The Grand Inquisitor, Pope Gorbachev the Last

[JackRiddler]

That title is not fooling: Ratzinger heads the Office for Enforcement of the Doctrine of the Faithful, which is the direct successor office to the centuries-old Grand Inquisition. He is therefore the leading hardliner, enforcer and book-censor of the Church, and was JP2's right-hand man.

That he was in Hitler Youth as a German of 14 at that time is irrelevant, unless you expect the average 14-year-old to be a revolutionary, and hey, he did subsequently desert. Good for him.

What matters are his close connections to Opus Dei and, most significant, his authorship of the 2000 document that upheld the supremacy of Catholicism and denigrated all non-Christian religions as illusions, with pretty much all non-Christians and most non-Catholics on their way to hell. This was followed by a direct hit on Buddhism as a "selfish" paganism by JP2 himself. Although the Ratzinger document is the most important issued in JP2's reign, none of that was mentioned in all the media coverage until now, with Ratzinger's election.

R. has been an outspokenly conservative force and social-issues hardliner in the politics of Germany (where I first became aware of him many years ago, as I lived there for 14 years) and is quite unpopular there, including among Catholics. The Church democratization movement is strongest in Austria and Germany, and he is its chief enemy. Many high officials and intellectuals of the German Catholic church spoke out against his nomination last week, but this went completely unnoticed outside the German-language press.

Knowing all this, and knowing the situation of the Church and among the Cardinals of whom he was the speaker (2/3 appointed by JP2 and a very conservative lot), I called Ratzinger as the new Pope weeks ago in this very space. Do I get a prize?

[Hardrada]

1. You will get a reward

Report immediately to the Holy Office!

[jean]

2. ::dingdingding:: John Paul II made sure you'd receive your due - (pix)

Saint Benedict Holy Water
http://www.discountcatholicstore.com/holy_water_bottles.htm

[JDPriestly]

3. His Irrelevancy,

The Catholic Church has become more and more irrelevant since Martin Luther first posted his theses. This is a final blow to its influence in the world. I am not a Catholic, but I respected Pope John Paul's loving positions on many issues, while disagreeing with him on many others. This Pope does not appear to have the redeeming, endearing qualities of Pope John Paul. This means that many Catholics will continue to go through the motions of their religion, not really able to follow the faith according to Ratzinger but afraid of leaving the church because of its teaching of retribution for disloyalty. This is a real sad day for Catholics everywhere.