Fantasy Conclave can be fun and informative, when not taken too seriously. The mainstream media that barely covers the Catholic Church looooves to engage in tea-leaf reading to suss out how 135 electors will choose between 135 — and maybe more — potential candidates for Pope. They are usually very good at creating “short lists” out of thin air, based on nothing more than “that’s a name I recognize from press coverage,” and really good at generating cool graphics to go along with them.
But Fantasy Conclave took a very strange turn at CBS last night. Reporting from St. Peter’s Square, their reporter noted that the crowds for the viewing of Pope Francis’ body lying in state in the basilica are much smaller than during the last funeral for a regnant pope 20 years ago. John Paul II had a much longer papacy — 27 years — and a more momentous role in world…
