The New Pope Johannes Ratzinger...

He won't be around long as it is, so I doubt any major things he changes will last, if he even makes any.

 

I agree that being in the Hitler Youth didn't make you a Nazi - all the kids had to go there and I find Kastenfrosch's description "like scouting" quite good.

As for the conservative part, of course he stands for traditional Catholic beliefs and I don't say the Catholic Church should (or could) become a hippie club over night, but a bit more liberal attitudes and a will to reform couldn't do bad ...

Oh, and his name's Joseph, not Johannes, if I may add.

 

http://www.bdkj-musikfestival.de

If anyone interested in tiny music festivals run by Catholic organisations.

 

Yeah right! He deserted the German Army in 1945 when all Nazis were running scared through the woods and denying involvement.

 

If I did my math correctly, he had his 18th birthday in April 1945. I don't think he would have spent too much time in the German Army.
Those were uncertain times and plenty to be scared of, even for members (in name only) of groups sponsored and supported by the Nazi Party.

 

Yeah, I know. I'm not shocked by it at all. I just find that he's too conservative, even for many Christians. I know the things I listed aren't a big surprise...I'm not surprised by 'em, but then again, I don't follow the papacy, and I really don't care. We have the freedom to practice as we choose. I just think it's all kinda sad, that's all.

And yeah, I heard that he's anti-rock music...which I dunno, both cracked me up and made me shake my head in sadness...haha. I guess I'll just never understand such close-mindedness. Christians are free to practice as they choose and to believe what they want. But personally, the thought that a huge group of people are following such a conservative and close-minded leader is just scary. Eh, but it won't change...so whatever...live and let live, I guess.

 

I seriously doubt that he would ever issue a decree declaring rock music to be evil. Not every personal opinion of a Pope reflects official Catholic dogma.

 

I'm not Catholic, but I too don't understand what all the fuss is about. I expected the Catholic Church to elect a hardline conservative Pope, and sure enough they did. It's not like he's a big step backward; John Paul II was conservative, so Benedict XVI will probably just be continuing his ideology.

However, even though the Catholic Church did what I expected them to do, I think they did make a big mistake by not electing someone more liberal. Whether the Catholic Church likes it or not, the world is becoming more tolerant and socially liberal, and they risk alienating a lot of their churchgoers (especially in the US and Canada) if they don't abandoned some of their antiquated beliefs.

By reforming the Church, I don't mean that the Catholic Church needs to start donating large sums of money to Planned Parenthood. However, it's time they abandoned their ridiculous stance on birth control, which has caused thousands (if not millions) of cases of AIDS and countless unwanted pregnancies. It's time they allowed priests to marry, to regain some credibility with American Catholics who are appalled by the Vatican's ambivalence toward the child sex abuse scandals. It's time they apologized for the Church's neutrality during WWII, and it's time they started acknowledging evolution as a reality.

In America, even among a lot of Catholics, the Vatican is seen as a joke. An institution stuck in the Stone Age. Any of these changes (preferably all of them) would help their image.

 

*

 

Are you denying that condoms can prevent the exchange of bodily fluids, and therefore lower the AIDS infection rate?

I think sociology has shown us that that is simply not true. But even if it was, it's not simply a matter of people "refusing to use birth control." It's a matter of pressure from the Catholic Church itself, to not help any charities that provide birth control. They're also against any sex education other than abstinence-only methods. Many people in Africa would use birth control if they could, but they simply don't have access to it or aren't even aware that it exists, partly because of the Catholic Church.

 

*

 

Personally I consider the entire pack of them delusional backwards screwballs serving no useful purpose to anyone other than themselves.

How about the stain on the wall under the freeway overpass in Chicago? Seems like mass insanity to me!

As if everyone is flocking to see the Virgin Mary stain out of belief. Bullshit! It's a freak show.

If one person held the beliefs the Catholics hold that person would be considered insane. There are millions of people and billions of dollars involved so it's supposedly considered legit. Not to me!

Christ I hated my occasional stint as alter boy as a child!

 

I think Pope Leo X summed it pretty well...

"It has served us well, this myth of Christ."

 

friendly looking chap isn't he....

 

As a Cardinal, Pope Benny was no stranger to controversy, often criticizing Catholic priests who opened their doors to practicing wiccans and pagans.

His polarizing adherence to traditional Catholic dogma gives cardinals ample reason to pray that the new Pope will croak expeditiously.

The Catholic church must be kicking itself that it didn't embrace the concept of Death with Dignity when it had the chance. Now, they will have to sit by helplessly as Pope Benny lingers on for another 20 years, angering many German Catholics who consider his hardline, pro-Catholic views divisive and antiquated, and fear his conservative stance against so-called "sodomy" will alienate their French allies.