Habemus Papam ...

[n_v]

New pope elected ...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20050419/ap_on_re_eu/pope

Wonder who it is. May in fact be the German.

 

[n_v]

The German Ratzinger is pope

 

[wildchilds]

geez n_v was your life in shambles for the past week or so with no pope

Why do they elect these guys who are so farking old 78, we are going have to go through all this papal clap trap coverage again in days? months? a year or so?

 

[Cardinal Fang]

You're gonna go to hell for that Warchilds.

 

[wildchilds]

You're gonna go to hell for that Warchilds.

I just hope hell is like Vegas

 

[james t kirk]

He's an old geezer, so there will be NO change in the Catholic Church.

It will be business as usual.

My guess is is that despite JP2 fading over the last 5 or more years, they weren't quite sure what to do when he finally died, or which direction they want to go. Electing Ratzinger is basically a carbon copy of JP2 in terms of outlook. Essentially they just elected another JP2.

I figure that they figure he's good for another 5 or 10 years during which time they (the cardinals and the church brass) will have time to study where they hell the church is headed. Should it be the status quo (pervert priests and bank scandals) or should it be reform? During the next 5 to 10 years younger men will emerge on both sides of the issues (left and right). Undoubtedly, the politicing has already begun for the next pope.

This guy is just a transition guy.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the factors in the selection of this pope was his anticipated lack of longevity. This reminds me of Pope John Paul I, who lasted only 33 days. His short reign must have been embarrassing and may have been the reason for selecting a fitter pope. I remember there were jokes at that time like, “Which lasts longer, a pope or a wine gum?”

 

[WhaWhaWha]

It could have been worse...

http://fumier.typepad.com/./photos/uncategorized/pope_dickhead_i.JPG

 

[johnhenrygalt]

But the last "transition" guy elected was John XXIII, who in his 6 short years as papa started Vatican II. I'd look for Ratzinger to try something bold to contradict those who consider him a mere place holder.

OTOH maybe they saw that papal deaths and conclaves are great for the tourist business in Rome - not to mention all of the free publicity the Church gets - so they wanted an older pope in order to be able to do this all over again in a few years.

 

[james t kirk]

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the factors in the selection of this pope was his anticipated lack of longevity. This reminds me of Pope John Paul I, who lasted only 33 days. His short reign must have been embarrassing and may have been the reason for selecting a fitter pope. I remember there were jokes at that time like, “Which lasts longer, a pope or a wine gum?”

Actually, if you believe the rumours, JP1 was assisinated.

He was in good health.

He was planning to stem the corruption in the Vatican Bank (one of the richest in the world). He was planning quite an overhaul of the place.

He met with senior vatican officials to discuss who was going to be out, the next morning he was dead, and within 24 hours, he was embalmed.

http://www.tldm.org/news3/johnpaulI.htm

 

[n_v]

Going through this process again too is not good. Creates a sesne of discontinuity. Having said that this pope will last about 5-7 yrs I feel. To show he is not a hardliner or cold he will embrace peace and love. Sad thing is that his messege for peace won't be fully accepted.