Pope Benedict XVI: Will he be the first Pope to blogificate?

With acknowledgemts to Zenit; Agnes Kan Leng Lam, Fr Tim Finigan and Curt Jester.

It's been a switchback of a week for us here on the Pro Papa League, and anyone else loyal to our Holy Father. I mentioned earlier that the atmosphere at the Synod in Rome has apparently been good humoured and that jokes in Latin had been exchanged. But not until this evening was I led by Fr Finigan's blog to discover that Agnes K L L Lan, had delivered to the Synod and directly to the Holy Father, the suggestion that he should blog. It seems that the bishops divided themselves by their reaction to this: i.e. those who know what a blog is and those who do not. Apparently there was laughter from those in the know. Already a great deal of fun is being had on the blogosphere about this, but you can bet that the Holy Father certainly knows what a blog is. Of course he made no response to Agnes, but you can also bet, he'll consider her suggestion, particularly in view of things I said in an earlier post about next year's World Communications day. He won't know I said those things of course, or will he? In view of certain indications this week that the Vatican reads our blogs, perhaps he may.

I will now allow myself a little flight of fancy before composing my next post on the historic Vespers that took place in the Sistine Chapel earlier this evening, and on Fr. Mark's (Vultus Christi) most recent contributions to our spiritual health.

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SCENE: Pope Benedict's study: discovered, Pope at desk, prayerfully thinking (does he ever stop? No. Deo gratias)

Enter Sec. MGR GEORG, apprehensive, probably suspecting what he is about to hear.

B16: Ah dear Georg. (Blesses him) Guten morgen. (translation follows) I've been thinking....

MGR G. (smiles in his usual beautiful way) Yes Holy Father...

Pause

BXVI: The Lady Lan's idea that I should blog. What do you think? Not a bad idea. But complex to effect. What, in your estimation, would it involve?

MGR G: Very complex. A new dicastary or at least a special section of an existing one.

BXVI: If a new dicastary how will we name it?

MGR G (becoming enthused and clearly having already thought of his answer, blurts out) Er, 'Congregation for Divine Blogging', or 'Congregation for the Doctrine of the Blog'.

BXVI: I like the second, brings back salutary memories. Anything else?

MGR G. Well yes. Would your Holiness consider a special section in the Congregation for Clergy: 'Congblogging.clergy.org'? Particularly for the English speaking ones. Your Holiness has remarked their excellence to me several times.

BXVI: Absolutely. I know and you know and Dario knows where they live. It's time they had a bit of a lift.

MGR G: (slightly nervous) And your blog name Holiness?

BXVI: (smiling seraphically) B-LOGOS

MGR: (after an appreciative pause) Your orders Holiness?

BXVI: To start with, for the English-speaking section, get Finigan, Blake and Zuhlsdorf....

MGR G: Holiness, their parishes?

BXVI: As to the first two, God will provide. As to the third, he has made the world his parish and he knows the technology and the way to control....shall we just say the over-enthusiasic. He is indispensible if we are to make this work. In any case he's only just down the road and doesn't have a parish. What's more he was at E.D. for a while. Need him.

MGR G: Anything else Holiness?

BXVI: Yes, please invite that English journalist we're always talking about, for a private audience. I want to offer him a job.

MGR G: A job?

BXVI: Press supremo, C.D.B. Now, call Tarcicio!

MGR G: (kneels to be blessed and then,searching the recesses of his cassock for mobile phone, moves towards the door. As he is pressing the automatic for Cardinal Bertone, Benedict speaks again).

BXVI: Keep an eye on that quaint little outfit, the Pro Papa League. They represent my little sheep. They love Christ and his Church.....and they love me.

MGR G: (bows his head in assent and exits).

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I did say it was a flight of fancy!

In Christo pro Papa