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Pope resigns

There's no evidence, just a lot of hateful people...

And the denial continues... <sigh>

There is evidence. That is undeniable. Whether you choose to accept the facts is entirely up to you.

My wife is Catholic. Hard core. But even she admits the facts are legit.

A handful of bad priests should not be an indictment on the whole faith. That is, until the powers that be decided to protect the pedophile priests instead of the victims. That's what bothers me.

But I was never much into the Catholic Church to begin with so it's no skin off my nose.

Keep in mind, I live a stone's throw from Archbishop Cousin's (a self-professed gay archbishop whom I happen to have a lot of respect for,) Center. In fact, it is visible from my office. St. John's School for the Deaf, was located at the same facility. That is the place where the pedophilia cover-up was blown wide open. People in our area take it to heart a bit more than some other discerned people might.

I understand defending one's beliefs. I can even respect that. But there is no need to deny the facts in doing so. Just say it is what it is and move on with it.

Really, watch the documentary. It might do you some good. Come back and tell us which facts you deny and let's discuss them.
 
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Health issues?
Damn, my money was on a child abuse scandal.
 
I'm pretty sure this Pope resigned because his views were turning off not only potentially new followers but current ones. His comments on the child abuse scandal in particular were quite disgusting. Given that he is the first Pope to resign in 600 years, I doubt this is about health. Catholicism is very big on taking your duties to your grave.

Kind of interesting that someone can resign from their superhuman role as God's representative on earth. So much for the Divine Right of Kings. :roll:

I hope the next Pope is more progressive, or at least capable of smiling once in a while.

Should be. They picked this guy as basically an interim pope after John Paul II and they picked him specifically because he was old and didn't want to change anything about how the church was ran. After someone as open and progressive as Paul, you couldn't follow that up with another guy wanting to change things.

How ever, I still think the child rape scandal should always be the number 1 thing that people remember about either of these popes. No ammount of good deeds would make me over look a systematic attempt at protecting child rapists.
 
Wow. Ten percent of the conclave will be American.



While the current percentage of cardinals who are Italian is lower than it was in the past, there are still way too many Italian cardinals.

Italy, with about 53 million Catholics, has 50 cardinals - 22 are over 80 years old, so Italy has 28 votes. The USA, with about 74 million Catholics, has 19 cardinals, 8 are over 80 years old, so the USA has 11 votes. Italy has 2 1/2 times as many votes as the USA. How is that fair?

It looks to me like the Catholic church slows unreasonable favoritism towards Italy. Many other heavily Catholic countries also have a smaller number of cardinals than they should have, based on numbers of Catholics. Brazil, for example, has the largest number of Catholics of any country, 123 million, yet it has only 9 cardinals, 4 are over 80 years old.

I guess that the old men in dresses in Italy play the game the way that they want.

Not my problem since I am no longer a Catholic.



"Id est quod est."
 
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Somebody's been watching The Borgias. Relax, real life is not like that. Besides, Borgia was a special case, after all, he was jewish and infiltrated his way into the vatican using jewish support from italy and spain, and not a devout christian.

Heya RM does ya gots a link on this? I never heard this about the Borgias and the Jewish blood. As a matter of fact I know several Borgias that live around here in Illinois. Course moreso around Chicago.

This is definitely affecting the Chicago Catholics. They were kind stunned by the news.
 
How ever, I still think the child rape scandal should always be the number 1 thing that people remember about either of these popes. No ammount of good deeds would make me over look a systematic attempt at protecting child rapists.


Back during Watergate a new saying emerged: "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."

Benedict was involved in the cover-up. I don't understand how he was ever chosen as Pope, he is a deeply flawed human being.
 
Anyone who's a Catholic or has followed the Catholic Church and its leadership knows that current social standards and mores have little impact on them - they are so buried in two millenia ago, not just one, and they are more concerned with bending people to their will than making even the slightest changes to their way of thinking.

Hows that working out in South and Central America?
 
Back during Watergate a new saying emerged: "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."

Benedict was involved in the cover-up. I don't understand how he was ever chosen as Pope, he is a deeply flawed human being.

Catholics have a process called beautification, that handles all of those flaws.
 
Back during Watergate a new saying emerged: "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."

Benedict was involved in the cover-up. I don't understand how he was ever chosen as Pope, he is a deeply flawed human being.

Watch Mea Maximus Culpa. That will help to explain why he, of all people, was chosen.
 
I recall a seemingly innocent piece of news some time ago about some butler to the pope, or whatever, charged with leaking info from the popes files, or whatever it was.


Calls into question, what all, exactly, was leaked, eh?

There is a good deal of history of sick popes, even INSANE ones, that did not resign. Hell, a pope can't even MAKE that choice on their own. It's like the mafia. Once you get the job, you can't just quit.

He was ousted for other reasons. Likely, in the next month or coming months, something HORRIBLE about this guy is gonna drop, and be made public...his "resignation" now is simply a measure to protect the church.
 
I'd say he's got dementia or something like that that would make it impossible for him to pope properly.

If he had dementia he would have the mental ability to resign.
 
I didn't know a Pope could resign.


Did you know that any Catholic male over the age of reason (And under 80 years old) who can speak Italian can be chosen as Pope (Actually any non-Catholic male can also be chosen!)?

I kid you not: How Is the Pope "Elected?"

It will be interesting to see who gets chosen.
 
How do you think this will affect the Catholic Church? Do you think it is also about the change with Catholics here in America? Besides his health issues and age. I wonder how the Leaders of some other religions are reacting to this news.

No...

I think it has to do with character.... If you can no longer do your job to the best of your abilities it's time to retire.

I'm sure when you're 86 the travel, responsibilities, masses, meetings etc can be very stressful.... 86 is pretty old.
 
No...

I think it has to do with character.... If you can no longer do your job to the best of your abilities it's time to retire.

I'm sure when you're 86 the travel, responsibilities, masses, meetings etc can be very stressful.... 86 is pretty old.



My great grandmother on my father's side lived to be 105 years old. She lived by herself and took care of her house and property. When she was 104 years old, I saw her catching some of her chickens and wringing their necks, that is a fact.

It all depends on the person.

Some 100 year old people climb mountains
 
Given that Pope John Paul looked like he could barely hold his head up toward the end of his life, yet he was Pope until he died, the health reason thing seems a little surprising. Seemed like there was always some controversy around this Pope.

No pope has had to be as "international" as Pope Benedict has been. The way information travels now requires a pope that can respond quickly. Pretty tough when you're 85.
 
Yeah.....I would say one who wasn't anywhere close of really being popular or a force for their religion. Plus he is getting out during their crisis over Marriage with Catholics in the US, as well as the usual issues.

Pope Benedict has been esteemed by Traditional Catholics, and I am one of those. He has been a force for a restoration of a true Catholic faith and identity.
 
Pope Benedict has been esteemed by Traditional Catholics, and I am one of those. He has been a force for a restoration of a true Catholic faith and identity.

Dare I ask what that means, exactly?
 
Dare I ask what that means, exactly?

One of his main focuses has been the Mass and restoring sacredness and reverence to it. The Mass has been banalized for decades after Vatican II, and what is more representative of Catholics than the Mass? Through the Mass, we can restore our faith. Lex orandi, lex credendi.
 
My great grandmother on my father's side lived to be 105 years old. She lived by herself and took care of her house and property. When she was 104 years old, I saw her catching some of her chickens and wringing their necks, that is a fact.

It all depends on the person.

Some 100 year old people climb mountains

Yea, I used to work for a guy in his 80's that owned a house with a pond in the backyard, maybe a half acre pond, and he would cut his own grass with a push mower, and when he got to the pond he would push it down the edges til it touched the water and pulled it back up to cut the grass, on a very steep incline, lol. Anyone that's ever push mowed around a steep pond or steep ditch knows how much work that can be.
 
My great grandmother on my father's side lived to be 105 years old. She lived by herself and took care of her house and property. When she was 104 years old, I saw her catching some of her chickens and wringing their necks, that is a fact.

It all depends on the person.

Some 100 year old people climb mountains

My step great grandmother jogged daily well into her late 90's then dropped dead at 99.

I just lost my grandmother two days ago, she was 87 and had severe dementia.. Life is a crap shoot. Hell, I'm 32, look 25 but feel 50 hahahaha....
 
I'd say he's got dementia or something like that that would make it impossible for him to pope properly.

Can you use "pope" as an adverb? "to Pope"?

I'd think that was a grammatical error, or sacrilige, or something like that. :mrgreen:
 
Can you use "pope" as an adverb? "to Pope"?

I'd think that was a grammatical error, or sacrilige, or something like that. :mrgreen:

Poping popes pope popely.

Might as well make it an adverb too.
 
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