The 78 year old Cardinal, now Pope, Joseph Ratzinger was picked to be the new Pope to lead the Catholics. What are your oppinions? Would he be as effective as the past Pope?

Germany and the Vatican, together again. Worked well last time.

At least he knows the escape route.

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How does one become a Cardinal?

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...Tracy

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I find the whole thing (Catholic church in general, all the drama of electing a new pope in particular) to be quite ridiculous. Is this Benedict guy going to let his people wear condoms?

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
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He is going to start a Vatican Youth corps......their uniforms will have brown shirts.............

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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Hey look Tex, this is not like a buffet line. Where you get to pick and choose. So, best not speak of things you don't know of.

Well, since Cardinal Law is a cardinal in good standing after all the lies and what not, what difference does it make?

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You get called up from the Memphis Redbirds, their AAA club.

Cardinal law is responsible for the the overnight "Camping" trips of the youngest Youth corp members. And he will be in charge of running the Vatican day care center.

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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Well, he is responsible not for the priests initial romp with the boys but he did shuffle the priests around while lying on the reference letters, hushing it up, etc, etc. And since the previous pope also did his best to take care of Law, and none of the other cardinals object to Law (and puts them in the same category, as far as I am concerned) I don't see much of a difference as to which crook gets the nod.

I don't think any of the senior leadership actually molested the kids. However, their coverup in this sordid affair and actually considering him a cardinal in good standing certainly does cast doubt on their moral character that they are supposed to have. At least in my mind.

Law resigned as head of the Archdiocese of Boston. Initially the pope wouldn't even accept his resignation.

See this: http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/11361521.htm for the full article. Interesting parts below:

Being selected is an honor bestowed only on the most influential members of the church's hierarchy.

Law, 73, will lead one of the special Masses for John Paul II in what is called the novemdiales - the nine-day mourning period. He was picked because of his position as archpriest of the St. Mary Major Basilica. Law received his current post after being recalled to Rome following his resignation as leader of the Boston Diocese.

"The Vatican sees Cardinal Law as a cardinal in good standing, and moreover, he is a cardinal elector in the conclave and has every right to preach," Pecklers said.

Allen said the status of Cardinal Law in the church can be best seen in the fact that he holds numerous Vatican congregation and council positions, about as many as anyone in the church, and a sure sign of his influence.

Law resigned in 2002 because he had failed to remove, and sometimes merely reassigned, priests accused of sexually abusing children. Several months after returning to Rome he was given the role as archpriest of the Basilica that is called the "most significant monument to Mary in Christendom."

"Symbolically at least, this puts Law forth as the most prominent American in the church," he said. "That Law is shameless enough to accept the honor is not surprising to us. But we are very disappointed that other leaders in the American church, or the church worldwide, didn't step forward in protest."

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Hey, that entire thing irritates me to no end..............same hypocricy that takes place a the UN every day....just at a different level.

I think any of those priests should have been dragged kicking and screaming to get a little of what they dished out to those kids while in General Population in prison.....

Problem is they might like it.

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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

The UN doesn't claim to be a morally upright spiritual leader sorta thing like the RCC does.

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Cardinal Ratzinger's previous job title: 'Head of the Office of Inquisition'. Not a joke. He carried it out with a zeal typical of that historical office, silencing those priests and theologians who failed to take the extreme right wing positions that Ratzinger and Wojtila advocated.

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I can sit and poke jabs becasue I am not a catholic......there is a lot that takes place with them I don't care much for.

As a protestant I may respect the man....but ultimately he doesn't dictate what I should and should not do becasue he is not the leader of my church.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche