Joseph Ratzinger named new pope-- Benedict XVI

[Prudence]

I'm much more familiar with 300-1700 Catholic theology than I am with the contemporary theology. A major difference between Catholic and Protestant systems is that Catholicism requires intermediaries between believer and God. It's throughout the belief system. You might pray to God, but you also pray to saints in the hopes that they will interceed with God on your behalf.

I actually don't know what the modern take is on bible study, but part of the resistance to translations of mass and documents into the vernacular is that people might make their own interpretations of the holy writings. This comes up time and again in medieval writings against various reform-minded heresies. At least then, it was believed that only those who had taken vows and studied under supervision of the Church were qualified to interpret scripture.

Something I teach my heresy classes is that it truly was a matter of (eternal) life and death. Oh sure, there were times and places where folks said "hey! my neighbor's really rich and I'm in a bind. If I rat him out as being Jewish, I'll get a portion of his estate!" But there were also Church officials who took their work very seriously. If they didn't convert you, you'd burn in the hellfires. If they screwed up their preaching and you believed the wrong thing, not only would they burn in the hellfires, but they would have condemned you to the same fate.

I'm sure I was going somewhere with this at one point.

I think the dogmatic voices have grown louder. I don't know if it's a response to increased uncertainty, or if we just notice the dogmatism more because there are more of us who aren't, or if it's both, or none of the above.

I read up more on Ratzinger today and alas, I'm not so hopeful any more. I hold out a small kernal of hope that he was previously playing the assigned role of bad church cop and will be a more open-minded and inclusive leader, but I'll admit the odds aren't good.

[Morrigoon]

Sheesh, I was expecting glorius olivae, and instead I get Pope Ratty?

[Name]

I think he should have gone with the name "Pope Palpatine"

Pope benedict just brings up this guy in my head.

[Boss Radio]

The pope is an old man in a pointy hat and robe and a pointy stick who repeats jingoistic bible slogans to his adoring masses. He has the easiest job in the world - everybody on his team loves him because of the hat and robe and pointy stick - but he is merely a living, breathing wedding cake topper - a sadly human icon of an ancient system of beliefs that more than anything excels at keeping a great portion of humanity numb, confused and unable to make even the tiniest of steps forward.

Of course, the same could be said for Carrot Top.

Nothing much will change, except perhaps new letterhead at the Vatican. A whole new Pope wardrobe. Pious pants, holy loafers and most sacred undergarments.

Could you imagine if all of the great and holy rollers came out of the conclave empty-handed? What if they just shrugged and said, "We're tired of buying new fitted robes and hats. The pope is a symbol of our faith, and these modern times necessitate change. The conclave calls upon Pixar to create a virtual 3D pope based on character designs modeled by Art Clokey. Pixar has the technical know-how and Clokey has the religious cred, courtesy of Davey and Goliath."

The new 3D pope would be accessible to anyone with a dial-up connection, and at churches, libraries and internet cafes.

He could appear in holiday-themed TV specials, and would be able to walk into many books, with his pony pal, Cardinal Bernard "Pokey" Law.

Sadly, it wouldn't work. Clokey was in the employ of the Lutherans.

Commemorative Kellogg's Pope Tarts, anyone?

[blueerica]

^^Boss Radio^^ (Also €, et al...)

That's pretty much how I feel. I still don't really have an opinion. Just watching a bit. I wasn't even paying much attention to PopeWatch 2005 as JPII was ill, dead, and the selection process. As a non-Catholic, it didn't shake my world enough, I suppose.

The coverage seemed rediculous, but then again, I live in Southern California, and I know there are a great number of followers who watch the news down here. I was particularly amused while watching the 10:00 news to see a newscaster in Huntington Beach's Old World, getting the opinions of the local German Catholics. Hmmm... Bells & whistles, etc etc etc.

I wrote a paper once on early (and I mean early) Catholicism. Got a much lower grade than any of my previous assignments. Catholic professor (whoops! didn't think of that); guess he didn't like what I had to say. But my philosophy professor did. Got an A from him. (I especially liked that he accepted a multi-purpose paper)

But what to say? I guess nothing at all. I still find it hard to believe that one person gets that much control over so many people, and a religion (for Christ's sake!)...

Oh, and I guess I misheard, or someone misspoke on the news, but I heard this morning that he had defected from his duties in the Hitler Youth. Reading lots to the contrary now.

Sorry for the ramblings. We can strike this from the record if neccesary.

-E

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Originally Posted by blueerica

Oh, and I guess I misheard, or someone misspoke on the news, but I heard this morning that he had defected from his duties in the Hitler Youth. Reading lots to the contrary now.

Where have you read info to the contrary?

If you, or anyone else (like MBC, regarding interesting statements Ratzinger's made) have supportive info and would like to post it, or links, or send it to me directly, I'd appreciate it.

I was dismayed this morning to have my mother's rebuttal of all the information I gave her yesterday with positive spin from EWTN, the Catholic cable channel. She seems to be trying to support Ratzinger and would like me to stop reading "black press." I would just like to know the truth about a man I don't think has the capability to be a holy leader. And when I say holy, I mean truly compassionate and seeking to better the world.

I'd just like to have some words from his own mouth to show my mother.

[blueerica]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

Where have you read info to the contrary?

It is with this I decide that I should not post on subjects like these when I know so little about what's going on. What I was trying to say was that in the morning, somewhere undefinably on my TV as I was waking up, I thought I heard someone say he had deserted, which in my mind is something quite akin to "taking off" "going AWOL" and otherwise giving the figurative middle finger to whatever you're deserting. The information wasn't necessarily to the contrary - not information saying he liked Hitler - but that he didn't quite desert in the manner I had imagined.

Most of the links I followed were from here. Nothing glowing, not the way they were making it sound on the television I was looking at sporadically. Contrary was a strong, misused word. But just typing Ratzinger's name into Google brought up lots of dismaying information that I didn't bother to try and find on him earlier. I guess the point I was trying to illustrate (and perhaps poorly so) was how easy, for someone like me who knows little and hasn't been trying to educate herself on the topic, can be swayed by what she sees on the television, or reads anywhere. I'm probably not likely to look anything up on it outside of what I'm reading here, so don't wait for any interesting information to come from me.

I'm sorry that your mom seems so dismissive of what you were trying to share with her on Ratzinger...

[Morrigoon]

From an article on comcast.net

Evelyn Strauch, a 54-year-old housewife from Ratzinger's home state of Bavaria, buried her head in her hands and wept.

"This can't be true," she said. "I had hoped so much that we would get a good pope who would do something for women. ... This is so terrible."

And from the same article:

Then, just before the cardinals entered the conclave Monday morning, he made clear where he stands ideologically, using words that John Paul would surely have endorsed. He warned about tendencies that he considered dangers to the faith: sects and ideologies like Marxism, liberalism, atheism, agnosticism and relativism - the ideology that there are no absolute truths.

Benedict has denounced rock music, dismissed anyone who had tried to find "feminist" meanings in the Bible, and last year told American bishops it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support abortion and euthanasia.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Does anyone else expect the sentence, "You know, the Nazis may have had some pretty extreme tactics...but overall they had the right idea," from him? That's what concerns me. His rhetoric hardly is that of a man who truly disagreed with the Nazis. He's divisive, intolerant, and an isolationist. Basically, he just eventaully wasn't cool with the killing, but everything else? This just feels like a giant leap backwards for world-wide tolerance.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/inter...020400,00.html

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!!

The Vatican instructed Catholic bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse or risk being thrown out of the Church.

Lawyers point to a letter the Vatican sent to bishops in May 2001 clearly stating the 1962 instruction was in force until then. The letter is signed by Cardinal Ratzinger, the most powerful man in Rome beside the Pope and who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - the office which ran the Inquisition in the Middle Ages.