Please accept my apologies in advance for the wild speculation, but can you imagine what it would be like if one of the most powerful men on the planet was personally familiar with the pancakes at Almac's Diner?

The idea of an American pope was once considered unthinkable. The fear is that the most powerful country in the world would become too powerful when paired with the lifelong power that a pope wields. What was once considered an irrational conversation, however, is now becoming a logical one. Not only could the next pope be an American, he may be one that was once the Bishop of Fall River. Cardinal Sean O'Malley's name keeps popping up as a legitimate contender to be the name announced when the white smoke clears.

O'Malley is being praised for his work cleaning up the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal. By nature, he's a low key, modest man with a good sense of humor who doesn't take himself too seriously. One influential Catholic columnist wrote this week that O'Malley is the only Cardinal who DOESN'T want to be pope...and that makes him the perfect choice.

There's never been an American pope, but then again, this time is a lot different in many ways. A sitting pope hasn't resigned in 600 years. This has created a strange sequence of events leading up to this conclave. There will be nearly 3 weeks between Pope Benedict's announcement that he was stepping down and his actual resignation. Tack on another month before the conclave even begins. This is also the first time worldwide social media will be buzzing about a papal conclave...that's never happened before. Even the cardinals are tweeting about who they think the next pope will be.

This time's different. Why can't the pope be an American? And why can't he be a former Fall River resident? Heck, there's a chance that the next pope would be a man who has listened to Fun 107. How funny is that? Hope he liked our show.

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