On A Most Ridiculous-Sounding Assertion

According to a New York Times article about the upcoming selection of the next Pope, there are some who think that Italians are naturally well--and better!--suited for the Papacy.

"There is a vocation, an Italian charisma," said Vittorio Messori, an Italian writer who collaborated on John Paul's 1994 book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope." "The Italians have a tradition of centuries behind them, they know how to do the job of pope, it's in their DNA."

Though I think he's trying to be a little over-the-top here, I still think it's a silly sort of statement to make. Given that one of the central tenets of the Catholic Faith is the immaculate conception--a type of conception that seems to defy our traditional understanding of passing one's DNA on to another--it seems slightly out of place to talk about the appointed head of the Church in these terms.

If Mr. Messori wants to talk about tradition, he might do well to talk about those early Christians who were expected to give up their earthly--read: genetic--families (see Luke 9:57-62) or recall that Saul's conversion hardly seemed genetically encoded in his DNA!