Pope Benedict resigns -- Francis I elected [update]

[JRM]

when's the last time a new papa was creative enough to go with a name that earned him a "I" ?

Wall Street Journal had a chart about Popes using a name for the first time, going all the way back to Peter. Difficult to read, but Lando in 913 is correct.

Interestingly, my wife and I watched "The Empire Strikes Back" on Tuesday night, unaware of this appropriate connection! Perhaps a omen foreshadowing the next day's events.

And, of course, 1100 years was a long time ago... (but not in a galaxy far, far away).

[gh]

Am I correct in "remembering" Terry Bradshaw held the HSR at one time? Or is that more PR flack?

That is correct - Bradshaw set the record in high school, which was broken by another pretty good NFLer - not a quarterback, however - Russ Francis, best known as a tight end for the Patriots.

Actually, Bradshaw's record was broken by Mark Murro; Francis broke Murro's record.

[jazzcyclist]

His next trip home should be interesting since it turns out that his bitterest enemy if the President.

In 2010, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner led a battle to pass a bill to legalize gay marriage.

Francis, then archbishop of Buenos Aires, put himself right in the middle of the fight, calling the proposed legislation "a destructive attack on God's plan."

With a front-page counterpunch, the president said the church possessed "attitudes reminiscent of medieval times and the Inquisition."

The bill eventually became law, and Francis left the battlefield defeated.

But some supporters hold it up as evidence of his traditionalist views.

Perhaps it's no surprise Kirchner gave Francis a rather dry congratulations after his election, said Rosendo Fraga, an Argentine political analyst.

The president failed to even mention that Francis is the first pope from Argentina or the Western Hemisphere, a signal that her government may feel at odds with the church.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/14/world/ame ... index.html

[bambam]

Am I correct in "remembering" Terry Bradshaw held the HSR at one time? Or is that more PR flack?

That is correct - Bradshaw set the record in high school, which was broken by another pretty good NFLer - not a quarterback, however - Russ Francis, best known as a tight end for the Patriots.

Actually, Bradshaw's record was broken by Mark Murro; Francis broke Murro's record.

I bow to EGH's superior knowledge on this