The hoodoo that they do

If you'd like to read about the hocus-pocus surrounding the election of the new pope, visit this site. They've even got a photo of the flying saucer urns the cardinals use to collect the papal ballots. I don't need their photo because the urns look just like the flying saucers you see here. But I must share the Extra Special Tone the site uses to describe the mechanics of the papal election:

At the altar, the ballot is placed “on a flat disk, like a paten, and then — without touching the ballot — it is tipped into a chalice, and is then collected from the chalice and counted.”

After the ballots are counted, and that initial tally is verified, the results are announced to the conclave, but never to anyone else; no records are kept, and the ballots are burned by a couple of masters of ceremony who are the only non-cardinals in the chapel.

I love the way the ballot is "tipped into a chalice" without a human hand touching it. It must be Very Special Indeed. And as for the men who deal with these Special Bits of Paper -- well, let's just say I understand now why they call them princes of the church. I'm in a state of awe, just thinking about these Men and their Seriously Powerful Juju. Wow!

Bunch of twits.