We have a new Pope!

–Edit–
I was surprised by how relieved and happy I was to see the news. I suppose I am still a Catholic at heart. It’s like being Irish or Italian for me. I don’t hold the passport, but I feel a connection.

I was in a conference call when I got the news. I couldn’t pull up CNN.com…every Catholic in America was probably trying to hit it all at once! I had to go to msnbc.com to find out Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI. He’s German, 78 years old. I thought they’d go for an Italian if they chose a Eruopean. I’m interested to see how things will change. Will he be as well loved as John Paul II, as good at reaching out and connecting? That man was a hard act to follow, as Popes go.