No human being in history ... had ever spoken to so many people, in so many different cultural contexts,

Ideas have consequences and bad ideas can have lethal consequences.

The chances of being elected pope decreases in proportion to the number of times he is described papabile in the press.

Yet for almost 40 years, the Catholic story has been reported in starkly black-and-white terms.

God's Choice. I hope that this means the new Cardinal O'Malley will have even greater authority and capacity to get on with the reform of the church in Boston.

The document simply reiterates long-standing Catholic teaching and practice.