New Pope Elected: Benedict XVI

[Strollymonster]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7523254/

I think he's a tad old, but other than that, he should be okay.

[Czar Gato]

God bless him! Benedict XVI will be a strong leader; JPII would be proud.

[Conekiller]

I'm sure he'll be a great pope, but I wish they' could have gone with someone a bit younger or we'll have to go through this ordeal agian in a few years.

But I'm sure the cardinals know what they're doing and may God bless his actions and his life.

[Beat]

My bet is that Father Benedict will be a sort of transitory Pope, and the next one elected will be much younger.

[Shark]

Wow, the first German Pope since the 11th century. He may be old (78), but from what I have read and heard about him, it sounds like the cardinals made a good choice. I think he will be a worthy successor.

[Weatherman]

I can't say some of the statements of his that have been reported in various press outlets are very encouraging, but we'll have to see what kind of path he decides to take.

[Czar Gato]

I can't say some of the statements of his that have been reported in various press outlets are very encouraging, but we'll have to see what kind of path he decides to take. He is a very traditional man, though it is interesting that he took the name Benedict. The last pope to take that name was slightly more moderate than his immediate predecessors were.

[Juu-kuchi]

Well due to his rather close association with John Paul II, I'm sure he'll be able to continue what JPII taught and such. He is rather old at 78, but then again that didn't stop John XXIII from creating Vatican II and such when he was just as old.

I was somewhat rooting for an African pope for some reason (also for the novelty of exclaiming "Holy crap! The Pope... he is black!"), but I congratulate Cardinal Ratzinger for becoming the next pope. Hopefully he will be able to continue moving the church into the 21st century, and to hopefully carry from what John Paul II did before him.

[SirLemming]

Does this mean we can see that Simpsons episode now? :shrug:

[Sailor Chibi Otaku]

And he's the third non-Italian Pope again.

[silverwings]

I've not heard good things about him, but actions will speak louder than words. Should be interesting to see what he does. Going to hard to follow JPII.

[SSJPabs]

As a Protestant Progressive I have a limited stake in this, but it will be interesting to see the reactions and actions that follow.

[fuchikoma]

The religious have longer lifespans than the average person so I doubt he will be a transitory Pope unless he forgets his medication like another Pope. In my lifetime and my children's lifetime I hope a young Pope is never elected since the young are easily swayed by moral relativism. If all the white candidates for Pope become moral relativists then I wouldn't be against having a Pope of color as long as he keeps the papacy conservative.

[Gatomon41]

Yay!

[ToOn~g@l]

YOu know whats crazy is that I heard they elected him when we started History class, so it looks like something good came out of history class today. May his rule be safe and peaceful.

[Ben]

Everyone who's worried about Ratzinger being some kind of super-conservative are ignoring the fact that it was his job to say that stuff as prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. His role was defender of the faith and he did that zealously. Now that he's Pope he can appoint someone else to do that job. I am very happy that the man who John Paul II met with every week and considered one of his closest friends is now the father of the church.

I was somewhat rooting for an African pope for some reason (also for the novelty of exclaiming "Holy crap! The Pope... he is black!")

Well, Arinze is even more conservative (even reactionary), so while the thought of a black Pope is a novelty I'm still glad we have Benedict instead.

[Faethie]

Everyone who's worried about Ratzinger being some kind of super-conservative are ignoring the fact that it was his job to say that stuff as prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. His role was defender of the faith and he did that zealously. Now that he's Pope he can appoint someone else to do that job. I am very happy that the man who John Paul II met with every week and considered one of his closest friends is now the father of the church.what he said!!!
Long Live Pope Benedict XVI!!!!!!

Faith

[tucsoncoyote]

Wow, the first German Pope since the 11th century. He may be old (78), but from what I have read and heard about him, it sounds like the cardinals made a good choice. I think he will be a worthy successor.
It's funny you should mention this.. He was the Odds on favorite in this election, and in fact.. he has a website...(and i guess he's not afraid to use it.)

:coyote:

[Delthayre]

I do wish someone more progressive had been chosen, Benedict XVI's probable continuation of church policies opposing contraception and general orthodoxy aren't likely to do wonders for the influence of Roman Catholicism, and given the increasing African catholic community, discouraging contraception seems all most irresponsible.

Well, I'm just glad that he didn't call himself John Paul III, all though I had been rooting for him to go with Boniface X.

Coincidentally, the name Benedict has a somewhat strange history within the papacy. There was a Benedict XIII, who was an antipope based in Avignon, reigning 1394-1423 during what was called the Great Schism. Because he is not recognized by the Church as an authentic Pope, the real Benedict XIII reigned 1724-1730.

To complicate matters, there was also a Benedict XIV (born Bernard Garnier), who was a counter-antipope, (i.e. he was not even recognized by the original antipopists [or should I say great-schismatics]), and who reigned, or pretended to reign, 1425-1433. He was elected by a conclave, or shall I say, anti-conclave, in Peñíscola, Spain (at the time, Aragon), a city whose name I always thought benefitted from the existence of accents, but I digress.

He is not to be confused with the real Benedict XV, who reigned 1740-1758, and who seems to have been a real scholar (like, apparently, the latest Benedict), admonishing the people in charge of drawing up the Index Librorum Prohibitorum to act with restraint.

[Metroid_spy]

May God bless the new pope, Benedict XVI.

[James]

Everyone who's worried about Ratzinger being some kind of super-conservative are ignoring the fact that it was his job to say that stuff as prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. His role was defender of the faith and he did that zealously. Now that he's Pope he can appoint someone else to do that job. I am very happy that the man who John Paul II met with every week and considered one of his closest friends is now the father of the church. He was doing his job well before he got it. He's been super-conservative for a long time now, long before he was appointed Defender.

I won't lie, I'm sorry, I'm not thrilled. I never felt John Paul was progressive enough, but was very international compared to Pope's prior. Mostly, I felt this was great, sometimes, in the case of Africa, IMO not so great. Nevertheless, he was a progressive force in a church reluctant to look beyond it's past.

However, I hoped to see someone more in tune with world as it is now rather a Pope who fights the reality of the current status quo.

Very disappointed in this choice. Very disappointed indeed. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but at the moment I feel he stands too much for ideology in a world which needs pratcical as well as spiritual guidance.

[Zach Logan]

To quote my friend, "if I were to be pope, I would name myself Awesome I."

[Ben]

Very disappointed in this choice. Very disappointed indeed. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but at the moment I feel he stands too much for ideology in a world which needs pratcical as well as spiritual guidance.

Well, I think if anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it's the man whom the very best men of my church have chosen to lead them. And he doesn't stand for anything yet. He's only been the pope for less than twelve hours. Though what political direction the church takes is important to me, I don't see someone's spiritual quality in terms of their positions on political issues. I have to wait and see.

[Mr. Pedro]

Compared to his predecessor, it's gonna be a mouthful to utter Pope Benedict XVI everytime. It'll take some getting used to.

[Tapout]

Why do they change their names and how do they go about selecting them? I don't know what to put in to Google. That stupid thing keeps giving me completely irrevelant responses.

[Ben]

Why do they change their names and how do they go about selecting them? I don't know what to put in to Google. That stupid thing keeps giving me completely irrevelant responses.

Probably some drinking game involving priceless works of art from the 12th century and flying boogers. But that's just my guess.

[Chad Bonin]

Benedict was my confirmation name... thing...

[Gatomon41]

God bless the pope.

According to a EWTN program I watched, after being elected, the person chosen gets to choose his papal name. Benedict XVI, when he got elected, choose the name Benedict.

Also, have you tried, in quotaion marks, "Pope Benedict XVI" when googling?

[Maxie Zeus]

Why do they change their names and how do they go about selecting them? I don't know what to put in to Google. That stupid thing keeps giving me completely irrevelant responses.

From How the Papacy Works (http://people.howstuffworks.com/papacy3.htm):

As the newly elected pope accepts his new role, it is tradition for him to select a new name. This papal tradition dates to 533 and the election of Pope John II, whose birth name was Mercurius, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Mercurius is derived from Mercury, a pagan Roman god. Believing that a successor of St. Peter should not carry a name belonging to a pagan religion, Mercurius chose to change his name upon his election to honor a previous pope.

While some that followed John II chose to retain their original name, it soon became commonplace for new popes to choose a new moniker. The name change also symbolizes the new life that the new pope is entering as the head of the Catholic Church. Typically, the new pope selects the name of his favorite Saint or a former pope whom he admires.

Coulda been worse. He coulda been "Pope Hilarius II" (http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_hilarius.htm). That would fit in better with Twage's "flying boogers" theory. :D

[Ben]

Coulda been worse. He coulda been "Pope Hilarius II" (http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_hilarius.htm). That would fit in better with Twage's "flying boogers" theory. :D

My only question is, how do Pope biographies fall under "Agnosticism/Atheism?"

[Faethie]

Coulda been worse. He coulda been "Pope Hilarius II" (http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_hilarius.htm). That would fit in better with Twage's "flying boogers" theory. :Dokay, now. That made me laugh big time.
Yah, what I found Ironic is that one of the greater St. Benedicts was the abbot of a monastary who changed the whole monastic life around and made it, well, a bit more strict......
just found that a lil interesting
Faith

[SSJPabs]

I suppose I should add that I am a general proponent of Liberation Theology so I was rooting for the South Americans.

[Maxie Zeus]

My only question is, how do Pope biographies fall under "Agnosticism/Atheism?"

"Know thy enemy"? I dunno. That's just what Google turned up. :D

[Weatherman]

He is a very traditional man, though it is interesting that he took the name Benedict. The last pope to take that name was slightly more moderate than his immediate predecessors were.
One can always hope. His past writings and speaches don't exacly fill me with confidence that he might take a more moderate-leaning path than John Paul II. He doesn't have a whole lot of wiggle room given his past statements, and alot of his statements have really rubbed me the wrong way.

[Style]

The crazy conspiracy guy in me is a little worried.

I was watching a History Channels show on the Apocolypse, and they talked about this Irish prophet who tracked the history of the world through all the forth-coming popes. He did this a thousand years ago.

Anyway, acording to him: Pope John Paul was the third-to-last pope. Pope Benedict is the second-to-last Pope. After him is the last pope, who presides in the Vatican during the end of the world!

Couple this with an ancient Mayan prophecy that puts the end of the world on a certain Saturday in December of 2012, and the age of the new pope, well, disperate prophecies may finally be aligning for the end!

So we only got seven years left starting this December... Wait a second, in Christian faith the last seven years of the earth are the most tumultous in it's history, where between massive natural disasters and the tyranical, murderous reign of the anti-christ, most of the world's population will Die!

*Takes Prozac, calms down* [/nutty rambling] Okay, I'm better now. No need to worry about it folks... probably...

[SSJPabs]

Remember, the Bible says that no one knows the day or the hour except God himself. That the day will come like a "thief in the night." So if you go by the Christian apocalypse (and it seems you do) remember that if everyone THINKS that it will happen in 2012, then its good a bet it will happen some other time. Personally I have no idea when those last days are and since there is really nothing I can do, I'm going to concentrate on other aspects of life than escatology.

[Gatomon41]

The crazy conspiracy guy in me is a little worried.

I was watching a History Channels show on the Apocolypse, and they talked about this Irish prophet who tracked the history of the world through all the forth-coming popes. He did this a thousand years ago.

Yeah, I heard about that too. Relax, the Prosphey of the Popes may or many not be actual prophetcy. There is citicism of it.