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For the first time in 598 years, a Pope decided not to die in office. Speaking in Latin at the Vatican, Benedict XVI gave his notice, effective at the end of the month, to a roomful of cardinals. All three newscasts kicked off with a correspondent in Vatican City itself -- NBC's Richard Engel, ABC's Jeffrey Kofman, CBS' Allen Pizzey -- for extended coverage of the Story of the Day. It was the major news for Christians, at least. For Hindus, a pilgrimage to Prayag on the River Ganges became the largest single gathering of human beings ever, in the history of the planet. CBS had the only newscast that saw news value in the assignment: here is Holly Williams now and here she was on Friday.

Follow-ups to the history-making Benedict included a preview of the Conclave of Cardinals by CBS' Mark Phillips, a survey of the global state of the Roman church by NBC's Anne Thompson, vox pop via ABC's Cecilia Vega from the American faithful, and the reflections of Bernie McDade, a onetime altar boy who was molested by his priest at the age of eleven. McDade told Seth Doane of CBS about his face-to-face meeting with the pontiff. CBS has stayed with the church's sex abuse scandal much more vigilantly than the other two newscasts over the last couple of years.

Contrast the tone of Timothy Dolan, the Cardinal of New York, in interviews about the departing Pope with CBS anchor Scott Pelley and ABC's Diane Sawyer. With Pelley, His Eminence discussed serious matters of doctrine; with Sawyer, we heard infallibility jokes about Mother Dolan and cracks about lightning pasta. "Is this ABC Evening News or Comedy Central?" the cleric chuckled.
Andrew Tyndall 2/12/13 7:32:18 pm

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