Habemus Papam

[ltmurnau]

Well, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which office was once known as the Grand Inquisitor, has been elected Pope and takes the name of Benedict XVI.

I was just looking up a few other Benedicts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes

Benedict V - reigned one month, raped a young girl and absconded to Constantinople with the treasury; killed by a jealous husband and had his corpse dragged through the streets before being thrown into a cesspit.

Benedict VI - strangled

Benedict IX - Hoo boy, he was Pope three times, first at the age of 12. Sold the office to his godfather for a pile of gold, came back later with an army to depose him, etc. Look him up.

Benedict X - elected irregularly, died a prisoner

Benedict XI - possibly poisoned

Bendict XII - former witch hunter while Bishop of Pamiers

Benedict XIV - drove many converts from the Church with his stance against missions

Benedict XV - Pope during World War One, he called for neutrality and diplomacy while remaining anti-modernist. It's possible that this is why Ratzinger has taken his name.

Quite the Opus Dei connection too, as this LA Times article alleges:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-opus19apr19,1,654441.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

And, for the record, I heard of Opus Dei long before The Da Vinci Code, even before the Laibach album. Charming people.