Pope Benedict announces retirement

[Easy Bakes 253]

Pope News

 

 

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

CBC take.

BBC.

Reuters U.S.

 

The Vatican head of state abdicates.  This has not happened in centuries.  Auf Wiedersehn.

[Linoa06 1,374]

That hasn't happened in centuries indeed.

 

And to be honest, I'm fine with it. I am not Christian, and I don't really think someone who's participated in gruesome groups back in World War 2 deserves to lead anything, especially an influential religion.

 

There are things that just can't be forgiven...and given his typical speeches, he doesn't seem like he changed much either.

[zahrul3 471]

I heard that the next pope is the Antichrist(Dajjal in Islam)? If that's true then that could explain why the world is becoming more violent in the Mediterranean part of the world. By then, it would be good if you ignore anything that pope/antichrist commands, since those who ignore are the ones who have a strong belief in their religion, including atheists(it is a religion by itself), and these people survive.

[Linoa06 1,374]

No, this is stupid. There's no such thing as antichrist, and the universe will end due to entropy, and that's at the earliest in billions and billions and billions of years. 

[katherman111 182]

I wonder what's the scandal behind his retirement.

[Wiecher 192]

I heard he wants to spend more time with children after his retirement...

[hym 358]

Apparently he was planning to retire before he received the position, so his desire to retire now shouldn't be all that surprising.

[Meg 368]

I thought his guy was supposed to be the antichrist?   Seriously, though, at some point in the aging process people really aren't up to a job, whether it's mentally, physically, or energy-wise, it time to just chill out.

[Superbacon 380]

One does not simply retire from being Pope. You have to die. Always reminds me of the scene from Eurotrip where they break into the Vatican and while snooping around they accidentally burn the Pope's hat, sending black smoke upwards. 

[flatron 83]

I think they should make the whole thing more democratic, voting a new pope every 5 years or sth. like that. As a catholic I hope the next one is better than Ratzinger who was always a little strange in my opinion. besides that I was annoyed by the cult that was made around his birthplace and so on.

Those jokes about pedophile pastors are so old by the way, I guess that there are just as many sect-leaders in america that do the same.

[Haljackey 17,302]

Aww... no more pope jokes

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

There is a good chance that the next Pontiff will be Cardinal Ouellet of Quebec.  He is currently head of the committee that vets new bishops, and belongs to several Vatican committees.  It would certainly be a first to have a non-European Bishop of Rome and head of the Vatican state.

 

This would undoubtedly bring some fresh air into the old world's stuffy set of old men.  There are a few others who are not Europeans as well, including one from Central America and one from Africa.  A non-European would be a real precedent buster.  The Vatican has needed a good shaking up for three or four centuries now.

 

As for all that guff about the antichrist, forget it.  This is just cant from the sidelines.  Next you'll be hearing about the Red Woman of Rome.  It is all just garbage.

[LexusInfernus 908]

He quit because he is old, has a weak health, and perhaps also because he notices that generally he does more bad than good for the church. I think it speaks of solid character to quit when you notice that you're no longer up to the job, rather than continuing it until you die. 

 

As for the next pope, it really does not matter where he comes from. A non-European pope can be just as conservative as a European pope. In fact, I'd wager its all the more likely that European popes are perhaps a tad more progressive than non-European popes. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Whatever.  Being Pontiff is something like owning a sailboat.  You have two tasks instead of one.  You have a motor boat with all these lines and rags to look after.  A regular head of state only has one task.

 

Uneasy lies the head that wears the triple crown.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Considering his age, it makes sense t be the first in 600 years to resign.

And people say that very pope was (is) the AntiChrist, but we'll find out, will we?

[Haljackey 17,302]

Hopefully the next pope gets with the times... It's the 21^st century and yet priests can't be women or get married.

[Duke87 1,070]

The part I love about all this is how the Catholic church has been around for long enough that we can just casually say "he's the first Pope to resign in 600 years".

[hym 358]

Hopefully the next pope gets with the times... It's the 21^st century and yet priests can't be women or get married.

 

If the "Vatican experts" are to be believed, that is unlikely.  It is far more likely to expect that the next pope will be similar to the last two.

[astronelson 339]

The part I love about all this is how the Catholic church has been around for long enough that we can just casually say "he's the first Pope to resign in 600 years".

 

Should be 2,000 years sometime this century. The Catholic Church holds that it was founded by Jesus, with Saint Peter as the first Pope, which would put the bimillennial sometime in the late 2020's or 2030's.

 

One does not simply retire from being Pope. You have to die.

 

It's perfectly possible to resign from the papacy. Heck, one of the popes (Benedict IX) even sold it.

 

The papacy was a very interesting place for its first thousand years or so.

 

I thought his guy was supposed to be the antichrist?

 

I'm pretty sure someone has supposed every pope to be the antichrist. There are an unleavened host of better candidates.

 

I heard that the next pope is the Antichrist(Dajjal in Islam)? If that's true then that could explain why the world is becoming more violent in the Mediterranean part of the world. By then, it would be good if you ignore anything that pope/antichrist commands, since those who ignore are the ones who have a strong belief in their religion, including atheists(it is a religion by itself), and these people survive.

 

This isn't really the place for religious debates (and my point is merely one of definition), but atheism is characterised solely by a lack of belief in any god, and doesn't really fit any criteria for being a religion.

[Alejandro24 575]

Well, Benedict XVI is not the best pope, is not compared with John Paul II, obviously. But this were foreseeable since the start of his pontificate. Exists a title: pontificate of transition.

 

That hasn't happened in centuries indeed.

 

And to be honest, I'm fine with it. I am not Christian, and I don't really think someone who's participated in gruesome groups back in World War 2 deserves to lead anything, especially an influential religion.

 

There are things that just can't be forgiven...and given his typical speeches, he doesn't seem like he changed much either.

Can you be more specific with that things that can't be forgiven?

 

I think they should make the whole thing more democratic, voting a new pope every 5 years or sth. like that. As a catholic I hope the next one is better than Ratzinger who was always a little strange in my opinion. besides that I was annoyed by the cult that was made around his birthplace and so on.

Those jokes about pedophile pastors are so old by the way, I guess that there are just as many sect-leaders in america that do the same.

I agree with that, Ratzinger seems to be some retracted from the start.

 

There is a good chance that the next Pontiff will be Cardinal Ouellet of Quebec.  He is currently head of the committee that vets new bishops, and belongs to several Vatican committees.  It would certainly be a first to have a non-European Bishop of Rome and head of the Vatican state.

 

This would undoubtedly bring some fresh air into the old world's stuffy set of old men.  There are a few others who are not Europeans as well, including one from Central America and one from Africa.  A non-European would be a real precedent buster.  The Vatican has needed a good shaking up for three or four centuries now.

 

As for all that guff about the antichrist, forget it.  This is just cant from the sidelines.  Next you'll be hearing about the Red Woman of Rome.  It is all just garbage.

Well, is to soon to try to give a list of prospect for the Pope, but I hear also is a big candidate.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Wonder how the  world would react to a South American Pope.

[Meg 368]

Wonder how the  world would react to a South American Pope.

 

I was thinking earlier that would be a good idea.

[stlsuburb 2]

I would like to think that the next pope will be from outside Europe, maybe Cardinal Dolan from NYC (and STL)? But it will be awhile until another pope is elected from Outside Europe I think, considering half of the cardinals are from Europe, most of those from Italy. They will never have a pope from a: superpower (USA, RUSSIA, CHINA?)or a poorer continent (SA, AFRICA). But we need to realize that Benedict was a transition pope that landed on a few scandals, but it could have been worse and we made it through okay, it is the Church and its been here for 2k years of oppression, violence, and even ...indulgences... 

[Meg 368]

A transition from what to what?

[astronelson 339]

Russia is primarily Russian Orthodox and Christianity in any form is very minor in China, so a Catholic pope from any of these places is unlikely to begin with. 45% of the US is Protestant, compared to 30% Catholic, but Catholicism does take quite a massive lead if you break Protestantism down into denominations.

 

South America, however, is heavily Catholic (approximately 82%, accounting for somewhere in the vicinity of 30-40% of the world's Catholic population), so I wouldn't discount a pope from there before too long.

 

On an off-topic note, I found out today that the Crystal Cathedral in California was sold earlier this month to the Catholic Church after Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

[hym 358]

A transition from what to what?

 

That's probably dependent on the person you ask, but I do recall commentary back in 2005 to the effect of "the fact that the cardinals chose an older pope is evidence that they weren't really sure who to vote for, so they wanted someone who would hold the position long enough for the cardinals to make up their mind who the pope should be, but not so long that such a person would be too old for the papacy."

 

If that is true, we should expect the new pope to be significantly younger this time.

[LexusInfernus 908]

If the "Vatican experts" are to be believed, that is unlikely.  It is far more likely to expect that the next pope will be similar to the last two.

The last two were quite dissimilar. Pope John (the Polish guy) was charismatic, and moderately progressive on a lot of issues, while Pope Benedict was not charismatic at all, managed to piss off a lot of people with wrongly timed comments and was a staunch conservative on all issues. 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Whomever gets elected, do not expect anything radical to happen.  The Catholic Church defines the word Conservative.  You could say that the Church is in the world but not of it. 

 

As for women in the priesthood, that is unlikely.  Can you imagine going to see the priestess?  This would be a reversal from the misogynistic attitude of the last two millennia, and not in the cards.  Forget it, girls.

 

A married priesthood would just take the church back to an earlier time.  Priests were not always celibate.  In the English church you can't be a bishop unless you are married.  They also have women in the clergy.  I am not sure that Henry VIII had this in mind.

[Alejandro24 575]

A transition from what to what?

Usually in the history of the Catholic Church there are a Pope of transition between two popes of a large pontificate. A pontificate of transition is just a pontificate were the Pope doesn't do important things to the church and prepares the way for the next pope. Is a strange idea, but is logic if you see the list of the Popes and its actions. A pontificate of transition is small, 3-4 years, but this were of 7 years, is not too small but not too big.