Pope Benedict XVI may have flirted with Boston and batted his eyelashes a little, but he dumped us for New York and DC when he comes to visit the United States in April.

At first, we thought maybe the alleged exploits of Father David Ajemian somehow got back to Pope Benedict XVI, and he decided he'd finally had it up to here with Boston. No amount of pleading from Cardinal Sean O'Malley was going to do the trick. But O'Malley told the Globe: "He does not believe Boston's role as the epicenter of the sexual abuse crisis was a major factor in the Vatican's decision."

We were all excited for a glimpse of the Popemobile and the ensuing Pope-related chaos, but perhaps it's for the better. We've had one too many "BOLOs" for missing priests. And the traffic would have resulted in conditions closer to hell, or at least Purgatory.

The Pope's decision not to visit has led to some great local news puns, such as "Hub Snub," which we saw on WHDH.

Picture of the Pope from Wikipedia.