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Thank you, prairiebreeze, for the prayers. Though I try to avoid msm coverage, I have watched two interviews with NY Cardinal Dolan. He is a tall, cherubic Irishman with a very jovial personality, often misinterpreted by some catholics. He has to deal with politicians and tries desperately to give them the benefit of the doubt before challenging them in the open. I have met and spoken with him. So it was not surprising that he would be invited to come on the Today show to explain what was happening. Yesterday, I caught another interview with Christiane Ammenpour from CNN. He put on his usual bravado but then turned very serious. He never expected to be in a conclave and the serious nature of what they are about to do weighs heavily on his shoulders. This was evident in both interviews.

You wrote: I was concerned prior to Benedict's selection, I didn't realize this sort of progressive pressure went back that far (at least).

When an army attempts to siege a walled fortress, they attack from without and also from within. Recall the Trojan Horse. The same technique has been used to attack the Catholic Church. Outside, government and the media whip up public sentiment by scrutinizing church teaching. Within her walls are agents of change whose purpose is to help take down the Catholic Church. We have no reason to fear as we trust in the promise made by Christ that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it". Still, it is frightening to watch; all we can do is pray.

Pope JPII was aware of these agents and began the cleansing process. FWIU, over the past year, Pope Benedict has continued it by quietly pulling hundreds of bishops from around the world. I am about to post an interesting article on Pope Benedict and will ping you to the thread. It gives great insight into the tremendous burden carried by a pope. Please continue to pray for these cardinals. We now know that, thanks to the work of JPII and B16, the progressive element has practically been silenced. There are several excellent candidates in the group that can pick up the reins and continue that work. As you know, a backpack is easy to carry when one first sets out on the journey but grows in weight as you begin to climb a mountain. The cardinals will be looking for the one with the strongest back.