This is hilarious and maybe a bit sacreligious but oh well. Basically there was an article in the Washington Post on Tuesday about betting on who will be the next Pope. The company they report on is Irish based betting company (Paddy Power). As a joke someone has entered Father Dougal McGuire from Craggy Island at 1,000 to 1 odds. And apparently the post staff reporter, Stephanie McCrummen didn't know that he is fictional. Just about anyone from Britain or Ireland is familiar with the very popular TV Series Father Ted, a hilarious spoof situated on a small island off of Ireland. The series is now in reruns (as the lead actor, Dermot Morgan, died sometime in 2001 - I was in Australia at the time and it was big news for my English friend, Zany) but, I believe that you can still catch it on BBC America. My parents absolutely love this show, and I've even forced my roomates to watch one or two episodes, it's great. My dad even owns the printed scripts to all of the shows and reads them for fun.

For any of you that have seen the show, can you imagine Dougal as Pope? Here's what they say about him on this website:

Dougal is the thick one. He loves Byker Grove and Buckaroo. In his own words, if he had a cup, he'd be very happy.

Here's a sound file from the show that illustrates Dougal's character. Needless to say the show is british humor at it's most refined.

Too bad the "Drrrnnk, Feck, Girls!" quote from Father Jack isn't working.