New Pope
 

A new pope has been named:
Pope Benidict XVI (Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany)

Boo! Boo! why why a hard-core conservative?? that's the last thing we need! boo!!! at least he's old so he cant live that long...

I was pleased to see that they have concluded the conclave. I watched the news last night and they did a little story about him, since he was the dean of the conclave.

I'm not catholic, but an advocate for adhering to doctrine, so this will be interesting to watch.

I am simply ECSTATIC Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope! He will be wonderful!! I can't wait to have the chance to meet him this August at World Youth Day!!

Sarah

P.S. Because this has to be said. . . .If you knew ANYTHING about the Catholic Faith you would KNOW that it is what secular society considers 'caonservative' and many of the items the secular world feels ought be changed about the Catholic Church, She does not have the power to change even if she wanted to!

I have a co-worker from the same town the new Pope is from. It will be interesting to get her views on him.

I'm not Catholic but I do have reservations about some of the things that I've heard in the media so far...like he doesn't seem to be very open minded about possible yet says he is for civil rights???

man, the tv station i was watching was listing a bunch of choices he had for his name, and i was so bummed he didn't choose "Pius XIII".
i now have to make a band by that name. it's too awesome.

This is the man who, as a cardinal, said that John Kerry and other abortion supporters should be denied Communion. I've heard he's made other radical statements but I haven't had as much time to look into them.

I'm not thrilled and he wasn't my first choice pope, but I'm not in charge of electing one.

Well you are NOT going to find a Pope that supports abortion or anything like that...

I really know nothing about Pope Benedict and i'm not Catholic, but I'm just glad we have a new Pope. I'm just hoping as good as John Paul II was...in regards to going out and touching so many lives.

I'm Catholic. I know that. There's a lot of other religious figures who don't say that Kerry voters should be excommunicated, though.

It doesn't seem that his ideas are very radical at all. Especially, not within the boundaries of Catholic doctrine.

To American Catholicism, they are. We've always been kind of a unique snowflake. I've also been raised as an extremely progressive and ecumenical Catholic. Of course doctrine shouldn't shift with the wind and most laity do expect the church to stand strong against moral relativism - but to me personally, Catholicism has never been about ostracizing those who don't have the moral backbone of Christ. It's about realizing that we're imperfect and striving to be better.

I'm actually very disturbed with some of his views on academic freedom at Catholic universities. I think that most Catholics today, let alone others, aren't familiar with what transpired at my own university, particularly with Daniel McGuire, with regards to this.

As Americans we've always been a unique kind of snowflake. With regards to the Catholic Faith, there is NOTHING that can be changed with regards to moral teachings. Support abortion (even by not doing anything to stop it) that is a sin. Support the death penalty or euthanasia, those are sins as well. etc.

On a side note, people who have been excommunicated CAN be welcomed back into the Church - and all offenses do not warrent excommunication.

Oh, and with regards to American 'Catholic' colleges and universities - to say you are Catholic and basically go against the teachings of the Church doesn't make any sense (I could tell you stories about my religious ed classes at St Norberts!!). If you are going to say you are Catholic then you need to BE Catholic (same with people) . . . .

Sarah

McGuire was a priest. He left the priesthood and married a nun.

And if they were both released from their vows then great. If not, then. . . .


I still stand behind my Catholic vs. "Catholic" university/college argument ;)

That's kind of what I thought too. They don't call it "Catholic guilt" for nothing.

But then again, how can I repent for something I haven't done (or the reverse of that) or something I don't believe is a sin?

I don't think abortion is a great idea, but weighing in the terms of keeping it legal or banning it; I don't think that type of opinion is something that should have me excommunicated/denied communion, etc.

Actually by not standing up against the killing of babies you are committing a sin (sin of ommission) - basically an accomplice to murder if you will and that is one of the 10 Commandments. In other words it is not a gray area at all and your statement is a case of moral relativism.

Being a Catholic is a lot more than JUST living the word of Jesus, going to Mass on Sunday, etc. You can't pick and choose what you believe of the Catholic Faith. You either accept all the teachings of the Catholic Faith or technically you are not Catholic.

Wow! Touchy aren't you. Actually that IS the stance of the Catholic Church. You may not agree with everything, but you still have to follow those Teachings/Dogmas/Truths/etc or, once again, technically you are not Catholic. This can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There is no such thing as a 'cafeteria Catholic' as some people like to put it.

I know that you really don't want to hear this, but knowing what the Church teaches and going against it can be considered a heresy.

I guess most people in this part of the world aren't "really Catholic" as are a handful of missionaries in the developing world who are handing out condoms to AIDS devestated areas.

And those that think that women and married men should be allowed to be ordained because there will be a serious shortage of priests in the US in a matter of a decade.

Of course if the "hardcore Catholics" have another solution to this, I'd gladly listen and share it with my priest, who feels the same way I do.

Actually I prefer to keep my politics and religion separate. I already said I didn't think abortion was great, so I won't get one. I don't monetarily support them (except taxes which I can't control anyway). I know there are other and better alternatives out there than abortion and would recommend them to anyone. But politically, I'm pro-choice because banning it won't make it disappear instantly and then we go back to wire hangers and more women dying due to faulty clinics. So you may as well keep it safer for those that aren't Catholic/pro-life/etc and let them deal with God when they get to the pearly gates.

I didn't want to turn this into this type of debate, but like PMMama said, who are you to judge?

Actually, there really is NOT a shortage of priests in the world at all - seriously (and this is after having a discussion with a number of priests I work with). You will actually not have priests that are allowed to marry or married deacons being ordained. You will NEVER have women being ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Actually, you may not like it because I'm not agreeing with you, I am actually loving you more than you know.

A quick question back at you. . . .what you think about ANY Catholic who has sex outside of marriage, attends Mass on Sundays, wears a cross, reads the Bible, etc? This IS the same issue and receives the same amount of prayers.

THAT is truly loving your neighbor.

Well then send them to Sacramento, because in 10-25 years we will have a total of about 30 for 92 parishes.

I've noticed a number of GCers lately who like to make absolute statements like "___ will NEVER happen" etc. I'd just like to know who your psychics are and what brand of crystal ball you use. Because NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. Never say never.

Who said anything about judging, other than PMMama? There is a BIG line between educating and judging. Did I EVERY say that ANYONE is going to Hell, excommunicated, etc? NO - nor was it ever implied on my part.

To say that you are pro-choice is considered a sin of ommission (this IS a fact) because you are not doing anything to stop the killing of babies - and would YOU like to justify your stance to Jesus when YOU get to the pearly gates? No, abortions will not stop overnight - they have been going on for millenia. But that does not make them morally right. You actually CANNOT separate your religion from politics. Your religious background formed your moral code. You cannot TRULY separate your religion from politics like you cannot TRULY separate your right hand from your left - they are still connected until you cut one off completely.

When dealing the absolute truths, they will never happen. Unless Jesus comes down and changes these things himself, they WILL NEVER HAPPEN - and then we will be at a point where it really doesn't matter any more, will we?

And then there is an issue with promoting and fostering vocations. God has the Call out and people have to be open to listening to that Call.

I'm just saying that you're coming off very authoritative. Last time I checked, you weren't a church official. So you're in no place to be telling people that they're not really Catholics and telling them what they're to think or believe.

How on earth do you know that priests will never be able to marry and that women will never be able to become priests? You don't. A lot of things have changed in this world over the past 2000 years and they will continue to change.

Take a step back. You're not the pope. I recognize your knowledge of the church but chill the heck out!

Actually, I'm not upset. You don't know my role in the Church, you don't even know me.

As far as things changing, once again, the issue of married and women priests are not items that will be changing unless God comes down and changes them himself because those are issues that the Church does not have the power to change her stance on.

Beryana, you still never know how the church is going to change. I'm sure many years ago, people were saying that the church will NEVER hold mass in any language other than Latin. My mother went to a Catholic high school in the 60s and remembered monthly full masses and having to memorize the service because she didn't fully understand everything. I also understand that years ago, babies were supposed to be baptized by their eighth day, but that is certainly not true now.

And btw, what is your role in the church if you don't mind us asking?

What is your role in the Church? If you don't want to answer, please forgive my nosiness. You just seem to know a lot more about Catholicism and the Church than most lay people. :)

I'm not sure if God really cares if women can be priests or not because the many Protestant faiths ordain women. Protestant and (most?) Eastern Orthodox priests are also allowed to marry. Last time I checked, Christians believed in ONE GOD, and everyone is treated equally. Why would God treat Roman Catholics one way, Orthodox another and the various Protestant denominations yet another way? THINK ABOUT IT!

I'm sure a lot of people didn't think Vatican II would happen either but it did.

And when God asks me to explain my life to him on judgment day, I will have NO problem doing it and will do it with a clear conscience.

And you must be pretty sheltered to claim that there is no shortage of priests. That's pretty much been admitted.

And coming off as all high and mighty doesn't help the Catholic Church one iota. People like you are why people like me have a problem with them. You are no better than the rest of us so stop acting like you are. You're a woman after all. You're basically a second class citizen in the eyes of the church so how can you know what's really going on.

Ditto the curiousness, especially to see what position a WOMAN has in the church. Hell, women can't even be ushers in my church. Let's see, in my church women can be lectors, eucharistic ministers, lead the choir. Outside of the actual ceremony of mass they can teach CCD and i'm assuming can serve on various church boards.

Wondering which of those positions can put a person in a position to lecture all of us and tell us that we're not Catholics. And gives them the inside scoop as to what will happen in the church for the rest of eternity.

Another example of something that changed that many people never thought would: girls can be alter servers..

I agree. A relationship with God is a personal one. I don't need outside sources telling me HOW to be a Catholic and how I'm less of a Catholic then they are because I have slightly different beliefs. I know plenty of Catholics that don't agree with EVERY piece of the doctrine. And I learned from all of them.

And someone else mentioned on another thread that electing people other than unmarried men to priesthood ISN'T doctrine at all. It's policy. But since the Church is a slow mover, it will take some time. But to say it will NEVER happen is unlikely... perhaps not in your lifetime, but when the Church sees that the US is struggling with ordaining priests, they are gonna have to do something.

I promise, not all Catholics are like that.

"I have issues with anyone who treats faith as a burden instead of a blessing. You people don't celebrate your faith; you mourn it." - Dogma

Women can also be nuns.

I really don't think that Beryana was lecturing people or being holier than though. I think that she was stating the Catholic Church's policies and teachings.