Luck or Providence?
At the risk of angering any devout Catholics that visit my blog, or any sensitive Irish folk... this is an interesting look at the public sentiment.
The BBC reports that Paddy Powers Bookmakers in Ireland have several books running on the odds on who the new Pope will be.
Does placing a bet on your favorite cardinal mean one believes that Cardinal So-and-So is a true representative for the Roman Catholic faith and indeed the spiritual leader of the Catholic world? Or does it mean one subscribes to the less biased but sometimes freakishly applicable theory of gaming and numbers?
I thought the table of odds was very funny - will the Cardinals with less favorable odds feel a bit out of sorts? There's even a book on the duration of the conclave, and the name of the new Pope. Paddy calls these "novelty" or "non-sporting" bets.
I also read the comment about "non-campaigning" with a grain of salt. I am not an expert on the Catholic church, far from it actually. However, cynicism and the incredible power/wealth that accompanies the position of the Pope (directly or not) compel me to imagine that the process is far from the purity that was originally envisioned. Those who want to read about this further, albeit fictionalized and probably somewhat biased, may want to try this book by David Osborn.
Taking our minds away from the religio-political world for a second, seeing as how I was in Cambodia less than 3 weeks ago, this article made me very sad.
Where is Eddie Gibson? What are the odds that he will be found? Maybe some prayer time can be taken away from the papal election, to be given to Eddie's heartbroken parents.
The BBC reports that Paddy Powers Bookmakers in Ireland have several books running on the odds on who the new Pope will be.
Does placing a bet on your favorite cardinal mean one believes that Cardinal So-and-So is a true representative for the Roman Catholic faith and indeed the spiritual leader of the Catholic world? Or does it mean one subscribes to the less biased but sometimes freakishly applicable theory of gaming and numbers?
I thought the table of odds was very funny - will the Cardinals with less favorable odds feel a bit out of sorts? There's even a book on the duration of the conclave, and the name of the new Pope. Paddy calls these "novelty" or "non-sporting" bets.
I also read the comment about "non-campaigning" with a grain of salt. I am not an expert on the Catholic church, far from it actually. However, cynicism and the incredible power/wealth that accompanies the position of the Pope (directly or not) compel me to imagine that the process is far from the purity that was originally envisioned. Those who want to read about this further, albeit fictionalized and probably somewhat biased, may want to try this book by David Osborn.
Taking our minds away from the religio-political world for a second, seeing as how I was in Cambodia less than 3 weeks ago, this article made me very sad.
Where is Eddie Gibson? What are the odds that he will be found? Maybe some prayer time can be taken away from the papal election, to be given to Eddie's heartbroken parents.
posted by tygertyger at 3:09 PM
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