[ken5050]

My own take, FWIW..Benedict's body is failing him, but his mind is still sharp as a tack..obviously he must state publicly that he has no involvement in choosing his successor, but can we really take that as gospel?

The Vatican has always been a hotbed of politics, and secret deals..."inside Godball" if you will, I suspect that Benedict has a good idea who he wants to succeed him, and has done as much as possible to make sure that happens...

[Rashputin]

So, some old guy in his late seventies told me, "I bet the fix is in. I bet Ratzinger picked out his replacement, arranged everything so that's who would replace him, and now they'll play Bridge a couple a days while a few puffs go up the chimney to make it look like they're workin'. Then when they're tired of Bridge and Acey-deucey, they'll announce the guy Ratzinger told them to pick".

Then he says, "But I don't win all that many bets except on Baseball".

You're not the only one thinking along those lines.