This is just funny. I don’t care who you are. Just moments after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was introduced as the new Pope, Italian bishops had a congratulatory message sent to the media thanking God for the new pope from Milan, Cardinal Scola.
Oops.
Yahoo News reports:
Italian bishops were so convinced that one of their own would become pope that they sent a congratulatory message to the media thanking God for the election of a prelate from Milan.
The trouble was, the new pope had already been named as Argentinian cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.
The secretary-general of the Italian conference, Monsignor Mariano Crociata, expressed “joy and thanks” to God for the election of Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan in a statement sent to reporters at 8:23 p.m. (3:23 p.m. ET) on Wednesday night.
About 10 minutes earlier, Bergoglio had made his first appearance before the crowds in St. Peter’s Square.
At 9:08 p.m. (4:08 p.m. ET), the Italian bishops conference sent another statement thanking God for the election of the pope, but this time got the name right.
Looks to me like the Italian bishops were pretty certain their man was the next Pope.
I’ve been a p.r. person and I’ve sent out the wrong release and even sent out the wrong quotes. It’s bad but it happens, especially now when you can send press releases out to everyone in your contact list with a push of one button. I was so stupid that I actually took the time to fax out the wrong release to dozens of people.
Hmmm. That could be why I’m not a p.r. person anymore, huh? But these things happen. I guess they’re just funnier when they don’t happen to you.
It just goes to show you that nobody ever has any idea what’s going to happen in the conclave. And we probably never will. What happens in the conclave stays in the conclave. Or else the albino monk comes looking for you. And you don’t want the albino monk looking for you.
