In nomine Patri, et Fili, et Spiritu Sancti... Amen. (In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... Amen.)

Well done, true and faithful servant... enter thou into the joy of the Lord.

Johannes Paulus P.P. II, requiescat in pace. (Rest in peace.)

May he rest in peace, and may he be succeeded by a statesman of a similar stature and capability.

This is a pic I keep and always will keep in my apartment. It was when my parents went on a church trip to Rome and the Vatican. They actually saw the pope in person. I wish I could have gone but I was still in college back then.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...assag/pope.jpg

:(

Pope John Paul II is the only Pope I really remember. I was a small child when he became Pope. He led the Catholic Church through some very challenging times, and I have great respect for him.

May he rest in peace.

I cry everytime I think about him. He was the only Pope I ever knew. I plan on staying home on the day they have funeral services for him. The least I could do is pay my respects to such an amazing man.

This is so sad. Rest in Peace.

A very nice picture, indeed.

I dragged out a special that we did during World Youth Day in Denver -- and when it ended and I stopped the machine, it was on NBC News and I learned the Pope has died.

I have seen some of the video from "my" venue which was the Prayer Vigil and Papal Mass at Cherry Creek State Park on network and local coverage.

I am a Presbyterian, and have directed just about everything you can imagine when it comes to news -- I just can't explain how directing that world pool feed affected me. Words fail me, but the man's presence was remarkable.

At times during the broadcast, I was nearly speechless -- which is not such a great thing for the director. After the Mass, I went to the pool operations control room, and the executive producer asked me if I realized that I was whispering at times. I did. He was just mesmerizing.

Still way too early since the College of Cardinals hasn't met, but would you think that the next Pope could name himself John Paul III?

Are there any naming conventions for Popes? I know that the previous Pope was John Paul I.

I believe that they get to choose their papal name. I think I heard that John Paul I combined two different pope's names who he had respected, and as JPI died so quickly, John Paul II took the same name.

Please feel free to correct me, though, as I'm not a Catholic (although in my senior year, I found out that I had enough credits for a Religious Studies major, but had already chosen two).

My first thought was of a Polish soccer player I know, who had the chance to meet the Pope. He had a wonderful photo of himself, kissing the Papal ring.

If my memory serves me, you are correct. The previous Popes before John Paul I were Pope John and Pope Paul. Since John Paul I only reigned about a month, Cardinal Wojtlya chose John Paul II for himself.

Since this was about the time of the original Star Wars, and little round headed droids, The Pope's "name" around our Detroit TV newsroom was J2P2.

The question's pretty much been answered but like royalty, the reigning monarch (or Pope) can choose his name by which he is to be known as Supreme Pontiff.

Which is why Prince Charles has four different names to choose from: Charles Philip Arthur George. He could also pick a totally different name. (Prince William's given names are William Arthur Philip Louis, and Prince Henry ('Harry') is Henry Charles Albert David.)

A sad day for the Catholic Church. May he rest in peace.

I'm all for a Pope John Paul George. And when we get to Pope John Paul George Ringo the Church will be rockin'.

There was an article in the Des Moines Register yesterday that quoted a pastor saying "we are losing our connection between Heaven and Earth"... I think he needs to reread his bible where there's this story about this Jesus guy who come down from Heaven to Earth...

Cute, but not original. That came up almost immediately when John Paul I chose his name.

And one of the Beatles even wore white on Abby Road.

Deep.

There was a small memorial set up in the Boston Commons, at the monument commemorating the Pope's visit to Boston in the late 70s. It's actually quite a touching scene to see people walk over, say a prayer and pay their respects.

the media is starting to irk me a bit with "will Italy win the papacy back?"

...this is a religious leader, not some sports trophy!!!

I guess that's fair, but it was already a discussion here on GC before the Pope died.

It seems to be something people are interested in.

but ours was more a discussion and speculation. Turn on the TV- Any minute now I'm expecting there to be a list of odds and a "point spread" on the cardinals considered to be papabili.

It has happened. An internet site based in Ireland is already taking bets and have posted the odds on who will be the next pope.

my co-worker thinks they should elect a black pope or one from a developing country. i think it would be awesome, but i dont know if everyone is ready of that yet.

i remember when the pope came to harlem. i mean, he drove throught really fast but i did get to see him.

bless him!

I can't remember what his name is, but there is a black cardinal (or bishop?) in the running. But he's in his early 70s, which may pose a longevity problem. Of course, the others in the "running" are in their late 60s, early 70s, as well. So who knows. It would still be interesting to see and wait for the Conclave to end. The new pope will have his work cut out for him though. My parish is already feeling the affects of the lack of Catholic Priests.

I remember when the pope came here to Chicago in the late 70s. I think they closed the schools because that's the only reason I would be at home. I was sleep and I heard my Grandmother scream " The Pope is coming down Garfield Boulevard". As she was saying that, she was grabbing her coat. My neighborhood is mostly baptists but people came pouring out of their homes to catch a glimpse of him. She was able to take some really nice pictures of him. He was such a sweet man. A coworker asked me why was I upset about the pope's death because I'm baptist. He just didn't realize you did not have to be catholic to love the pope. HE will be sorely missed and I hope they don't elect someone they think will be another version of him. You can't fill his shoes.

For what it's worth...

"Among those whose names have been touted as likely candidates, one of the strongest Italian entries is Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, who heads the Milan archdiocese, one of the world's largest.

Several Latin American cardinals are also considered strong contenders, including Oscar Andre Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Claudio Hummes of Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Dario Castrillon Hoyos of Colombia. Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria has been mentioned as a candidate to be the first African pope, and Christoph Schoenborn, archbishop of Vienna, is also on many informal lists."

By RICHARD N. OSTLING, AP Religion Writer

NEW YORK - More than a third of the College of Cardinals won't be balloting for the next pope.

Pope John Paul II's 1996 decree that set out the rules for papal elections retained a radical change — initiated by Paul VI in 1967 — that bars all cardinals who have reached age 80 from the conclave.
The college currently consists of 117 men with voting rights and 66 who are too old. Ecuador's Antonio Gonzalez Zumarraga just missed out; he reached the limit March 18.
Significantly, 19 nonvoters are Italians, compared with 20 of the electors. If the old rules were still in place that might have helped Italy regain the papacy. There are four nonvoting Brazilians and four Poles. All other nations have one or two.
The older cardinals are allowed to participate in the "general congregations" — the daily meetings of the college before the conclave — and so they may be able to influence the thinking of their under-80 colleagues. But that's all.
The two overage American cardinals are Avery Dulles of New York's Fordham University, the first U.S. theologian honored with a red hat, and Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, who will remain home and is not giving interviews.
Dulles said he'll arrive in Rome on Thursday and attend the general congregations.
"Being somewhat of a coward, I guess I'm just as glad not to have that weight on my shoulders and entrust that task to others," Dulles said.
Dulles says he won't be "campaigning for anybody," but might mention more general concerns if they aren't raised by others.
He thinks the church "needs somebody with a very wide horizon of the global situation of the church" but is simultaneously "familiar with the Roman scene," knows the Vatican Curia and speaks Italian. Somebody like John Paul II, for instance.

I did not know this. It should make for in interesting outcome to the papal elections.

wow! 2 million plus waiting to see the pope. i am off friday so i might just watch the funeral if it on.

OK, I don't know if this squicks anyone else out, but can we please stop with the photos (on the front page of the paper no less) of the Pope LYING IN STATE??

Yes, I know he's going to be seen by gajillions of people, but it's one thing to view someone in real life and another to see a photo. Yuk!

You might be thinking of Francis Arinze of Nigeria.

A lot of the conventional wisdom is that an older person will be chosen so as not to have two long papacies back-to-back.

I guess they don't believe in makeup either.

A co-worker and I were talking about this yesterday. It's even one thing to have a distant photo, but they've been plastering up close face shots all over the news web sites and TV and I'm "squicked" out by it too (is that really a word?).

Wait until all the people viewing him realize that he wasn't embalmed either...

You're not familiar with the verb conjugation "to squick?"

Actually, the pictures don't bother me except to the extent of how much aging has occurred. He doesn't look like the Pope that I want to remember.

I'm guessing it's a Catholic thing.

I've been to many a Catholic funeral and it's always been open casket for the viewing.

It used to be common to photograph a deceased in their casket surrounded by flowers. I see nothing wrong with it at all.

Separation of church and state, what??

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe...ain/index.html

"The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd," U.S. President George Bush said at the White House, with his wife, Laura, standing alongside him. "The world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home.

"We will always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who became one of history's great moral leaders."

Bush ordered the U.S. flags at all federal buildings and facilities to be flown at half-staff until sunset on the day of the pope's interment.


Why is our federal government mourning his death in the same way we honor our leaders. Anyone else have thoughts on this? Or know what past occasions of world religious/political leaders' deaths resulted in US flags being flown half-staff?
When President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo died in February did we fly our flag at half staff?
When Arafat died did we fly our flag at half staff?
When Mother Theresa died did we fly our flag at half staff?

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/id274.htm
No love lost for John Paul
Tommi Avicolli Mecca

Sunday, April 3, 2005

The media is holding a love feast for Pope John Paul II.

Without even a pretense at objective reporting, the stories in the
mainstream media paint a picture of this pope as "a man of the people."
Some mention his more controversial actions in passing, such as his
crushing of the Liberation Theology movement in Latin America and his
lifelong promotion of anti-gay bigotry, as if they were insignificant
moments in a sterling life of sacrifice and compassion.

John Paul II was not a man of the people. Unless you remove queers from the
definition of people. John Paul II considered queers as immoral and
"innately sinful." Under his watch, his church continued instilling young
people with homophobia and young queers with self hatred. How well I
remember that homophobia and self hatred from my 12 years in Catholic school.

John Paul II was staunchly anti-gay. In his 1986 Vatican letter to bishops,
"The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons" the pope condemned Catholics who
would give even the hint of support to organizations that supported queer
sex. The letter also implied that homosexuality was a mental illness, and
that queers were responsible for the AIDS epidemic. That's why he later did
a photo op right here in San Francisco not with a gay man with AIDS but
with a four-year-old who contracted the disease through a blood
transfusion. In 1992, the Vatican made no bones about telling bishops they
had to oppose gay rights legislation, without any exceptions. He never
recanted those positions.

In the final months of his life, he spoke out frequently against gay
marriage and its alleged threat to the heterosexual institution of the
family. In his newly published Memory and Identity, he described queer
coupledom in language befitting a fundamentalist preacher: "It is
legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a
new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to
pit human rights against the family and against man." Gay marriage may be
part of a desire to assimilate to heterosexual standards, but hardly an
"ideology of evil!"

John Paul II came to the papal throne 26 years ago from a tumultuous time
and an equally tumultuous place. His country was over run by the Nazis, and
later by the Russians. About the time he ascended the papal throne, the
Solidarity movement ignited a new battle against Communist domination.
Coming from that country, John Paul II should've brought a lot of
understanding about human oppression to his position as the world's most
powerful religious leader. He talked a good show about human rights, that's
for sure.

But those human rights didn't extend to everyone.

He could've done what his own church's spiritual leader had done: embraced
the outcast with compassion.

It is said that Jesus refused to judge the prostitute. According to the
church's own teachings, he preached a gospel of love and forgiveness. John
Paul II didn't. He spent his life condemning homos and other sexual
outlaws, as well as denying women the right to abortion and Catholics any
sexual -- expression outside of procreative sex.

When all is said and done, he was just another in a long line of religious
leaders in a church that is responsible for some of the history's most
well-known human rights violations, including the Children's Crusade that
saw the slaughter or sale into slavery and prostitution of thousands of
young people; the Inquisition which drove Jews and other "heretics" out of
Spain; the witch burnings, which took the lives of countless numbers of
women and homos who were used as kindling for the fires, hence the term
"faggot;" and the slaughter of so many indigenous peoples here in the new
world, an act of genocide done in the name of Holy Mother Church. Then
there was Pius XII's inaction against the Nazis.

The history of Catholicism is not a pretty tale.

John Paul II could've made a difference. He could've brought his church
into the 21st century. He could've brought some light into its long dark
history. Instead, as far as queers are concerned, it was business as usual.

Don't ask me to celebrate that shameful legacy.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a southern Italian ex-Roman Catholic turned atheist
who believes that the Vatican's vast collection of art and treasures could
feed and house every starving person in the world. Email Tommi Avicolli
Mecca at meccacarta@aol.com.

Much of the world is grieving. Open your eyes and make your point at a time when people are willing to listen.

Put your agenda in your pocket for a few days.

To many, the Pope is much like a family member. You wouldn't attack somebody's grandfather when he had just passed away.

Methodists and several branches of Lutherans do this too.

I have a lot of Protestant friends. :p