New pope selected

“whatta scary lookin dude.

he reminds me of emperor palpatine.”

“i just looked some more at his picture.

yup. evil for sure.

you can see it in his eyes.”

“DocNice!

That's an exceptional point. The Pope is just one man. And the Pope is the head of the political wing of the church. Bishops become bishops and cardinals become cardinals and popes become popes because they can count the money, administer staff and generate the necessary paperwork. And they can play the political games to know the right people.

The people who are most likely to turn out at a Pope memorial are the people who liked him most. Half the Catholic Church really loved JPII's policies. The other half disagreed completely with his policies, but could take them because of his personal charisma and background. The people on the streets were the first half.

Ratzinger will be a fascinating pope to watch because he is so tied to that half. There is no honeymoon. No chance for a bridge-building period. You either love the man or hate him. What you feel now is what you will feel five years from now. This means that every discussion will incite the progressive/conservative divide.

So every issue is now secondary to the issue of authority in the church. Nothing else really matters.”

“I heard the news say the new pope was against other religions. It wasn't said like that verbatim, but I've never heard a pope come out and disbarage another religion.

Did anyone else hear this too?
last edited: 4/19/05 8:26:25 PM”

“yup LH.

seems like a real ass to me.

from msn.com:


In 1986, he denounced rock music as the “vehicle of anti-religion.” In 1988, he dismissed anyone who tried to find “feminist” meanings in the Bible. Last year, he told American bishops that it was allowable to deny Communion to those who support such “manifest grave sin” as abortion and euthanasia.”

“Ok, dude is 78. How long before they have to pick another one?”

“maybe the next one will actually follow the teachings of christ.

well, there's always hope...”

“Do a search on Saint Malachy.

Alledgedly in the year 1139 c.e., Saint Malachy described each Pope until the last one.

This new one is next to last and will live only a short time after being selected.

Watchout for the next one.
last edited: 4/19/05 9:56:18 PM”

“Well, hell, I hope the next one is about 16 with a life expectancy of about 250.”

“The Popes are:

'vicarius dei filli'

The Vicar of God (in the place of God) to Catholics

and if you assign Roman numerals to the corresponding letters of the above quote (some of the letters do not have corresponding Roman numerals, so use zero) the sum is 666.

at least according to a Seventh Day Adventist booklet.
last edited: 4/19/05 9:55:25 PM”

“http://www.holocaustrevealed.org/english/s/P288.html

NOW I sit back and watch this thread.”

“Ratzinger might not be all bad as Pope.

He had massive trouble trying to force the German church into submission.

Pope JPII lived long enough to get to the point at which he nominated all the cardinals. They owed their position to him. This pope is new, so he owes his position to them.

What happens the first time he tries to slam down on one of them? Will people go along with it? Or will they just ignore him? JPII had such personal charisma that people followed him. I believe that this man might have trouble enforcing his viewpoints.

And I also believe that the quickest way to bring women and other lay people into positions of power within the church is to continue to nominate conservatives at the top. There will be no replenishment of the priesthood and all that will be left will be the lay people.

Let the institution die so that it can be reborn better.”

“Well bateauxdriver, if you were hoping for better handling of the abuse issue, this pope may well disappoint you.

http://web.archive.org/web/20020607141945/http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/2020_Vatican_coverup_020426.html (scroll down to "The accusers say Vatican-based Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican office to safeguard the faith and the morals of the church, quietly made the lawsuit go away and shelved it. There was no investigation and the accusers weren't asked a single question or asked for a statement."

see also: http://www.cathnews.com/news/212/27.php”

“VioLin those that hurt and abuse should remember the words of Jesus. "That which you do unto the least of my people, is what you do unto me." He is saying that by helping the least, the sick, the poor, the young and the outcast, is like you did that for Jesus himself. The opposite is also true. The mistreatment of the poor, the sick, the young and the outcast is just as if you were doing that to Jesus himself. Those that hurt innocent children are going to pay.”

“bateaux, so does that mean that Michael Jackson's going to lose this court case?”

“How about some rabbinic Catholicism?

When the Jewish priests died out after the final destruction of the temple, the underground kept Jewish thought and culture alive. Prominent lay people rose to the occasion and became rabbis. This wasn't a rejection of the priesthood so much as it was an acknowledgement that the temple and its priesthood were not coming back.

I think that the same idea is applicable to current Catholicism. It is my hope that the priesthood continues to survive. However, I think that the future of the church will be in alternative, mostly lay structures rather than the traditional parish-centric Catholicism of the past and present.

In fact, the current Pope uses a secular corporation, the Ignatius Press to publish most of his books. It answers to no one in the church structure.

Some of the best theology and Catholic cultural studies are taking place at secular universities like the University of Toledo.

I think that progressives should ignore Rome and build alternative structures within secular institutions that are not necessarily oppositional to Rome, but outside of its reach.”

“I think that a lay Catholic university would be an interesting idea. In fact, the Ave Maria University in Ann Arbor,MI/Naples,FL might be an example of this from a hard-line right perspective. The former head of Dominos Pizza used his pizza money to start a religious order and build this university.

The conservatives are building lay Catholic institutions everywhere. If they don't respect Papal authority, I don't see why progressives should. In fact, the Pope becomes less relevant by the day from both a progressive and a conservative perspective.”

“Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry

Confidential letter reveals Ratzinger ordered bishops to keep allegations secret

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1469055,00.html”

“Am I the only one who thinks this new guy looks like Zel Miller's twin?”

“The month isn't over. Get the phuck outta here!”

“Now see Nigal, if you'd a been a good boy and come back when you we're supposed to you wouldn't be subjected to this hate ;)”

“That's right.



BTW, Bison. Get the phuck outta here!
bwaahaahhaahhaaa”

“Maaaaaaaaattttttttttttt!”