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[ComputerMKII]

From a Catholic POV:

- The whole fuss about the possibility of a black Pope reeks of hitoric ignorance: there has already been several Popes of African ancestry and different races. I am sorry for you Nostradamus fans

- First public quote: "dear sisters and brothers. You probably know that the conclave's duty is to provide you a new Pope, and it seems that my fellow Cardinals have looked for him at the very end of the world" *wink* *wink* Dat world - ending trolling <3

- The guy surely has a subtle sense of humour, choosing to name himself "Francis" after one Pope called "Benedict" (Franciscans and Benedicts were two religious orders that hated each other's guts)

- His first gestures and his overall lifestyle seems to reek humility. I approve of that.

- The fact of him being a Jesuite is far more shoking and telling that any kind of country of origin or politically correct quota. Jesuites always meant business, or as Umberto Eco described them, they used to be the "Church marine corps". He has been chosen with a clear intention of shaking the things up, period.

- The whole chorus clamouring for how the Church should "get with the times" is really, really, really missing the point. The Church is meant to be a "contra cultural" force. It is suppoused to go against the forces of its time regardless of their popularity, when something is wrong they must dennounce it, popularity polls be damned.

- That being said, this doesn't mean that there's nothign that can be changed or adapted. Doctrine is eternal, but rituals are not. While things like abortion (which deals with the very theological concept of life) or homosexual marriage (which deals with another holy sacrament such as marriage) are off limits, things like reforming celibacy, female priestdom, transparency and democracy within the Church are quite within the realm of possiblity.

- He has been an ardent proponent of inter-faith dialoge, and quite critic with the current economic system an what he felt as a "cultural war" being waged against traditional values and yadda yadda. Still, If you want to have a better in depth look of his ideas, try reading the book that he co-wrote with a Rabin. It pulls no punches, dealing with very thorny, very controversial, trascendantal issues: Religious fundamentalism, atheism, the Holocaust, homosexuality, capitalism. Must read, and instant-best seller, I think.

- Still, the whole rush to find past writtings / declarations / whatever of the Pope in order to figure out his future stances tends to be quite futile, really. If there's a charge that change the person that occupies it, is this one. For example:who would have thought that Ratzinger, "the God's rotweiller" would end up being the first Pope to resign?



Following the same logic, it is time that English taxpayers stop supporting the BBC altogether, I guess. The different reactions to these two have been pretty telling, specially regarding media treatment.



Yes, us catholics never learn, mang. We're all grovelling and basking in such a lowly level of moral authority, the whole 1.000 million of us. One's gotta abbandon the Church to start riding your mighty horse of moral upstanding I guess.

Thanks for this great post.

 

[el retorno]

From a Catholic POV:

- The whole fuss about the possibility of a black Pope reeks of hitoric ignorance: there has already been several Popes of African ancestry and different races. I am sorry for you Nostradamus fans

- First public quote: "dear sisters and brothers. You probably know that the conclave's duty is to provide you a new Pope, and it seems that my fellow Cardinals have looked for him at the very end of the world" *wink* *wink* Dat world - ending trolling <3

- The guy surely has a subtle sense of humour, choosing to name himself "Francis" after one Pope called "Benedict" (Franciscans and Benedicts were two religious orders that hated each other's guts)

- His first gestures and his overall lifestyle seems to reek humility. I approve of that.

- The fact of him being a Jesuite is far more shoking and telling that any kind of country of origin or politically correct quota. Jesuites always meant business, or as Umberto Eco described them, they used to be the "Church marine corps". He has been chosen with a clear intention of shaking the things up, period.

- The whole chorus clamouring for how the Church should "get with the times" is really, really, really missing the point. The Church is meant to be a "contra cultural" force. It is suppoused to go against the forces of its time regardless of their popularity, when something is wrong they must dennounce it, popularity polls be damned.

- That being said, this doesn't mean that there's nothign that can be changed or adapted. Doctrine is eternal, but rituals are not. While things like abortion (which deals with the very theological concept of life) or homosexual marriage (which deals with another holy sacrament such as marriage) are off limits, things like reforming celibacy, female priestdom, transparency and democracy within the Church are quite within the realm of possiblity.

- He has been an ardent proponent of inter-faith dialoge, and quite critic with the current economic system an what he felt as a "cultural war" being waged against traditional values and yadda yadda. Still, If you want to have a better in depth look of his ideas, try reading the book that he co-wrote with a Rabin. It pulls no punches, dealing with very thorny, very controversial, trascendantal issues: Religious fundamentalism, atheism, the Holocaust, homosexuality, capitalism. Must read, and instant-best seller, I think.

- Still, the whole rush to find past writtings / declarations / whatever of the Pope in order to figure out his future stances tends to be quite futile, really. If there's a charge that change the person that occupies it, is this one. For example:who would have thought that Ratzinger, "the God's rotweiller" would end up being the first Pope to resign?



Following the same logic, it is time that English taxpayers stop supporting the BBC altogether, I guess. The different reactions to these two have been pretty telling, specially regarding media treatment.



Yes, us catholics never learn, mang. We're all grovelling and basking in such a lowly level of moral authority, the whole 1.000 million of us. One's gotta abbandon the Church to start riding your mighty horse of moral upstanding I guess.

Awesome post. Is the book written for catholics or for everybody? Cause it looks interesting.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Is the book written for catholics or for everybody? Cause it looks interesting.

I don't understand the meaning of your question.

 

[Kinyou]

From a Catholic POV:

- The whole fuss about the possibility of a black Pope reeks of hitoric ignorance: there has already been several Popes of African ancestry and different races. I am sorry for you Nostradamus fans

Was there? A quick google search only brought up these three, and not one of them looks really black

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Miltiades

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gelasius_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Victor_I

 

[Ikael]

Awesome post. Is the book written for catholics or for everybody? Cause it looks interesting.

It was wrote as exercise of inter-faith dialoge, so I would say that people from religions other than Catholicism were his intended target

Was there? A quick google search only brought up these three, and not one of them looks really black

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Miltiades

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gelasius_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Victor_I

African doesn't necessarily mean Sub-Saharian, but there have been Popes that would have been banned from entering several Republican conventions so to speak, starting with Miltiades. which was a Berber, and many historians claims that Victor I was black as coal (his potrait was done many centuries after his death).

 

[CountAntonius]

From a Catholic POV:

- The whole fuss about the possibility of a black Pope reeks of hitoric ignorance: there has already been several Popes of African ancestry and different races. I am sorry for you Nostradamus fans

- First public quote: "dear sisters and brothers. You probably know that the conclave's duty is to provide you a new Pope, and it seems that my fellow Cardinals have looked for him at the very end of the world" *wink* *wink* Dat world - ending trolling <3

- The guy surely has a subtle sense of humour, choosing to name himself "Francis" after one Pope called "Benedict" (Franciscans and Benedicts were two religious orders that hated each other's guts)

- His first gestures and his overall lifestyle seems to reek humility. I approve of that.

- The fact of him being a Jesuite is far more shoking and telling that any kind of country of origin or politically correct quota. Jesuites always meant business, or as Umberto Eco described them, they used to be the "Church marine corps". He has been chosen with a clear intention of shaking the things up, period.

- The whole chorus clamouring for how the Church should "get with the times" is really, really, really missing the point. The Church is meant to be a "contra cultural" force. It is suppoused to go against the forces of its time regardless of their popularity, when something is wrong they must dennounce it, popularity polls be damned.

- That being said, this doesn't mean that there's nothign that can be changed or adapted. Doctrine is eternal, but rituals are not. While things like abortion (which deals with the very theological concept of life) or homosexual marriage (which deals with another holy sacrament such as marriage) are off limits, things like reforming celibacy, female priestdom, transparency and democracy within the Church are quite within the realm of possiblity.

- He has been an ardent proponent of inter-faith dialoge, and quite critic with the current economic system an what he felt as a "cultural war" being waged against traditional values and yadda yadda. Still, If you want to have a better in depth look of his ideas, try reading the book that he co-wrote with a Rabin. It pulls no punches, dealing with very thorny, very controversial, trascendantal issues: Religious fundamentalism, atheism, the Holocaust, homosexuality, capitalism. Must read, and instant-best seller, I think.

- Still, the whole rush to find past writtings / declarations / whatever of the Pope in order to figure out his future stances tends to be quite futile, really. If there's a charge that change the person that occupies it, is this one. For example:who would have thought that Ratzinger, "the God's rotweiller" would end up being the first Pope to resign?



Following the same logic, it is time that English taxpayers stop supporting the BBC altogether, I guess. The different reactions to these two have been pretty telling, specially regarding media treatment.



Yes, us catholics never learn, mang. We're all grovelling and basking in such a lowly level of moral authority, the whole 1.000 million of us. One's gotta abbandon the Church to start riding your mighty horse of moral upstanding I guess.

Great post. Thanks for the info.

 

[Fenderputty]

I guess for a catholic person that moral authority is derived from God and The Bible. In their mind the belief system is not invalidated by some people in authority doing evil things. Either way I'm not sure how that relates to donations. As others have pointed out, most catholic people support their local churches and see the good side of it and want to support that.

God doesn't tell you to be catholic.

 

[twinturbo2]

Jim Ross calling things is apparently a thing now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh5pDNMO2Js

 

[t0va]

I hope it's the black guy.

I was hoping for a black midget. Dude.

 

[TheVampire]

This was on TBS last night. The part where they're in the train and FRED ARMISAN (I had no idea it was him until last night) puts his hand on the one dude's leg.

Yeah eurotrip was a funny movie and that pope scene was great.
That bit on the train was funny and in the credits they had an outtake where he is licking the other guys face but he can't act straight and starts laughing and yelling fuck lol

 

[NihonTiger90]

Jim Ross calling things is apparently a thing now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh5pDNMO2Js

When has it NOT been a thing?

 

[Psychoward]

Can anyone link me to an article where it says he supported the Argentinian dictatorship? Not asking in a condescending way, interested Agnostic here.

 

[SquiddyCracker]

"condemnation not only of abortion and of genetic engineering, and of birth control, but also of feminism, of homosexuality, and of cultural traits Scola associates with feminism and homosexuality, namely individualism, libertinism, relativism, narcissism, and even nihilism.[13][14]

Haha, he's against cultural relativism?

Well, so am I, I wholeheartedly disagree with Catholic culture.

 

[GillianSeed79]

Can anyone link me to an article where it says he supported the Argentinian dictatorship? Not asking in a condescending way, interested Agnostic here.

Here's the official AP article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...6WWZdA?docId=6dee729dae854ceda7b22397f094b19d

His preference to remain in the wings, however, has been challenged by rights activists seeking answers about church actions during the dictatorship after the 1976 coup, often known as Argentina's "Dirty War."

Many Argentines remain angry over the church's acknowledged failure to openly confront a regime that was kidnapping and killing thousands of people as it sought to eliminate "subversive elements" in society. It's one reason why more than two-thirds of Argentines describe themselves as Catholic, but fewer than 10 percent regularly attend Mass.

Under Bergoglio's leadership, Argentina's bishops issued a collective apology in October 2012 for the church's failures to protect its flock. But the statement blamed the era's violence in roughly equal measure on both the junta and its enemies.

"Bergoglio has been very critical of human rights violations during the dictatorship, but he has always also criticized the leftist guerrillas. He doesn't forget that side," said the biographer Rubin.

The statements came far too late for some activists, who accused Bergoglio of being more concerned about the church's image than about aiding the many human rights investigations into the junta era.

Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court. When he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive, human rights attorney Myriam Bregman said.

At least two cases directly involved Bergoglio, who ran Argentina's Jesuit order during the dictatorship.

One examined the torture of two of his Jesuit priests — Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics — who were kidnapped in 1976 from the slums where they advocated liberation theology, which is the belief that Jesus Christ's teachings justify fights against social injustices.

Yorio accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads by declining to tell the regime that he endorsed their work. Jalics refused to discuss it after moving into seclusion in a German monastery.

Both men were freed after Bergoglio took extraordinary, behind-the-scenes action to save them — including persuading dictator Jorge Videla's family priest to call in sick so that he could say Mass in the junta leader's home, where he privately appealed for mercy. His intervention likely saved their lives, but Bergoglio never shared the details until Rubin interviewed him for the 2010 biography.

Bergoglio told Rubin that he regularly hid people on church property during the dictatorship, and once gave his identity papers to a man with similar features, enabling him to escape across the border. But all this was done in secret, at a time when church leaders publicly endorsed the junta and called on Catholics to restore their "love for country" despite the terror in the streets.

But rights attorney Bregman said Bergoglio's own statements proved church officials knew from early on that the junta was torturing and killing its citizens, and yet publicly endorsed the dictators.

"The dictatorship could not have operated this way without this key support," she said.

Bergoglio also was accused of turning his back on a family that lost five relatives to state terror, including a young woman who was five months' pregnant before she was kidnapped and killed in 1977. The De la Cuadra family appealed to the leader of the Jesuits in Rome, who urged Bergoglio to help them; Bergoglio then assigned a monsignor to the case. Months passed before the monsignor came back with a written note from a colonel: The woman had given birth in captivity to a girl who was given to a family "too important" for the adoption to be reversed.

Despite this written evidence in a case he was personally involved with, Bergoglio testified in 2010 that he didn't know about any stolen babies until well after the dictatorship was over.

"Bergoglio has a very cowardly attitude when it comes to something so terrible as the theft of babies. He says he didn't know anything about it until 1985," said the baby's aunt, Estela de la Cuadra, whose mother Alicia co-founded the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 in hopes of identifying these babies. "He doesn't face this reality and it doesn't bother him. The question is how to save his name, save himself. But he can't keep these allegations from reaching the public. The people know how he is."

 

[MThanded]

 

[teh_pwn]

He'll be dead within 8 years. I guess that's the point, more senseless news coverage. Even BBC has been consumed by it, while NASA stuff takes the back seat.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

Following the same logic, it is time that English taxpayers stop supporting the BBC altogether, I guess. The different reactions to these two have been pretty telling, specially regarding media treatment.

I'm not very familiar with the Saville case but have they relocated guilty parties, used intimation tactics to keep people from coming forward, obstructed police investigations or destroyed documents?

 

[Ether_Snake]

I'm not very familiar with the Saville case but have they relocated guilty parties, used intimation tactics to keep people from coming forward, obstructed police investigations or destroyed documents?

Pretty likely over the decades yeah.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

Pretty likely over the decades yeah.

The story isn't covered very much in America, is there a quick run down of the cover up I could read?

 

[Mobius 1]

Can't wait for the brazilian media's response. :-D

 

[RobotMafia]

I don't scrutinize how other people should live their lives via trickle up purchasing on moral ground. Maybe business ground, in the competitive marketplace from a strictly consumer perspective, but I have no moral wallet counter and don't pretend to judge people on that.

So how do you even demonstrate what is bad or not on moral ground with money flow? How do you even quantify it?

A) I have $5 to collection pot in church, $4 of which is going to help poor families in the church with school supplies, food, and clothing who otherwise wouldn't have it. The other dollar is for upkeep and some gets funneled to the Archdiocese, which pennies may end up as some sex abuse defense or settlement.

B) I bought an Apple product, which goes to cost of goods made by Foxconn under slave labor conditions that some have committed suicide due to, and then Apple profit whom is notorious for not giving any to charity and keeping money for own purposes

C) I drove my car to work, which required a $25 fill up, most of which through OPEC is going to Saudi Arabia's government who has been notorious for human rights violations and jailing opposition preventing freedom of speech.

D) I bought a carton of cigs for $15, after cost of materials goes straight to Phillip Morris who continues to market the smoking habit through generations to cause cancer and emphysema in hundreds of thousands of smokers.

I don't pretend to know which option is best on moral grounds and I'm not going to be on my high horse lecturing others on the internet about it. All I know is as people, except for maybe the most fucked up, aren't out to go support pedophiles, cancer, human rights violations, or anything else.

I'm sorry some people don't pretend to be above anyone else on where they choose to put their money, in something they may need or want, or where they think their money is going towards a good cause. I won't criticize you or anyone else, and I think it's crap that some do.

I hope you don't actually think 4 of your $5 is going to help anyone. With religious institutions its more like 20 cents of $5. They are great at wasting money.

 

[Kite]

Can anyone answer why people were making a big deal that he cooks his own meals? How is that considered being humble? Don't most people in the entire world make their own food?

I don't have someone who cooks my food because I can't afford it, but if I did I totally would hire a talented personal chef. This guy apparently could easily get one but doesn't, it is deserving of some praise imo.

 

[el retorno]

I don't understand the meaning of your question.

If it has a lot of insider lingo and assumed knowledge about catholic dogma.

 

[Timedog]

The pope can never come from the US because that makes complete sense, being that the position is chosen through divine assistance of the Holy Spirit. God just seems to keep favoring white European males for some reason. Not because religion is completely bogus or anything though.

 

[crackhead_bob]

The pope can never come from the US because that makes complete sense, being that the position is chosen through divine assistance of the Holy Spirit. God just seems to keep favoring white European males for some reason. Not because religion is completely bogus or anything though.

I would argue that there can never be an American Pope with all the clergy child sex abuse scandals so rampant and fresh within the minds of people around the world. Given the increased secularization in Europe and abroad, America would be ideal to plum a potential pope from given how heavily our religion seems so blatantly engrained into our national politics when compared to countries like England or Japan. Gay rights are becoming more widespread in industrial developed countries, and yet it remains so contentious here in the U.S..

Plus, our American cardinals seem to fulfill the coveted asshole quota that got Mr. Ratzinger elected as the Pope as well. If not for the child abuse incidents, and the subsequent cover up, it's not out of the ballfield to assume that an American could have been on the shortlist.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

I would argue that there can never be an American Pope with all the clergy child sex abuse scandals so rampant and fresh within the minds of people around the world. Given the increased secularization in Europe and abroad, America would be ideal to plum a potential pope from given how heavily our religion seems so blatantly engrained into our national politics when compared to countries like England or Japan. Gay rights are becoming more widespread in industrial developed countries, and yet it remains so contentious here in the U.S..

Plus, our American cardinals seem to fulfill the coveted asshole quota that got Mr. Ratzinger elected as the Pope as well. If not for the child abuse incidents, and the subsequent cover up, it's not out of the ballfield to assume that an American could have been on the shortlist.

Nah, by the time the next pope is selected those in favor of gay marriage will outnumber those opposed.

The selection from South America was as political as you thought an American pope selection would be.

The Vatican's hope is in the developing world: parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Most everywhere else has tuned them out.

 

[bomma_man]

Thank God it's not Pell

 

[To Far Away Times]

I know absolutely nothing about this guy. What's his stance on:

Gay Marriage?

Child Molestation scandals in the church?

Condoms in order to protect from disease?

Birth Control?

 

[Poyunch]

Oh he's a Jesuit. Jesuits are pretty progressive. I have some faith.

 

[Dead Man]

I know absolutely nothing about this guy. What's his stance on:

Gay Marriage?

Child Molestation scandals in the church?

Condoms?

Against

For

Against

But apparently he likes to help the poor so it's all okay.

 

[To Far Away Times]

Against

For

Against

But apparently he likes to help the poor so it's all okay.

Sounds like a classy guy.

 

[el retorno]

Gay rights are becoming more widespread in industrial developed countries, and yet it remains so contentious here in the U.S..

Except this isn't true. Lets not pretend Europe is so far ahead of the US on gay issues.

Against

For

Against

But apparently he likes to help the poor so it's all okay.

Um... He's not for sex abuse and he's stated that Condom use is OK to prevent infection (the Church still looks down on sex for fun I think)
And the Church will probably be against marriage equality for a LONG time (its a sacrament and I don't think it really matters for secular folks as long as there is civil marriage) I think the bigger issue and where there is room for improvement in the immediate future is on protecting gays from discrimination and promoting better equality for them.

 

[akira28]

The pope can never come from the US because that makes complete sense, being that the position is chosen through divine assistance of the Holy Spirit. God just seems to keep favoring white European males for some reason. Not because religion is completely bogus or anything though.

Why would they elect a cardinal from a country where people are leaving their churches in droves? A country where the followers tend to be the most liberal and non-traditional, and democratic, who actually believe in changing the Church, not vice versa?

They would choose from South America where the attitudes towards the church are a lot more friendly and less confrontational. Growing population and growing church membership. AND they would go with an Italian emigrant native of Argentina, because that leaves just enough of a touch of the old country to be popular with the home base. He even speaks Italian.

 

[Timedog]

Why would they elect a cardinal from a country where people are leaving their churches in droves? A country where the followers tend to be the most liberal and non-traditional, and democratic, who actually believe in changing the Church, not vice versa?

They would choose from South America where the attitudes towards the church are a lot more friendly and less confrontational. Growing population and growing church membership. AND they would go with an Italian emigrant native of Argentina, because that leaves just enough of a touch of the old country to be popular with the home base. He even speaks Italian.

What you're describing is shitty human populist politics, not who would make the best pope.

 

[el retorno]

What you're describing is shitty human populist politics, not who would make the best pope.

How do you determine the "best pope"

 

[crackhead_bob]

Um... He's not for sex abuse and he's stated that Condom use is OK to prevent infection (the Church still looks down on sex for fun I think)

Yes, because god forbid that any of their closet case cardinals within their ranks contract HIV because their religious doctrine ban the use of condoms to ward of STD's. The Roman Catholic Church wants to have their sodomy cake and eat it.

 

[Officerrob]

Why did they go with someone of such advanced age again? In reality, he's going to be another transitional figure because he will likely need to be replaced in 8-10 years

 

[Ikael]

I'm not very familiar with the Saville case but have they relocated guilty parties, used intimation tactics to keep people from coming forward, obstructed police investigations or destroyed documents?

Yup, the whole package. The child abuse scandals of the Church and the BBC were frightenly similar, as was the outrageous attitude of the middle ranks involved in both of them. I guess that this makes the BBC a cove of child molesters, and every single English taxpayer a phedophile supporter by omission. I hope they all rennounce their British citizenship before they start loosing moral authority to incredible, utterly superior non-English people such as myself. Also, me saying this doesn't makes me an asshole nor a bigot, but rather a quite awesome and enlightened person.

The pope can never come from the US because that makes complete sense, being that the position is chosen through divine assistance of the Holy Spirit. God just seems to keep favoring white European males for some reason. Not because religion is completely bogus or anything though.

The Pope won't come from the US because the last time that the Pope came from the then world superpower (France) things went to shit, fast (see also: Avignon's Pope). And it is a perfectly logical thing, really, because that would create a "tails I win, heads you lose" type of situation:

- The Pope agree with the US president on whatever issue that touches religion tangentially (abortion, Israel, etc): OMG the Pope is totally a pawn of the US

- The Pope disagree with the ruler's political positions, condemns them: OMG the Pope's trying to exercise influence inside the US (Republicans will surely love this, yep)

And I am saying this as a huge fan of Thimoty Dolan and how the American Catholics tends their churches in general :/

 

[zoukka]

Meh his face is not memorable like the two previous popes. The Pope awesome and The Pope Palpatine.

 

[DR2K]

Why do they pick super old men as Pope, is it because they like electing Popes?

 

[Hazmat]

Why did they go with someone of such advanced age again? In reality, he's going to be another transitional figure because he will likely need to be replaced in 8-10 years

It's pretty clear that what they absolutely don't want is for someone to be in charge for 25 years. One person with absolute power for that long can make a lot of changes, and the church wants to be able to alter its course every 8 years or so, like most organizations (or nations) do.

 

[Jean Valjean]

Can't wait for the brazilian media's response. :-D

Before giving his blessings to the people, he asked the people to pray for him.

He sure is an Argentinian.

 

[Link]

Why did they go with someone of such advanced age again? In reality, he's going to be another transitional figure because he will likely need to be replaced in 8-10 years

That's exactly what they want. When Ratzinger was elected, it was mentioned that they are going to be electing older Cardinals because they don't want one person in the position for an extended period like John Paul II.

 

[Mael]

Meh his face is not memorable like the two previous popes. The Pope awesome and The Pope Palpatine.

It's true that the last 2 were...interesting especially the last one.

 

[Big-E]

So has the internet found out how he is connected to a Peter yet?

 

[Ikael]

So has the internet found out how he is connected to a Peter yet?

He is a Jesuit, and the "corporative colour" of the Jesuits is, you know... black.

So you can say that we are having... a black Pope *cue dramatic chimpunk music*

 

[Officerrob]

It's pretty clear that what they absolutely don't want is for someone to be in charge for 25 years. One person with absolute power for that long can make a lot of changes, and the church wants to be able to alter its course every 8 years or so, like most organizations (or nations) do.

The problem with this line of thinking is that they are giving "absolute power" to guys who are close to 80 when they get the papacy. How many nations or organizations do you know that put guys in their upper 70's in charge? People don't get sharper as they age

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

I won't lie, this morning on the news there was a story about it and there was this Italian guy who looked so so so happy, it bought a tear to my eye. I don't give two shits myself, but if people are happy then yay. Do we know if this guy is an ultra-conservative cuntbag yet?

 

[Hazmat]

The problem with this line of thinking is that they are giving "absolute power" to guys who are close to 80 when they get the papacy. How many nations or organizations do you know that put guys in their upper 70's in charge? People don't get sharper as they age

I never said that it was a good idea, but it's why they do it.

 

[Link]

The problem with this line of thinking is that they are giving "absolute power" to guys who are close to 80 when they get the papacy. How many nations or organizations do you know that put guys in their upper 70's in charge? People don't get sharper as they age

Yeah, that's a downside, but the Church knows it needs to adapt, and having one person at the top for 20-30 years at a time is not the way to do it.