A new pope has officially been selected! American-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is originally from Chicago, and will become the first U.S.-born pope. He will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Earlier today, before a name had been announced, white smoke was seen billowing from the Vatican, signifying that the papal conclave has at last reached its conclusion.
And for most of us, the process would have been arduous even if only for one particular requirement: What one CBS host described as a sort of digital detox, but with an eyebrow-raising name.
It was revealed days ago that the highly secretive conclave had a requirement that all participants surrender their phone as part of the sequestering process.
CBS Mornings anchor Tony Dokoupil described it slangily as "rawdogging"—and it has some people a bit hot under the (clerical) collar.
Speaking of the conclave goings-on at the Vatican on the show Monday morning, contribute John Allen explained that all participants have had to hand over their phones.
"One thing we know they're not doing is checking Instagram because their devices have all been confiscated."
Dokoupil then chimed in:
“I believe the kids call it ‘rawdogging it’ if you’re gonna go through a long period of time with no electronic device.”
"Rawdogging" is, for the uninitiated, a slang term for having sex without a condom. As Dokoupil correctly noted, it is jokingly applied to all kinds of contexts, going social-media free among them.
It's frequently used in reference to those brave souls who take airline flights with no book, headphones or iPad, for instance—"rawdogging" a flight is only for the strongest among us!
In any case, Dokoupil's colleagues all had a good chuckle about the lighthearted comment, but many viewers? Not so much.
We are talking about sensitive religious matters, after all, and if there's one thing about America? A LOT of people have no sense of humor about such things.
Many people, conservatives especially, were furious about Dokoupil's use of "rawdogging."
Most people, though, seemed to find the gaffe more funny than offensive.
Offensive or not, the 133 cardinals at the conclave have likely seen Dokoupil's quip now that they're done "rawdogging" life with no social media. Perhaps the new Pope will have a hot take on it soon.
