It's a Pope!! [Now, is it “God” who makes the choice or the “Cardinals?” Oh, “God” guides the Cardinals to pick the right (white European for the last 1,000 years) man.]

This is how they communicate with their flock of sheep- with non-verbal signals, like with a trained dog.

And the figurative smoke is the shrouding of the whole process in deep secrecy.

They also have mirrors too, a hall of mirrors, a vast cathedral of mirages- the whole huge illusion of Holiness, of mythical beings, of eternal life, of Heaven and Hell, with the endless myths and detailed dogma. (They closed down one area of fantasyland a while back, “Limbo,^TM” the imaginary bin they consigned the “souls” of dead unbaptized babies to. Apparently they couldn't sell enough tickets.)

The suspense is totally fraudulent. We already know the new Boss will be another “conservative.” There will no change in Church dogma or reactionary policy, contrary to empty speculation media prattlers feed us.

Now, drumroll. Envelope please: And the winner is- Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires! He has now become an infallible human being manning the hotline to “God.” “The First Jesuit, the First Latin American and the First Francis,” hails the NY Times."Of newly-elected pope,a Buenos Aires city worker says: 'He speaks the truth. Listening to him is like hearing Jesus speak.'" Ooooh, he sounds heavenly...(so to speak). Hey, what else do you need to know? (And the Jewish NY Times sure isn't holding a grudge for about 2,000 years of anti-Semitic persecution by Catholicism. Big of them.)

Yes, he's the first non-European in over 1,000 years. But he's of Italian heritage. So he's kinda European.

The establishment media finds the authoritarian Church a useful ally in its preferred hierarchical social order based on power and repression. Religion is a vital means of indoctrination and control, along with schools and media. Hence the media's motive in acting as trumpeting angels heralding this Church personnel change.

1) A thought: if life on another planet is confirmed, will that be yet another blow against religious superstition, as the discoveries of Copernicus, Keppler, Darwin, and other scientists were? Or will religions land on their feet and declare that “God,” in his magnificence, wasn't content to create life on merely one planet but decided to populate the rest of the universe? Perhaps that was what “He” was up to after that first week! What a great opportunity to spread the Good Word to other worlds!