Just In Time For Easter: Your Virtual Pope!

Yes, it's Stepford-ish!

Yes, one might suspect secret midnight meetings with George Lucas!

But you've just gotta love the fact that Vaticanistas are making these comments with Oh, So Seriously Straight Faces!

Limited role for virtual Pope

By Peter Gould
Religious Affairs analyst

--snip--

His recent health scare means that the Catholic Church may be witnessing the start of a "virtual papacy".

With doctors urging caution over public appearances, the Vatican will make greater use of video links to enable the Pope to be seen by the faithful.

Risk of relapse

"The primary concern is the risk of infection," says John Allen, Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter.

"They are trying to keep as many people as possible away from him, and increasingly his contact with the outside world will be mediated.

"When he is present, it will be symbolic - virtual rather than real. Papal functions will be carried out by others, and endorsed by the Pope." BBC LINK

I'm virtually sighing.