Tick... Tick... Tick....

Just in case anyone's not counting....

In an unusually early announcement for a papal text – and a further underscoring of its significance – while the pub-date of Papa Bergoglio's first fully self-crafted circular letter has already been confirmed, details for the 18 June rollout of what's expected to be called Laudato Sii are expected to emerge within the next 48 hours, most crucially the slate of top officials chosen by the pontiff to present his intensely-awaited document on the care of creation in the customary Vatican briefing at the hour of its release.

In the meantime, it bears reminding that – for all the ink that's already been spilled over the unseen finished product, not to mention the preemptive pile-ons of glee or grief at the ideological poles – at this point, this is the long and short of everything we actually know.... For the rest as it surfaces, well, buckle up.

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