We have a Pope

[12th Doctor]

Worst choice ever.  I was standing in a hallway watching TV when they announced.  There were four priests there.  Three were visably obset and I thought the one was going to die.  Unless Bendict XVI is a different man from Joseph Ratzinger this was the wrong way to go.

[12th Doctor]

Edit:  Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I was disappointed by the choice.

[12th Doctor]

The Catholic Church is the longest surviving organization religious or otherwise and to top that it's conservative. Nothing will bring the church down now unless they do something EXTREMLY stupid like start the next crusades.

Us Catholics shall untie and stand.

As I said, I am being harsh, but I am just so disappointed.  I stand behind this Pope, I just hope that he is a better Pope than he was "Gatekeeper" for John Paul II.

[12th Doctor]

Funny thing is, one of the priests I was with acctually studied under him many, many years ago.  Radzinger was acctually a very strong proponent of Vatican II and making sure that it's spirit was carried out in full.  I wonder what has changed.

[12th Doctor]

I wonder if the American catholic church will whither away in the manner of the European catholic churches of the late 1800s?

Many say that the reason that they picked him was to try to revive the Church in Western Europe.

[12th Doctor]

As I have been informed by Phil and Supersoulty, the Pope is only infallible because the Church is infallible, and he is therefore only infallible when speaking on behalf of the Church from the Chair of St. Peter.  As a non-Catholic, I too misunderstood this doctrine.  Apparently, the Pope's words are rarely considered infallible and his infallible statements are only issued on rare occaisions.

Yes, that is correct.  Thank you, John.  It is nice to hear that, with all the times I have said that, someone acctually listens and understands.

[12th Doctor]

Benedict XV was also a moderate Pope who concentrated on healing the theoloical wounds of the Church.  Let's hope that he adopts that line as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_XV

[12th Doctor]

Hopefully, the church does split over this.  The true believers can stay in the church and those who don't follow Catholic teachings will leave like they should.

Sad but true.  Most of the liberal Catholics the news talked about with the Gallup poll don't go to Church anyway.  Certain issues are up for change but there are certain issues that you cannot change just because current societal norms calls for it.  If you want a church that still has some ritual with nothing behind it and that caves on every single issue- become an Episcapalian.

that's a very derogatory and condescending attitdue. I agree liberal Catholics should become Episcopalians (or Evangelical Lutherans, since we are fairly similar to the Catholic church service -wise as well), but you appear to think their church is inferior.

Then why don't they just do that?  It is obvious that many of them don't identify with the Church anymore.

I'll tell you why.  Because it is not about religion per se.  So called "Liberal Catholics" aren't going to go to mass regardless of who the Pope is.  Indeed, many of them want a Church where not going to mass is "okay".  Basically, they want the Church to approve of what they are already doing.  They have no desire to go back, no matter what doctrinal changes are made.

[12th Doctor]

Now that that is said, I guess that, now that I have time to think about it, while I'm not extatic, I am not anxious about Benedict XVI, either.  I'm think he will do well.  The more research I do, the more I see signs that he will not try to drag the Church to the far right, nor will he agressive in defining the role of the Church in the world, I don't think.  He will try to heal some of the wounds of the Church so that the next Pope can work on a braoder agenda of faith.