Pope Benedict XVI resigns

No, that was the last one. This one's parents were Italian, so it's "Pope Frankie."

I grew up Catholic but consider myself Agnostic now. I absolutely loved Pope John Paul II, partly because he was Polish and so am I on my moms side. He was a really cool pope who just seemed to reach the entire world in many ways. I never saw that from Benedict and that is sad. I hope Francis I does some good and reaches more people. And I hope he opens his views a bit to realize that the world is changing and the church needs to change with it or be left behind (no pun intended).

There will be lots said about this being historic, first Pope from the Western Hemisphere, first from South America, yadda yadda yadda, but I don't expect much from him or anyone in the Vatican. They're all terrified of doing ANYTHING, it seems.

I hope I'm pleasantly wrong.

Pope Francis I & the 1976 junta of Argentina

^Your link is bad, try this. I heard that there was no direct evidence of his alleged complicity with the Argentine military junta, however probable it may be (he twice refused to appear in court during official inquiries, and only gave evasive testimony once he finally did appear). He may very well have been just trying to protect the image of the church, nevertheless, it appears to have played a less than savory role during the Argentine civil war, which has left wounds that persist to this day (the linked article cites that of the 2/3 of the population which identify themselves as Catholic, only about 10% attend mass).

and the jokes begin.

Pope Francis looks a lot like Jonathan Pryce, AKA Mr. Dark from Something Wicked This Way Comes.

*shudder*

This is the one I keep seeing:


Hide your bikes!