The speculation as to a co-adjutor (hence, replacement in the normal course of things) in St. Paul-Minneapolis has been at full fever pitch this week up in those parts, ever since Brooklyn, Raleigh and Philly have gotten their notices, but nary a word on the Gopher state (and let’s not even mention the sees that have been months and months and months without an ordinary…those people are pretty touchy these days!).

This morning, the Star-Tribune ran a story on Flynn and the speculation. Mitchell Hadley comments on the story:

I don’t know how Pamela Miller did her research for this article; I wonder if she consulted the blogosphere? (If you’re a blogger who was contacted by Miller, I’d like to know about it.) I wonder if she talked with any "Catholic experts" besides Thomas Reese or Prof. Kennedy, the chair of Catholic Studies at St. Thomas? Did she talk with anyone who had even a hint of anything remotely critical to say about the Archbishop? I wonder, in fact, if Miller has anything beyond a dim conception of how the rest of the nation (that is to say, those who take an active interest in these kinds of things) views this archdiocese?

There’s always a danger of thinking that events are more important than they are. In using that line in the previous paragraph – the one about "how the rest of the nation" views the archdiocese, I do so with apprehension. After all, most of the nation gives not a whit about what goes on here. For that matter, I’d imagine most of the people within this very archdiocese have little idea about the tensions under the surface.

But if this is a danger, then so too is the danger of disregarding any external importance to a story. The fact of the matter is this: if you read national publications, if you consult national experts, if you make even a cursory Google search, you’ll find that there is indeed a great deal of interest in what goes on around here. Great newspapers, if there are any left, recognize that. They have a way of making the big story more intimate, while at the same time realizing the hidden importance of the small story. The Star Tribune does neither, and hasn’t in my lifetime. Mind you, I’m not ruling out the possibility that this story could turn out to be completely and entirely accurate, and that Miller knows more about this than the rest of us put together – but it does seem awfully one-sided, don’t you think?