So Cal Ripken Doesn't Play Anymore?

Remember when Pope John Paul II died, and there was seemingly 24-hour coverage about it and commentators were, well, commenting on how all this coverage shows that the Catholic Church is still relevent in America, and how this new pope was going to go a long way in bringing it back to prominence and the 21st century?

Well, what happened? I was raised Catholic, baptised and confirmed and all that, and while I no longer associate with that religion, it's pretty hard to get rid of your "Catholicness." And yet, I have absolutely no idea what the new pope's name is. I remember his real name is Ratzenberger or something like that. But Pope _________ ?

It's kind of like how you're really, really into sports as a kid, but don't have the time to watch every game or follow every trade today, and you've certainly stopped collecting baseball cards. At one point you knew the name and career batting average of the back-up catcher for the Royals, and now you don't even know who the starting catcher is. But you know who Albert Pujols is and you're vaguely aware of Barry Zito.

In this case, I have absolutely no clue of the name of the Yankees' third baseman.