white smoke

[Yaps]

A new pope has been chosen.

 

[hensylee]

so who is it?

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- Germany -- Pope Benedict XVI

**My Catholic Great-Great Grandparents who sailed on a ship from Germany to Texas in 1854 would be proud.

 

[hensylee]

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- Germany -- Pope Benedict XVI

**My Catholic Great-Great Grandparents who sailed on a ship from Germany to Texas in 1854 would be proud.

Just tuned in. Handsome fella, ain't he? At first I thought he had such a beautiful shock of white hair - looked closer and there's also a white hat up there. White hat means he's one of the good guys. But I couldn't understand a word he said. I don't think it was German, tho.

 

[Barry]

Heard a good joke on NPR yesterday about how passionately Ratzinger's holds his conservative theological beliefs:

Ratzinger and two other theologans die and go to heaven and each is granted an interview with God.

The first theologan returns from his interview weeping inconsolably and lamenting, "How could I have been so wrong?"

The second theologan returns from his interview weeping inconsolably and lamenting, "How could I have been so wrong?"

Ratzinger goes in for his interview, and after it God comes out weeping inconsolably and lamenting, "How could I have been so wrong?"

 

[Wise]

Congrats to the new Pope!

 

[Barry]

I wonder if the College of the Cardinals will be returning my resume.

 

[hensylee]

I had a note the other day from Michael Moore (remember him?). He said he was headed off to Rome because he was runnin for Pope. Not a joke; the email really did arrive in my inbox from Moore and he really said that. Not trying to start anything political here, tho.

Pam, it was no doubt in Latin. I was just joshin. Still couldn't understand it, tho. Good thing the missals are in English or I'd never have gotten through a mass back when they did it in Latin.

I remember the last elections and it seems like it took forever to elect the Pope. Hard to believe they got this done so quickly. I rather expect they were pretty much prepared, tho, don't you think?

 

[Barry]

I had a note the other day from Michael Moore (remember him?). He said he was headed off to Rome because he was runnin for Pope. Not a joke; the email really did arrive in my inbox from Moore and he really said that....

While the tradition is to select a cardinal, I don't think that Canon Law requires it. The Papacy goes back further than cardinals do. I don't think there was anything that necessarily prevented the College of the Cardinals from selecting Michael Moore (or me) other than good judgment.

I won't even get into the politics of Moore's flicks, just their entertainment value as flicks. But anyone who's seen one knows that Moore is into absurdist grandstanding like this. I really liked Bowling for Columbine, with the exception of a couple of scenes, but thought that Farenheit 9/11 was a disappointingly crummy movie. Again, this is judging them just as flicks, not getting at all into whether I do or do not agree with their political messages.

 

[Karlynn]

I found the discussion on whether the new Pope, because of his age, was chosen as more of an "interim" pope. Then I heard one priest say he didn't think so. True, the new Benedict XVI is 78, but is in excelletn health, so might conceivabley be around for 12 years or more.

This was not the shortest conclave in history. It tied for the second shortest in the last 100 years.

 

[hensylee]

80 yrs old? That's almost ludicrous, isn't it? Limit ought to be lots younger than 80 - unless, that is, they aren't taking chances of keeping one around for too long. Most folks never last til 80.

 

[Debrinha GT]

CNN International

CNN International

I heard on the news he can speak quite good English. By the way, he's from around the same area my grand-father was born. He was from Kaufbeuren which's near Munich.
Débora

 

[Barry]

I'm given to understand that he's the first German pope in around 1,000 years!

Yes, is interesting that, as Karlynn points out, that an older candidate was selected. Whether purposefully or not, does almost inherently make him a transitional Pope.

I hope he's a good guy. I'm a long-lapsed Catholic, current atheist, but I really liked the now-deceased Pope. Even though I didn't agree with his conservative approach to doctrine, the world - especially Eastern Europe - is a better place for his having been here.

 

[Barry]

...It doesn't change my belief that a ultra-conservative Catholic church (theology-wise) will be harmful in the long run, especially in developing countries, but the church I grew up with does comfort me. Does that make any sense?

...regarding Michael Moore - if he were pope, the miter would be replaced with a baseball cap and bad haircuts!

Finding comfort in a church with dogma you disagree with not only makes sense, but I think it's pretty common among practicing Catholics. Catholics are notoriously good at cherry-picking dogma, e.g. practicing artificial birth control yet seeing no real conflict between that and being a devout Catholic. If there's a God, I rather suspect that He would see no conflict, either.

I kinda flamed out on deistic religion in general and Catholicism in particular around 5th grade Catholic school. Got a great education out of Catholic schools, BTW, even though I lost my faith (but do retain a fundamental awe at the mystery of existence).

Old bad Catholic school joke:
Q - What's a Catholic baby's first words?
A - "I'm sorry."

I don't know whether that joke fits as well now as it did nearly 50 years ago in a hellfire-and-brimstone oriented Irish Catholic parish.

And regarding your comment on Michael Moore as Pope: Funny visual!

 

[Barry]

Pam, to this day the smell of a candle that's just been blown out takes my mind to to a church.

 

[strawberry]

Barry, like you I liked John Paul in SPITE of his conservatism. He was just an all around good guy and at least consistent in his conservatism and not a hypocrite. There's a video of him playing with a couple of toddlers who are running in and out from under his robe and he's kind of playing peek a boo with them and flinging his robe with their game. That said it all. The most powerful man in the Christian world letting kids hide in his robe. Like a grandpa would do.