The more things change, the more they stay the same. The celebrity death-match nature of the never-ending reality TV show that is our daily news and national politics had become so chaotic that I thought that was no longer true. That is, until a papal deathwatch united us — just as John Paul II’s last days once had. It doesn’t seem as crass an observation now that Pope Francis is rallying. Regardless of one’s politics or opinion of him specifically or of the Catholic Church more generally, what could have been his final hours appeared to put the pope’s health not only on millions of screens but also in our prayers.
Cynically, I thought the attention on the pope’s health would immediately go to scorecarding the next papal conclave — and assessing the likely Oscars performance of the recent movie about the new pope with a uterus. (Sorry, belated spoiler alert.) But, as with JPII’s earthly end and the related news coverage, it appears that some of us may still believe in something more, something like eternal hope, which matters even more than politics — presidential or papal.
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