The Pope is really old

[Botany]

Why on earth did the



elect such an old man? Do they want an other big

?

It makes no

.

[Breeze54]

1. He looked pretty spry to me, running down the stairs off the plane

after he landed in DC. What's age got to do with anything, if he isn't senile or terribly ill?

All "old" people should just be ignored due to a number? :shrug:

[Botany]

3. He looks pretty fragile to me.

But you might be right .....
and if my attempt @ humor hurt your feelings I am sorry.

[Breeze54]

5. Why would you have hurt my feelings? I'm not the Pope!

:P

Apologize to him!!

[Botany]

6. The pope benny posts on D.U.?

:rofl:

[Junkdrawer]

2. Because

Ratzinger picked almost all the

[joeybee12]

4. I think he was a "compromise" pope in that the right wing nut side of the

College of Cardinals wanted someone reactionary, and the sane side wanted someone progressive who could bring the Catholic Church into about the 17th century (which would be progress from the Dark Ages). The sane side saw they weren't going to win, but chose a nut job, but an old nut job who wouldn't be around long so that they could battle again for a progressive fairly soon.

[Breeze54]

7. At least he knows the differnce between 'pedofiles' and "homosexuals'...

Seems somewhat progressive saying that, to me and he did, after all, meet with some sexual abuse victims.

I think he's trying to reach out.

[joeybee12]

9. He's still virulently homophobic...

...haven't seen a change in that yet. What I will give him credit for is being against the Iraq war.

[Junkdrawer]

10. He also helped elect Bush...

Holy warriors

Cardinal Ratzinger handed Bush the presidency by tipping the Catholic vote. Can American democracy survive their shared medieval vision?

President Bush treated his final visit with Pope John Paul II in Vatican City on June 4, 2004, as a campaign stop. After enduring a public rebuke from the pope about the Iraq war, Bush lobbied Vatican officials to help him win the election. "Not all the American bishops are with me," he complained, according to the National Catholic Reporter. He pleaded with the Vatican to pressure the bishops to step up their activism against abortion and gay marriage in the states during the campaign season.

About a week later, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a "grave sin" and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" -- an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to "refuse to distribute it." Any Catholic who voted for this "Catholic politician," he continued, "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with "evil."

...

http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/blumenthal/2005/04/21/tk/

[Breeze54]

13. I don't believe that for a second... the elections were stolen.

There have always been Catholics against a woman's right to choose, that's not new and many
Catholics do not practice that or agree with that at all and I suspect vote against that RW BS!

[Junkdrawer]

16. Do you deny that Ratzinger TRIED to swing the Catholic vote to Bush?

At the very least he provided cover...

[Breeze54]

17. YES!! Pope Benedict XVI, was elected pope in April 2005 !!

He wasn't even in the picture in 2000 or 2004!! :P

[Junkdrawer]

19. So...Ratzinger died when Pope Benedict XVI was born...

Is this another Transubstantiation Miracle? :shrug:

[Breeze54]

21. I have no idea what you are talking about

Benedict wasn't Pope when the US last had presidential elections

[Junkdrawer]

23. Read the Salon article....Then Cardinal Ratzinger sent a letter...a VERY effective letter...

...

About a week later, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the U.S. bishops, pronouncing that those Catholics who were pro-choice on abortion were committing a "grave sin" and must be denied Communion. He pointedly mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" -- an obvious reference to John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a Roman Catholic. If such a Catholic politician sought Communion, Ratzinger wrote, priests must be ordered to "refuse to distribute it." Any Catholic who voted for this "Catholic politician," he continued, "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." During the closing weeks of the campaign, a pastoral letter was read from pulpits in Catholic churches repeating the ominous suggestion of excommunication. Voting for the Democrat was nothing less than consorting with the forces of Satan, collaboration with "evil."

In 2004 Bush increased his margin of Catholic support by 6 points from the 2000 election, rising from 46 to 52 percent. Without this shift, Kerry would have had a popular majority of a million votes. Three states -- Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico -- moved into Bush's column on the votes of the Catholic "faithful." Even with his atmospherics of terrorism and Sept. 11, Bush required the benediction of the Holy See as his saving grace. The key to his kingdom was turned by Cardinal Ratzinger.

....

[hlthe2b]

26. Breeze, you do realize that Cardinal Ratzinger was pulling the

strings (eh, er, the chief advisor and aide) to Pope John Paul II during his last years of life.

[Breeze54]

29. The US Selections of '00 & '04 were stolen by the RW

I do not think/believe that Ratzinger (sp?) had any more influence than Santa Claus.
Did he share his conservative opinions with *? That's what I've read but the pope and
many other religious figures also did the same. I don't think the pope has that much
power myself, but you can think what you want.

[hlthe2b]

30. I too believe the 00 and 04 elections to be stolen.. That is not the

point... I'm merely pointing out (like another poster upstream) that Ratzinger did not just appear on the scene with his papacy. He has been behind much of the most devious and regressionist policies of JPII's latter years, including the pedophile coverup and the policy of going after liberal Catholic politicians in the US and Italy with denial of communion.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. Do you know that he was behind the cover-up for the child sexual abuse?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/24/children.childprotection


Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry

Confidential letter reveals Ratzinger ordered bishops to keep allegations secret

Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had 'obstructed justice' after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.

The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001.

It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as John Paul II's successor last week.

Lawyers acting for abuse victims claim it was designed to prevent the allegations from becoming public knowledge or being investigated by the police. They accuse Ratzinger of committing a 'clear obstruction of justice'.

The letter, 'concerning very grave sins', was sent from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that once presided over the Inquisition and was overseen by Ratzinger.

It spells out to bishops the church's position on a number of matters ranging from celebrating the eucharist with a non-Catholic to sexual abuse by a cleric 'with a minor below the age of 18 years'. Ratzinger's letter states that the church can claim jurisdiction in cases where abuse has been 'perpetrated with a minor by a cleric'.

Continued at above link

[hlthe2b]

15. EXACTLY... It slays me that he is getting credit for his actions now

when HE was the architect and the "enforcer" of the policy of obstruction and "blind eye" that led to the pain of the debacle being compounded for so many.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

24. When he met with the abuse victims he never said anything about his role in the criminal

cover-up, apologizing and asking for their forgiveness for his actions. Meeting with them was just a PR move.

[AngryOldDem]

14. In other words, a "caretaker" Pope....

...much like what they thought they were getting with Pope John XXIII.

Pendulum can swing both ways.

[joeybee12]

18. Yup...that's what I think...

...who knows, he may be from hearty stock and last a long time, which I don't think will be good for progress.

[lisa58]

8. so is McCain

[RB TexLa]

12. There has been a long tradition of following a long serving pope with the election of an older pope

[HereSince1628]

20. Divine inspiration. What else could have guided it?

[classof56]

22. I note that no one else has mentioned your cool graphics, so let me say...

I like 'em. You did a great job and gave me a Sunday morning smile. Thanks!

Tired Old Cynic

[Botany]

25. Thanx

I was going for You-mhrrr.

BTW google Pope Funeral images ... lots of dead Pope
pix ..... I also thought that they got 2 weeks of good
press out of the last funeral ... so they went for an old
Pope this time and just put the "funeral decorations"
in the "hall closet" instead of the attic behind the extra
twin bed.

[classof56]

27. My motto is, in all things, keep your sense of You-mhrr!

I did the google you referenced and yes, indeed, there's a lot of links to dead popes. Now, I'm not a Catholic (lapsed Baptist here) but I have never "gotten" the pope frenzy thing. Last time I attended a mass (with a relative visiting from back East), the priest talked about heresy, and pronounced me a heretic 'cause I didn't buy into the Catholic dogma. Made it clear I was hell-bound. My relative was quite incensed at the sermon, which was good, 'cause I'd hate to think she felt the same way. As in any church, the priest/pastor does not represent the beliefs of all its members, but I think Catholics are pretty much duty-bound to adhere to the tenets of the faith as laid out in their creed and directed by subsequent popes. I agree with your take on Benedict's selection--some sort of interim thing with his replacement waiting in the wings ready to take over. Be interesting to see who it is...

Keep your great graphics and word plays coming. I love 'em!

Tired Old Cynic

[scarletwoman]

28. Nice montage! The funeral angle never occurred to me, but it's an excellent point!

It's so obvious now that you've brought it up.

Pope John Paul II's funeral put the Catholic Church through the ROOF ratings-wise! It was like St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish. That spectacle that had thousands and thousands of people thinking it was tres chic to be Catholic!

What mega multinational corporation like the Church would NOT want to find a way to repeat such a splendid PR coup!

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