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A news reporter joked that the cardinals are “rawdogging” the Papal conclave as they vote to select a new Pope.
The death of Pope Francis at age 88 last month saw a 283 per cent rise in online views of the movie Conclave, as in real life, high-ranking members of the Catholic church have gathered at the Vatican to select a replacement.
Voting takes place in strict secrecy, and cardinals are shut off from the outside world and all social media, with their devices confiscated for the duration.
CBS reporter Tony Dokoupil joked on air that, essentially, the cardinals are “rawdogging” the conclave, referencing a viral trend from last year where people took flights without using the in-flight screens or their phones for entertainment to pass the time.
“We imagine in the conclave that there’s all these charged political debates going on,” said one CBS News reporter. “Most of them will tell you that while that’s (the balloting) going on, they’re sitting reading their book of prayers ... The one thing we know they’re not doing is checking Instagram because their devices have all been confiscated.”
Co-host Tony Dokoupil added: “I believe the kids call it rawdogging it, if you’re gonna go through a long period of time with no electronic device.”
The joke sparked laughter among his colleagues and also went viral online, particularly because of its more NSFW connotations.
“Rawdogging the Papal conclave is not a sentence that should ever be typed, let alone said on national television,” someone wrote.
Another posed a very appropriate meme which read: “There's gotta be a better way to say that”.
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