Pope Resigns

[simmonds91]

Wow... That was quite a story del, thanks !

[chillicamper]

That was an amazing story Del. Your mum sounds like one hell of a lady.

I've never had a problem with people having their own faith. I mean, I hug trees to make me feel better so who am I to talk

My issue has always been with the bigger picture - the institutions of the various churches. On the ground level many priests, rabbis etc do a great job - they take a common sense view on their respective teachings and try and use them to do good for their communities. There are also many atheists who do the same charitable work around the world because they know it's the right thing to do.

However, the higher up you go in the institution, the less common sense there appears to be and the more there appears to be a wish to have 'power' over people. Rather like many politicians really. All good talk, but when it comes down to it, you know they will protect themselves and their own little empire before they do any good for anyone else. Power corrupts maybe???........whatever institution you may be in charge of.

[Antiq]

I thought popes were supposed to go down with ship, as it were.

Wow! First since 1415!!! It's the apopelaypse!

[Tonyblack]

[Antiq]

I see a cardinal has resigned today. Usual controversy. For fark sake, why does the Catholic church think it can get away with SERIOUSLY messing with nature by imposing celibacy, and then bitch about stem cell research and so on. Next pope needs to be a woman 'cos none of those men have a lick of common sense.

[Who's Wee Dug]

Wow! First since 1415!!! It's the apopelaypse!

Probably the same one recycled too many times.

[raptornx01]

Wow! First since 1415!!! It's the apopelaypse!

Probably the same one recycled too many times.

Worked for the Dali Lama.

[Who's Wee Dug]

But he is one of the good guys.

[raptornx01]

Didn't say it worked for the others

[Who's Wee Dug]

[KnightOfFewWords]

I thought popes were supposed to go down with ship, as it were.

Traditionally, yes, but they aren't required to do so. It's a thoroughly sensible decision for him to step down, but it causes some doctrinal problems, since he is supposed to be God's representative on Earth. If some sections of the church dislike the direction the new one takes, they are may well declare him an Antipope and schism themselves out of there, the splitters.

One thing I'm not expecting is a great moderniser. The average age of the voting cardinals is high, and many of them were appointed under Benedict XVI (hope I got the number right - must be really confusing if they all bump into each other in the afterlife).

[Alanz]

I heard Tonight on the Radio that they have White smoke coming from the Chimney at the Vatican signalling that they have finally nominated a new Pope, we shall have to wait to see which one it is........

[Will of Lancre]

Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, taking the name of Pope Francis.

A lot of firsts there: first Latin American pope, first Jesuit pope, first Pope Francis, first pope since the Middle Ages to take a name that hadn't been used before.

First impressions: Humble, advocate of poor people, good communicator. But: Expect some skeletons to come out of cupboards about the Galtieri period. And don't expect him to be liberal on gay marriage (though realistically, this would have been true whoever won).

[KnightOfFewWords]

Pope Frank is a moderate according to the Guardian's Pontificator - but this is a relative term, your average Cardinal being much more conservative than the average Catholic. So, don't expect an iota of compromise on contraception, abortion, the role of women or gay marriage. While being ultra-conservative on social issues, he is fairly left wing in other ways. Here is a typical quote:

The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of social sin that cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers.

In many ways, he is likely to be a decent bloke. However, I'm expecting very little from his Pontificate; another lesson in the failures of moral absolutism, and why you shouldn't base your values on a particular interpretation of an ancient guidebook. Not everything he says will be worthless, and I hope he can at least put the Vatican's house in order a little. I just wish he and his ilk weren't so blinkered to realise the harm they sometimes do. Would it kill them to acknowledge that using a condom is less of a sin than risking the spread of AIDS?

[Tonyblack]

When I was with a walking group, we used to get a nun come along with us sometimes. One place she'd been sent was Haiti, and despite Catholic rules, they used to get condoms shipped to their mission for the ladies there. As it would have been a real problem for them to get a package with a customs form saying "condoms", they got the supplier to write "balloons" instead. This caused a problem one Christmas when one of the local workers opened the package and proceeded to inflate the "balloons" as Christmas decorations.

Another story she told was how she used to demonstrate condoms using a banana as a prop. She thought she was getting through to the women until one of them got pregnant and when asked why she hadn't used a condom, she replied that she had and the banana, complete with condom was under her pillow all night.