Papal stories....

There's a tale making the rounds concerning an exchange between the new Pontiff and a Swiss Guard: http://piadesolenni.com/but-im-the-pope-sit-down/

I read this and think of some of the other stories surfacing about this Pope's humility; how he personally checked out of his hotel room where he'd been staying prior to his selection, how the man who delivered his newspaper to him every morning received a personal phone call to cancel the subscription (It's a long commute from Argentina to Rome just to deliver the daily fish wrap). How he wades into the crowds of Rome to press the flesh, something I'm sure gives his head of security nightmares (who would want to be the man in charge when the Pope gets assassinated? Thats not exactly a great way to become a historical figure.).

While not commenting one way or another on the validity of these stories, I'll note how quickly they've spread. Even the secular media is picking up some of them.

As Sonny & Cher used to sing, "...it's the little things that mean a lot".

Does the spread of these stories show a hunger for this sort of conduct? Is our culture so fixated on carnality and violence that simple gestures of humanity are sought out and avidly disseminated?

If the answers to these questions is "Yes", then what is the public stage being set for?