Thursday I posted. Saturday I posted. Monday I'm posting. I haven't been close to posting every day. I do have an excuse, kind of. It's the "I share my 'puter with my daughter" syndrome.

Tomorrow the cardinals go into conclave. I have no clue who they will select. Anyone who thinks they know, doesn't. Always remember the Roman saying: "He who goes to Rome as Pope goes home a cardinal."

Truthfully, I don't know why anyone would want the job. I know that Benedict was, by nature, a shy, retiring sort. Had he lived out his life as a professor of philosophy at a German university, he would have been a happy man. He never really took to being in the spotlight. His predecessor, John Paul II, was a very different story: as charismatic an individual as has ever been Pope. Paul VI was quite like Benedict in that regard, and John XXIII was like John Paul II. We seem to go back and forth.

If this be true, and if the cardinals look to select a Hopeful Holy Man who smiles, and who doesn't mind the spotlight a'tall a'tall, that would speak well for the chance of Dolan, in New York. But I seriously doubt that any American stands a chance.

I am hoping that the cardinal electors are paying attention to a couple of trends. One is that our church is no longer a European church. Even once-strongly-Catholic societies like Ireland and Poland are increasingly secular. We are a little over a billion in number. About half of that number is in Central America, Mexico, South America, and the United States. The trend here: I think it a good idea if the choice is someone from that part of the world. If I had to pick a name from there: Maradiaga, a cardinal from Honduras.

The second trend: the area of fastest growth for the church is Africa. If the choice is an African, look for a Ghanaian named Turkson.

So, those are my names: Maradiaga, Turkson, dark horse Dolan.

We shall see. Thanks for hanging out!