Vatican City State: Pope Benedict XVI, January 2006 - February 2013


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We need to pray that the Cardinals will follow Gods will. I will pray for wisdom for them.
 
The pope's first and most important responsibilty is to proclaim and safeguard the Gospel as handed down by Christ and the Apostles over the last two thousand years.

Those same Gospels were written by men, translated/mistranslated, added to and removed from versions of the Bible over centuries. One wonders if any of the Apostles or even Jesus himself would recognize what is preached from the pulpits todays as the word of God.
 
Those same Gospels were written by men, translated/mistranslated, added to and removed from versions of the Bible over centuries. One wonders if any of the Apostles or even Jesus himself would recognize what is preached from the pulpits todays as the word of God.

Agreed and enthusiastically seconded.

I have great respect for a lot of the ideas present in Catholic theology- I was raised Catholic and I think some of the ideas I was raised with are absolutely beautiful. But honestly? I don't see Jesus in anything that excludes people based on gender or sexual orientation and I don't see Jesus in most conservative social view points.

I see Jesus in love, compassion and acceptance for others. I hope the next pope will be more concerned with that goal than in preserving outdated and exclusionary church policies.
 
Well of course not. A woman as Christs Vicar on Earth!! Silly you. A womans place in The Vatican is as maid, cleaner or cook, not preaching the word of God.:whistling:
I wonder if the Christianity had become as successful as it did if it hadn't been for the faith and work of all those women living during the first and second centuries that are metioned in the New Testament?
 
:previous:

There's none other belief or philisophy that praises the woman as the Catholic Church does. Mary is God's mother, and the most praised Saint :)
 
My heart, prayers and toughts are with our Pope and the Cardinals!
God Bless Benedict XVI for all he've done!
Some say he was not as popular as John Paul II, or he couldn't find the youth, but it's not true. He touched our souls and was our sheperd.
I was one of the 2 millions in Madrid 2 years ago, it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. While life and society bring you down every day, it brought me to be a better version of myself, to enjoy and cherish life, to fight and love and to believe. I'm Generation BXVI, and I'm proud of it!

God bless you Father! :flowers:
 
A beautiful but somewhat eerie picture of a lightening striking St. Peter's Basilica soon after the Pope announced his resignation.
 
Oh my....I never realized Pope's could retire, but if he feels it's his time to retire then god bless him and all the praise to him.
 
Oh my....I never realized Pope's could retire, but if he feels it's his time to retire then god bless him and all the praise to him.

Yes,I was also very upset because you expect them to do their duty until death is taking him away,but as far as I know it only happened 2 times that a pope resigned.
 
I can't help wondering whether Benedict is terribly ill?
It's almost unheard of for a pope to resign., hasn't happened in centuries.
 
As a descendant on my mother's side of many generation of Irish Catholics, I would like to see Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan elected Pope. I think he would be very good at it, but I would not want to pray for it, because of St. Malachy's prophecy that the next pope will be the last pope, and that under his pontificate the church will be attacked violently from within and without. Not a happy situation. Malachy referred to the next pope as Peter the Roman, and some have said the black African cardinal is a "Peter", but "Peter" is often used as simply a synonym for the successor of St. Peter. "The Roman" might be a more telling designation...the return to an Italian pope. I don't know if St. Malachy was right (he prophesied in the Middle Ages) but you will hear a LOT about his prophecy in the coming days and weeks.
Many Catholics believe in this prophecy and expect the Church to collapse from within, although there will be islands of faith everywhere. I am not now a Catholic but I have sympathy for and feel unity with Catholics.

Archbishop Dolan would be an incredibly polarizing choice. He's chosen to make himself a vocal advocate for conservatives in America and his criticism of sexual abuse survivors is unconscionable- he called one victim's group phonies and there were reports he paid some priests accused of sexual abuse to leave the priesthood and did not report them to the authorities.

I think he's out of the running entirely based on his actions over the past ten years.
 
To me Pope Benedict looked quite healthy when I´ve seen him 2 yrs ago,but a friend of mine who is very involved in the Catholic church as a laymen said he has seemed quite exhausted last time he´s seen him.
 
:previous:

There's none other belief or philisophy that praises the woman as the Catholic Church does. Mary is God's mother, and the most praised Saint :)

And I second that, dear Blue.;)

That one woman was and is exalted more than any man could ever hope to be...priest, Cardinal, Bishop or Pope.

I read somewhere a few years ago that the Pope who succeeds Benedict XVI will live to see the end of time as we humans on Earth understand it. It wouldn't surprise me a bit...one glimpse at the Book of Revelation pretty much describes the world as we are living it.

Again, all my prayers will be with the College of Cardinals as they make their decision.
 
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And I second that, dear Blue.;)

That one woman was and is exalted more than any man could ever hope to be...priest, Cardinal, Bishop or Pope.

And yet women are still seen as unfit to be leaders in the church and are forbidden from performing sacraments. Honestly, the reverence for Mary is one of the things I find most fascinating and compelling about Catholic theology, but the fact that it doesn't translate into any route for a woman to lead in the church frustrates me.

The reason I am no longer a practicing Catholic is because of a deep discontent with the roles of women in the church. As a little girl, I actually wanted to be a priest before I learned it wasn't possible. I was one of the first girls to be an altar server in the church I was raised in.

To me, this one issue- this is something the church desperately needs to modernize on to retain relevance going forward, and I hope so very much that whoever the new pope is will be sympathetic to the idea of women being church leaders.

I think that probably won't be the case though. The list of predicted candidates isn't looking good as far as reformation goes.
 
HRHHermione, I am sorry that you were not able to realize your dream of being a priest. I keep hearing about this burning zeal that so many Catholic women have to serve as priests and I can honestly say I have never personally known even one. I have only read about them. My feeling is that women can be leaders in the Church and they are. In history they have founded great religious orders and been Doctors of the Church, and up to our present day they serve AND lead by teaching and instructing. Yet some feel the ordination of women priests is a dealbreaker, that they can't be truly relevant unless they are priests and will even abandon the Church and it's Sacraments over it.

I feel badly for these people, but quite frankly and honestly I can't relate.

I feel more strongly that the Church re-examine it's discipline of celibacy for the priesthood, and also the ban on artificial birth control.

Mariel, the Roman Catholic Church is already being attacked from within. Wicked priests, bishops and religious, and apostate members are in my opinion doing more damage than anything outside it could ever accomplish.

The Book of Revelation is a sobering read. It's coming to pass word for chilling word.
 
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Archbishop Dolan would be an incredibly polarizing choice. He's chosen to make himself a vocal advocate for conservatives in America and his criticism of sexual abuse survivors is unconscionable- he called one victim's group phonies and there were reports he paid some priests accused of sexual abuse to leave the priesthood and did not report them to the authorities.

I think he's out of the running entirely based on his actions over the past ten years.

I agree. I shuddered at the mere thought that his election was even a possibility.
 
HRHHermione, I am sorry that you were not able to realize your dream of being a priest. I keep hearing about this burning zeal that so many Catholic women have to serve as priests and I can honestly say I have never personally known even one. I have only read about them. My feeling is that women can be leaders in the Church and they are. In history they have founded great religious orders and been Doctors of the Church, and up to our present day they serve AND lead by teaching and instructing. Yet some feel the ordination of women priests is a dealbreaker, that they can't be truly relevant unless they are priests and will even abandon the Church and it's Sacraments over it.

I feel badly for these people, but quite frankly and honestly I can't relate.

I feel more strongly that the Church re-examine it's discipline of celibacy for the priesthood, and also the ban on artificial birth control.

It's not a life I would choose for myself today :) Just something I wanted as a little girl. I think there are probably a lot of little girls that grow up Catholic and feel a bit weird when they recognize that there are a lot of things in the church women aren't allowed to do. It's not about going through with that as a career- it's about what it does to your faith to realize you're considered second-class.

Like you, I feel just as strongly about the need for the church to re-examine celibacy for the priesthood and to re-examine its thoughts on birth control, also to stay relevant. I really wouldn't mind returning to the church one day and hope that eventually it becomes an institution I'd be interested in being a part of. I just don't see it happening any time soon.

This is definitely an opportunity for some much needed change though.
 
I don't want to the Church to re-examine celibacy or birth control for the sake of staying "relevant".

I'd like to see it done because there is no basis for it in Scripture or Sacred Traditon, that's all.
 
So if the pope is retiring, then who's going to take his place as the next pope?

As its always been, there will be a conclave of Cardinals locked into the Sistine Chapel and they will elect a new Pope. They take ballots and if one sees black smoke come out of the chimney, one hasn't been elected yet. When you see the white smoke, its a sign that there is a newly elected Pope.

"The conclave must begin between 15 and 20 days after Benedict's resignation, according to the Associated Press. Eligible cardinals under the age of 80 will place their votes in secret at the Sistine Chapel. Two votes are held each morning and two each afternoon until a new pope is chosen. The ballots are burned after each round. Black smoke means no new pope has been selected, and white smoke means someone has been selected."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...d=maing-grid7|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk3&pLid=269043

Its a very old and very traditional way of selecting a new Pontiff.
 
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Oddest question I was asked today, and this from a person who says they are Roman Catholic "So with the Pope resigning does that mean his son will succeed him as Pope". While I am sure there is probably some historical precedence, that really would be a BIG story today LOL.
 
Oddest question I was asked today, and this from a person who says they are Roman Catholic "So with the Pope resigning does that mean his son will succeed him as Pope". While I am sure there is probably some historical precedence, that really would be a BIG story today LOL.

That's hilarious. Someone clearly slept through all of their catechism classes.
 
I knew about the conclave of Cardinals, I was just curious who they might choose as the new pope
 
There were sons many moons ago who suceeded their fathers. That is where the touble began. The Bible has much wisdom, but it, also, was written a long time ago and things, as we have evolved. As Catholics pick and chose their portions to, believe, as other do, too. It is time to come into the 21st Century and beome a church of real people, who live, today.
 
That's hilarious. Someone clearly slept through all of their catechism classes.
Either that or they thought the Dan Brown book "Angels & Demons" was fact and not fiction. If I recall correctly in the book the young Camarlengo was the popes natural child by artificial insemination....and almost made it to the papal throne:lol:
 
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