Pope Watch!

Someone has finally done it. Yes, there is a Blog to keep abreast of the status of Pope John Paul II and his ailing health. And it wasn't even me.

Pope Watch

I would just point out, that longtime friends and confidantes might remember that I made this suggestion way back in 2002 when the pope was traveling throughout Latin America beatifying what seemed like every other Catholic. I was working at the local newspaper filling in on the coipy desk and would see the dozens of images and bulletins that would move on the news wires. The picture of the drooling pope was not the jaunty John Paul II we had all come to know and expect. Each bulletin led with his current health, explaining he had barely been able to withstand the sweltering heat or that an associate had to finish his homily. Each day's edition had some pope news of his visits to various holy sites and the throngs of the faithful that turned out to see him and bouy his energy.

Tongue in cheek, I suggested, since the newspaper's readership included a sizable Catholic population, that we publish a daily account of the pope's health, his actions and his itinerary. We could call it Pope Watch. Later, I came up with the very catchy "Miter Meter" but it never caught on.

Maybe it's time to pitch the idea again.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.