Has Benedict brought baroque back?

I must admit my window into religious experience is a long way removed from liturgical vestments. And I also have to say I am left scratching my head trying to figure out what could possible draw a man to wear a cape with a thirty foot train.

Jerry Filteau, NCR Washington Correspondent, who covered the Latin Tridentine Mass last weekend at the Washington Basilica swears that the cappa magna worn by Oklahoma Bishop Edward J. Slattery was every bit of thirty feet if it was an inch -- and it trailed behind him gloriously as he moved up the center aisle and through the sanctuary.

While pondering vestments as a kind of new sign language in church life I came across an article in the Catholic Herald with a banner headline that "Benedict XVI proclaims that baroque is back." It's worth a read. Whatever you think of it, you might want to take a few moments to admire photos of some baroque vestments, found at the bottom of the piece.

Tell me what you make of this.