Pope to resign Feb. 28, says he's too infirm
- Thread starter Steve williams
- Start date
Hi
Born, raised catholic fiancee is a devoted catholic, most of the family etc.. You get the drift .. Not me, Go through the rituals if invited to catholic functions but far from a Catholic or any religious denomination.
This sets an encouraging precedent. I was tired of seeing a withering human presiding or (supposed to) over the affairs of a congregation of more than a billion. That business of being too frail to even seat down or talk has happened one time too often. These are serious affairs , those of faith and a debilitated person shouldn't be be at the helm. it harks to invisible humans making the decisions with no clear accountability.
Still not a fan of the notion of Pope if you ask me this is however however not germane to the discussion
Born, raised catholic fiancee is a devoted catholic, most of the family etc.. You get the drift .. Not me, Go through the rituals if invited to catholic functions but far from a Catholic or any religious denomination.
This sets an encouraging precedent. I was tired of seeing a withering human presiding or (supposed to) over the affairs of a congregation of more than a billion. That business of being too frail to even seat down or talk has happened one time too often. These are serious affairs , those of faith and a debilitated person shouldn't be be at the helm. it harks to invisible humans making the decisions with no clear accountability.
Still not a fan of the notion of Pope if you ask me this is however however not germane to the discussion
Pope confident his resignation will not hurt Church
By Philip Pullella-Reuters
(Reuters) - A visibly moved Pope Benedict tried to assure his worldwide flock on Wednesday over his stunning decision to become the first pontiff in centuries to resign, saying he was confident that it would not hurt the Church.
The Vatican, meanwhile, announced that a conclave to elect his successor would start sometime between March 15 and March 20, in keeping with Church rules about the timing of such gatherings after the papal see becomes vacant.
"Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future pope," he said in unscripted remarks at the start of his weekly general audience, his first public appearance since his shock decision on Monday that he will step down on February 28.
It was the first time Benedict, 85, who will retire to a convent inside the Vatican, exchanging the splendor of his 16th century Apostolic Palace for a sober modern residence, had uttered the words "future pope" in public.
Church officials are still so stunned by the move that the Vatican experts have yet to decide what his title will be and whether he will continue to wear the white of a pope, the red of a cardinal or the black of an ordinary priest.
His voice sounded strong at the audience but he was clearly moved and his eyes appeared to be watering as he reacted to the thunderous applause in the Vatican's vast, modern audience hall, packed with more than 8,000 people.
In brief remarks in Italian that mirrored those he read in Latin to stunned cardinals on Monday he appeared to try to calm Catholics' fears of the unknown.
He message was that God would continue to guide the Church.
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
"I took this decision in full freedom for the good of the Church after praying for a long time and examining my conscience before God," he said.
He said he was "well aware of the gravity of such an act," but also aware that he no longer had the strength required to run the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, which has been beset by a string of scandals both in Rome and round the world.
Benedict said he was sustained by the "certainty that the Church belongs to Christ, who will never stop guiding it and caring for it" and suggested that the faithful should also feel comforted by this.
He said that he had "felt almost physically" the affection and kindness he had received since he announced the decision.
When Benedict resigned on Monday, the Vatican spokesman said the pontiff did not fear schism in the Church after his decision to step down.
Some 115 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.
Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.
The likelihood that the next pope would be a younger man and perhaps a non-Italian, was increasing, particularly because of the many mishaps caused by Benedict's mostly Italian top aides.
Benedict has been faulted for putting too much power in the hands of his friend, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Critics of Bertone, effectively the Vatican's chief administrator, said he should have prevented some papal mishaps and bureaucratic blunders.
ILL-SERVED POPE
"These scandals, these miscommunications, in many cases were caused by Pope Benedict's own top aides and I think a lot of Catholics around the world think that he was perhaps ill-served by some of the cardinals here," said John Thavis, author of a new book The Vatican Diaries.
Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.
His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.
"When cardinals arrive here for the conclave ... they are going to have this on their mind, they're going to take a good hard look at how Pope Benedict was served, and I think many of them feel that the burden of the papacy that finally weighed so heavy on Benedict was caused in part by some of this in-fighting (among his administration)," Thavis told Reuters.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi urged the faithful to remain confident in the Church and its future.
"Those who may feel a bit disorientated or stunned by this, or have a hard time understanding the Holy Father's decision should look at it in the context of faith and the certainty that Christ will support his Church," Lombardi said.
Lombardi said that on his last day in office, Benedict would receive cardinals in a farewell meeting and after February 28 his ring of office, used to seal official documents, would be destroyed just as if he had died.
Later on Wednesday, an Ash Wednesday Mass that was originally scheduled to have taken place in a small church in Rome, has been moved to St Peter's Basilica so more people can attend.
Unless the Vatican changes the pope's schedule, it will be his last public Mass.
By Philip Pullella-Reuters
(Reuters) - A visibly moved Pope Benedict tried to assure his worldwide flock on Wednesday over his stunning decision to become the first pontiff in centuries to resign, saying he was confident that it would not hurt the Church.
The Vatican, meanwhile, announced that a conclave to elect his successor would start sometime between March 15 and March 20, in keeping with Church rules about the timing of such gatherings after the papal see becomes vacant.
"Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future pope," he said in unscripted remarks at the start of his weekly general audience, his first public appearance since his shock decision on Monday that he will step down on February 28.
It was the first time Benedict, 85, who will retire to a convent inside the Vatican, exchanging the splendor of his 16th century Apostolic Palace for a sober modern residence, had uttered the words "future pope" in public.
Church officials are still so stunned by the move that the Vatican experts have yet to decide what his title will be and whether he will continue to wear the white of a pope, the red of a cardinal or the black of an ordinary priest.
His voice sounded strong at the audience but he was clearly moved and his eyes appeared to be watering as he reacted to the thunderous applause in the Vatican's vast, modern audience hall, packed with more than 8,000 people.
In brief remarks in Italian that mirrored those he read in Latin to stunned cardinals on Monday he appeared to try to calm Catholics' fears of the unknown.
He message was that God would continue to guide the Church.
EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
"I took this decision in full freedom for the good of the Church after praying for a long time and examining my conscience before God," he said.
He said he was "well aware of the gravity of such an act," but also aware that he no longer had the strength required to run the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, which has been beset by a string of scandals both in Rome and round the world.
Benedict said he was sustained by the "certainty that the Church belongs to Christ, who will never stop guiding it and caring for it" and suggested that the faithful should also feel comforted by this.
He said that he had "felt almost physically" the affection and kindness he had received since he announced the decision.
When Benedict resigned on Monday, the Vatican spokesman said the pontiff did not fear schism in the Church after his decision to step down.
Some 115 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.
Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.
The likelihood that the next pope would be a younger man and perhaps a non-Italian, was increasing, particularly because of the many mishaps caused by Benedict's mostly Italian top aides.
Benedict has been faulted for putting too much power in the hands of his friend, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Critics of Bertone, effectively the Vatican's chief administrator, said he should have prevented some papal mishaps and bureaucratic blunders.
ILL-SERVED POPE
"These scandals, these miscommunications, in many cases were caused by Pope Benedict's own top aides and I think a lot of Catholics around the world think that he was perhaps ill-served by some of the cardinals here," said John Thavis, author of a new book The Vatican Diaries.
Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.
His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.
"When cardinals arrive here for the conclave ... they are going to have this on their mind, they're going to take a good hard look at how Pope Benedict was served, and I think many of them feel that the burden of the papacy that finally weighed so heavy on Benedict was caused in part by some of this in-fighting (among his administration)," Thavis told Reuters.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi urged the faithful to remain confident in the Church and its future.
"Those who may feel a bit disorientated or stunned by this, or have a hard time understanding the Holy Father's decision should look at it in the context of faith and the certainty that Christ will support his Church," Lombardi said.
Lombardi said that on his last day in office, Benedict would receive cardinals in a farewell meeting and after February 28 his ring of office, used to seal official documents, would be destroyed just as if he had died.
Later on Wednesday, an Ash Wednesday Mass that was originally scheduled to have taken place in a small church in Rome, has been moved to St Peter's Basilica so more people can attend.
Unless the Vatican changes the pope's schedule, it will be his last public Mass.
So what has Benedict actually achieved in his years presiding over an institution plagued by scandal and corruption and very ill equiped to deal with the realities of the world of the 21st century when he took office? This is not a religeous issue - this is a leadership question.
Indeed, his most competent act of leadership may have been his decision to step down, recognizing his inability to bring positive change (let alone turn around) an antiquated institution.
what's the old saying "that the world's longest journey has to start with the first smallest foot step"
Turns out the African contender for the top job - Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana - has come out in support of the Ugandan "Kill the Gays" bill, which would make gay relations punishable by death.
Meanwhile, our good friend Cardinal Mahoney - relieved off all dutied by Arch bishop Gomez for his role in child abuse cover up - is off to Rome to cast his vote.
Off to a nice start.
Very small steps indeed. Not even sure in which direction the steps are heading....
There's a saying which goes "Go in like a future Pope, remain a Cardinal" or something like that. If this holds true then expect someone not even on the radar to be selected...much like John Paul II.
I hate to say I'm apathetic, but I'm apathetic. I think assuming the role of the pope is somewhat analogous to assuming the presidency of the U.S. without all of the accompanying hyperbole that surrounds our politics. You might take office thinking you are going to create a big change in the status quo only to find out you don't have near the power you thought you did. Steering the Catholic church in a radical new direction might just be analogous to expecting an aircraft carrier to stop and change direction in a nanosecond. It's probably not going to happen no matter who is driving the ship.
I guess nothing is sacred any more.......
Fake bishop caught trying to sneak into Vatican cardinals meeting
http://todaynews.today.com/_news/20...-to-sneak-into-vatican-cardinals-meeting?lite
Fake bishop caught trying to sneak into Vatican cardinals meeting
http://todaynews.today.com/_news/20...-to-sneak-into-vatican-cardinals-meeting?lite
Argentine Jorge Bergoglio elected Pope Francis
NICOLE WINFIELD, AP
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis.
After announcing "Habemus Papum" — "We have a pope!" — a cardinal standing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday revealed the identity of the new pontiff, using his Latin name. Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict XVI — who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years.
The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, overseeing churches and shoe-leather priests.
NICOLE WINFIELD, AP
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Argentine Jorge Bergoglio has been elected pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. He chose the name Pope Francis.
After announcing "Habemus Papum" — "We have a pope!" — a cardinal standing on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday revealed the identity of the new pontiff, using his Latin name. Bergoglio had reportedly finished second in the 2005 conclave that produced Benedict XVI — who last month became the first pope to resign in 600 years.
The 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires has spent nearly his entire career at home in Argentina, overseeing churches and shoe-leather priests.
First Lionel Messi (a devout Catholic) becomes the offical God of soccer, next we have an Argentinian pope. If Jesus Christ resurrects in Buenos Aires I'm convinced of a divine plan and will offically convert to catholicism.
I hate to say I don't care that the new pope is from South America, but I don't care. Am I glad that he is not Italian? Maybe. I just wish they would have picked someone that had some good years of their life left and still had some spring in their step.
I wish Pope Francis I all the best, but I have no illusion about the church's resistance to change and continuing to be out of touch with the flock.
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