01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 20, 2005

With every passing moment, the media blitz reports the "wishes" of special groups and their hope for a more liberal head of the Catholic Church. A nun from Erie (and others) apparently is dreaming of the coming of women priests, while others (including one of The Journal's political reporters) are hoping for a new definition of marriage; still others hope this new leader will approve abortion, and on and on.

Except for strident feminists, is a drive to include women in the priesthood really such a big deal? One would be more than safe to bet the rent that this issue is well off the radar screen of most serious Catholics. Unless the new pope is a mysterious clone of someone like Al Franken, marriage defined as one man united to one woman will not be changed -- even though liberal judges in Massachusetts declared otherwise.

The Founding Fathers never in their most bizarre dreams thought they had to write precisely the meaning for the black-robed marvels in this mother of all blue states -- and that was their "fortuitous" loophole.

Ah, lawyers and judges! Now, is anyone really surprised that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has made pointed remarks about the judiciary? For those hoping for a change in the Catholic Church's prohibition on abortion, forget about it. No leader of the Church is going to approve abortion on demand and certainly not the hideous, horrendous partial birth abortion, and if the reader were to witness just one, he or she would have no doubt as to the ruling of any pope -- or sane person, for that matter.

SAM PARENTE

Cranston