An American Pope?

We may have lost the Olympics, but we may one day get the Vatican.

I had a dream the other night that the Pope had died and that the College of Cardinals chose Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago (!), to step into the shoes of the fisherman . . . and he took the name Pope Benedict XVII.

I don't think I have the gift of prophecy any more than I think Cardinal George will be Pope one day. Interestingly, I once heard someone say that the conservative Chicago archbishop is very papabile - Italian for having the makings of a pope - but because he's an American, he would never be chosen. No one wants to choose a Holy Father from the most powerful nation on earth - conflict of interest and all that. But I do think I will live to see the Roman Catholic Church select an American Pope.

Why? Because I think I will also live to see the time when America is no longer a superpower and not even a world power. I see this country going the way of the British Empire, its foreign influence diminished and its cultural influence restricted to popular music. And that's when the United States will will no longer matter so much on the world stage and become just another country.

And that's when an American Pope will be elected.