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April 01, 2005

The Pope

It's 10:38AM (PST) and I've just gotten out of the shower. Yahoo! is reporting that the Pope has died. So is Drudge. But nobody else seems to have picked up the story. ABC, NBC, and CNN are all claiming the Pope is gravely ill.

10:40AM: CBS and Fox News also sticks with the gravely ill story. I'm really curious as to how this story plays out... as to what it takes to confirm the pope's death for the networks.

I should take a moment to say that it seemed pretty clear to me that the Pope was going to die soon. Just within the last 24 hours that has become clear, but I'm surprised at how quickly his body has failed. I was saddened to see him struggle during Easter. I have no particular affection for the Pope... he's a meaningless figurehead to me, but he's still a person, and you don't want to see him suffer like that.

10:45AM: Drudge now says "Report: Pope Dies in Rome" but adds "ITALY'S SKY ITALIA QUOTING VATICAN SOURCES SAYS POPE'S BRAIN, HEART STILL FUNCTIONING..."

So maybe Yahoo and Drudge jumped the gun?

10:50AM: Drudge says "Italian media gave contradictory reports about Pope John Paul's vital signs on Friday, first saying his heart and brain activity had stopped and then reporting this was not true..."

It will be very odd to have lost the Pope, if only because he's the only Pope I can remember, though I believe there have been three Popes during my lifetime.

10:57AM: Yahoo has changed it's top story now, saying one again that the Pope is clinging to life.

Drudge now reports "AP: The Vatican has denied reports that Pope John Paul II has died..."

Huh. Well, I suppose that's pretty good news! It would be wonderful if there was some sort of miracle, but I think it's probably time for the Pope to leave this world and join the next. I imagine if you're the Pope, you probably don't have too many fears about where you're going after death.

11:05AM: Here in Seattle, KOMO is reporting that St. James Cathedral started ringing bells and dropping black draperies at 10:45AM. There's plenty of confusion about whether or not the Pope has died, but I can't think of a reason why the Vatican would lie about his death, nor why they would postpone an announcement of that death. On the other hand, the people surrounding the Pope right now are the closest thing he has to family. I wouldn't blame them if they took a few minutes to let it all sink in. Or actually, however long they want.

Posted by March at April 1, 2005 10:38 AM

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