On my cab ride home tonight, I noticed that the name on the cabbie’s medallion was Amadou Diallo. I asked him if he was any relation? Yes, it turned out: a cousin. Mr. Diallo, the cabbie, was from Guinea, so I asked him what he thought of Guinea’s Robert Cardinal Sarah, whose name has recently emerged as a serious possibility on the list of papal candidates. Mr. Diallo expressed delight that I had heard of Cardinal Sarah, because he was actually very fond of this prominent clergyman from his homeland. (Trust me: An inquiry about a papal candidate is actually not the weirdest question a New York cabbie can expect to hear from a late-night passenger.)