New Pope, Benedict XVI....

[Wombat]

I would be really worried about this choice if certain people were NOT scornful about him. All popes are caretakers, if they do their job properly. Their job is to follow Christ, not the latest strident social liberal whims of a corrupt and secular society.

That's right. They strive for the world to follow them, into a corrupt and theocratic society.

[KvHagedorn]

Yeah and dont do anything about Priest's butt****ing little boys either

That has everything to do with the influence of the utterly selfish society of America, on BOTH sides of that case. Believe it or not, sodomy is not church policy.. no matter how many strident social liberals try to poison your mind otherwise.

[Wombat]

That has everything to do with the influence of the utterly selfish society of America, on BOTH sides of that case. Believe it or not, sodomy is not church policy.. no matter how many strident social liberals try to poison your mind otherwise.

Ooooh, it's America's fault.

Bulls**t. The church has a history of covering these things up. Why did they move a sex offender around the country, rather than removing him from the public?

[paulcs]

They had to pick the creepiest, scariest looking one didn't they?

In my opinion, he is a little scary.

The former Cardinal Ratzinger was not the Pope's right hand man, as I've seen him described. (That would be Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.) He headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Congregation of the Holy Office, formerly known as Sacra Congregation Romanae et Universalis Inquisitionis seu Sancti Officii or the Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition or Holy Office ...

aka, the Holy Office of the Inquisition or Congregation of Universal Inquisition. The name was changed in the early 20th Century and then again in 1965, although the mission remains pretty much the same.

The Congregation is responsible for defending, interpreting, and clarifying Church doctrine with respect to heresy, mixed marriages, etc., and meting out punishment. It condemns works or art and literature deemed unsuitable or dangerous. They also get to do fun stuff like this:

http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/dicasteries/cdfexorc.htm

Now that's scary.

Paul

[Gurm]

I would be really worried about this choice if certain people were NOT scornful about him. All popes are caretakers, if they do their job properly. Their job is to follow Christ, not the latest strident social liberal whims of a corrupt and secular society.

Except that not a single f**king one has "followed Christ", at least not for over a thousand years. Some of the earlier popes had... *ahem* some appetites that are best left undiscussed. Let's not say that the pope "follows Christ". He follows church doctrine - a completely different thing - and you know it.

[Gurm]

In my opinion, he is a little scary.

The former Cardinal Ratzinger was not the Pope's right hand man, as I've seen him described. (That would be Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz.) He headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Congregation of the Holy Office, formerly known as Sacra Congregation Romanae et Universalis Inquisitionis seu Sancti Officii or the Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition or Holy Office ...

aka, the Holy Office of the Inquisition or Congregation of Universal Inquisition. The name was changed in the early 20th Century and then again in 1965, although the mission remains pretty much the same.

The Congregation is responsible for defending, interpreting, and clarifying Church doctrine with respect to heresy, mixed marriages, etc., and meting out punishment. It condemns works or art and literature deemed unsuitable or dangerous. They also get to do fun stuff like this:

http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/dicasteries/cdfexorc.htm

Now that's scary.

Paul

NO SHIT! That takes "Grand Inqusitor" to a whole new level! Let's kill some Jews for fun.

Ooh, I might have to call him Pope Torquemada, Dark Lord of the Sith!

[Jessterw]

I would be really worried about this choice if certain people were NOT scornful about him. All popes are caretakers, if they do their job properly. Their job is to follow Christ, not the latest strident social liberal whims of a corrupt and secular society.

Except that this newly elected pope had ties to the Nazi movement; he was part of the Hitler Youth in Bavaria and later served in the Wehrmacht (the Nazi Army). True these were mandatory, but that does not absolve him for responsibility of his participation.

This pope has also publicly stated that only through Catholicism (and I dare say Roman) is true salvation gained. Nevermind that he has had a hand in the sex abuse cover-ups through letters to bishops stating that the Crimine solicitationies law, which requires the strictest secrecy in these matters with the threat of excommunication, is still in effect.

[Nowhere]

Except that this newly elected pope had ties to the Nazi movement; he was part of the Hitler Youth in Bavaria and later served in the Wehrmacht (the Nazi Army). True these were mandatory, but that does not absolve him for responsibility of his participation.
...

Kinda ironic considering the background of the previous pope (and btw I rather disagree about responsibility - I don't know what was he thinking about this back then, but certainly if he'd oppose it, he wouldn't have a chance to be a pope...)

And you know...I had really high hopes that the new pope would be black...just so I could see the faces of fascists from LPR (right-wing idiots that'll likely co-form our next government ) and bigots fanatically following one pseudoreligious radio (probably they would then form National Polish Catholic Church or something like that ). OTOH...German isn't too bad either in this regard (after all, if something isn't the fault of Jews, than surely it's at least because of Germans )

[Jon P. Inghram]

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[KvHagedorn]

Except that this newly elected pope had ties to the Nazi movement; he was part of the Hitler Youth in Bavaria and later served in the Wehrmacht (the Nazi Army). True these were mandatory, but that does not absolve him for responsibility of his participation.

It's not up to you to absolve him. Every teenage boy was pressed into service in 1945 in Germany. I suppose you would rather he had resisted and had been shot as a deserter? Let me know how you survive trying times like those, then criticise him (and his predecessor, by the way, from whom the expectations were that he abandon all else and fight for the Polish resistance when the thought of taking up arms was abhorrent to him.) People who talk like this do not understand men of God, and often make the mistake of thinking them weak. Their guidance in secular matters is often not terribly useful, and as the son of an Anglican priest I can affirm this firsthand, but their role is in spritual guidance, not secular.

People who wantonly sling mud at people who have devoted their lives to service in the church quite frankly disgust me. They are human beings, not God himself. They do their best and do not get paid a lot for it. They deny themselves a lot of worldly goods and pleasures in the course of their pastoral mission, and deserve a bit more respect. Fifty years ago, people were a lot more decent and respectful. It's a pity what this world has come to.

By the way, you would not want to know the creature who, unbeknownst to you, is speaking through your voices here. And I'm referring to all the mudslingers. You really do not understand the role and mission of priests and other clergy, but you certainly attack it as though you do. This is what makes me wonder if these are really your own considered opinions..

[Dr Mordrid]

And heaven forbid they pick a black pope.

Your religious ignorance is showing.

FYI there have been three African Popes, all of them now saints;

Pope Saint Victor 1
Pope Saint Miliades 1
Pope Saint Gelasius 1

and KvH is correct: young men in Germany were not given the choice of joining the Hitler Youth. They were just cannon fodder once the regular army had been descimated.

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

NO SHIT! That takes "Grand Inqusitor" to a whole new level! Let's kill some Jews for fun.

Ooh, I might have to call him Pope Torquemada, Dark Lord of the Sith!

People who wantonly make such statements are no better than those who promoted hatred of the Jews in the thirties.

"Let's make a movie and caricature a Jew in it as some horrible evil thing.. we'll call it Jud Süß" (a paraphrase of what Goebbels most likely said in backing this infamous and real propaganda film which promoted hatred of the Jews.) I wonder how long it will be before someone in Hollywood has the gall to make such a film outrageously caricaturing priests in this same way. Not long, by the looks of things.

To promote hatred is to promote hatred.

[Wombat]

People who wantonly sling mud at people who have devoted their lives to service in the church quite frankly disgust me. They are human beings, not God himself. They do their best and do not get paid a lot for it. They deny themselves a lot of worldly goods and pleasures in the course of their pastoral mission, and deserve a bit more respect. Fifty years ago, people were a lot more decent and respectful. It's a pity what this world has come to.

Fifty years ago, the Church was a lot more decent and respectable. It's a pity what the organization has come to - hiding pedophiles, lying about science and medicine in order to advance their beliefs...

By the way, you would not want to know the creature who, unbeknownst to you, is speaking through your voices here. And I'm referring to all the mudslingers. You really do not understand the role and mission of priests and other clergy, but you certainly attack it as though you do. This is what makes me wonder if these are really your own considered opinions..

Yup, you got me. I'm speaking with the voice of Satan. Nutbag.

[KvHagedorn]

Your religious ignorance is showing.

FYI there have been three African popes, all of them now saints;

Pope Saint Victor 1
Pope Saint Miliades 1
Pope Saint Gelasius 1

Dr. Mordrid

And if they HAD picked a black pope, it would not have been because they were senselessly caving in to some political correctness fad like the Swedish idiots were when they picked a black Miss Sweden. Thank heavens the cardinals take their task more seriously than that.

For the record, John Paul II had a pretty good record of inclusion into the college of cardinals many from far flung areas of the world. Things looked much different in 1978, as I remember, when there were a HUGE proportion from Italy and not nearly as many from elsewhere. There are far more South American cardinals than North American, too.. proportional to the number of Catholics there.

[KvHagedorn]

Yup, you got me. I'm speaking with the voice of Satan. Nutbag.

Maybe you are? Who is to know why people take positions based on such childish animosity.. I would not put it beyond people with an agenda to fabricate many of the sex abuse charges just to further their desire to bring down the church. They even got their lawyers to try to squeeze millions out of it for their cause. Why? I guess they don't want those orphanages in Africa to be able to operate anymore. The church is not as rich as it once was.. the opulance you see in many churches is very old, or was built by their congregations to glorify God as they saw fit (misguided though it may have been.)

Is this the issue by which you would damn God himself? Go for it, dude.. hope it really gets you somewhere..