New Pope???

[piglet too]

The guy who thinks homosexuality is a sin?

I heard that even though he felt that homesexual acts were sin, he urged all to still treat homosexuals with respect and decency.

 

[snoopy]

I think the next Pope will be from Latin America.

I'm not one who thinks the church needs to reverse positions on modern issues like abortions, ordaining women, etc. While these are positions I don't agree with (and I know I'm not alone), does anybody really think that a 2,000-year old institution is suddenly going to bow to popular pressure on these issues? Its precisely the consistency of the message the Catholic church brings to it's people that keeps it so strong....yes, they think abortion is wrong, but also the death penalty and also war...it's comforting to know that the message is consistent for most people. Its my belief the Church will remain steadfast, and the new Pope will not be any more liberal than the one who went before.

 

[JudicialTyranny]

The guy who helped spreading contagious diseases by putting a ban on condoms?

The people who have the contagious diseases are the ones who helped spread it. Condoms have never been permitted by the Catholic Church - but the last time I checked, you can still get them.

The guy who thinks homosexuality is a sin?

So do many other religions.

The guy who still denies women the right to become priest?

It's not a "right".

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

I think the next Pope will be from Latin America.

I'm not one who thinks the church needs to reverse positions on modern issues like abortions, ordaining women, etc. While these are positions I don't agree with (and I know I'm not alone), does anybody really think that a 2,000-year old institution is suddenly going to bow to popular pressure on these issues? Its precisely the consistency of the message the Catholic church brings to it's people that keeps it so strong....yes, they think abortion is wrong, but also the death penalty and also war...it's comforting to know that the message is consistent for most people. Its my belief the Church will remain steadfast, and the new Pope will not be any more liberal than the one who went before.

I agree. Their consistancy is what keeps many people faithful to the church. If they suddenly advocated the things they've been against for the past century or more, many people would probably become disillusioned or just plain disappointed in the church for suddenly changing their stance on these issues.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

The people who have the contagious diseases are the ones who helped spread it. Condoms have never been permitted by the Catholic Church - but the last time I checked, you can still get them.


So do many other religions.


It's not a "right".

I agree. Plus, Catholic doctrine states that priests should be men. He didn't come up with that rule because he doesn't like women...it's been that way for a VERY long time. He was only upholding the church's position on that issue.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

I think the next Pope will be from Latin America.

Its precisely the consistency of the message the Catholic church brings to it's people that keeps it so strong....yes, they think abortion is wrong, but also the death penalty and also war...it's comforting to know that the message is consistent for most people. Its my belief the Church will remain steadfast, and the new Pope will not be any more liberal than the one who went before.

 

[njchris]

I'm hoping they elect me.

I've got some changes in mind....

 

[MrsKreamer]

I apologize for misstament regarding Vatican II. It has been a long time since religion class! I do still think he was liberal if you compare him to other popes. Thank you to those who cleared Viking up.

 

[Caradana]

My prediction: an archconservative Italian, approx. age 72, whose main purposes will be: (1) issue hammering doctrine to swing the pendulum away from liberal ideals; (2) act with severe fiscal conservativism; donations to the poor and Africa will go way down; (3) travel incidentally, reach out to the young halfheartedly, and get the Church "back to normal".

They thought JPII was crazily liberal. They thought the fact that he was POLISH was controversial. They'll overcompensate for his "extremism" in the other direction.
I think the probability of a minority becoming pope is approximately equal to the probability of me becoming pope.

 

[Laura]

I think the next Pope will be from Latin America.

I'm not one who thinks the church needs to reverse positions on modern issues like abortions, ordaining women, etc. While these are positions I don't agree with (and I know I'm not alone), does anybody really think that a 2,000-year old institution is suddenly going to bow to popular pressure on these issues? Its precisely the consistency of the message the Catholic church brings to it's people that keeps it so strong....yes, they think abortion is wrong, but also the death penalty and also war...it's comforting to know that the message is consistent for most people. Its my belief the Church will remain steadfast, and the new Pope will not be any more liberal than the one who went before.

I think the next pope might come from Latin America, too. If not, it will be another Italian. Definitely still a conservative and no real change will come with the new pope. (Of course, the cardinals can prove me wrong!)

I also don't agree with many of the positions that the Catholic Church holds--I'm not a Catholic anymore, though. Still, it's not for me to say whether a religion should change its message just because I disagree with it. I think the use of condoms should be allowed because of the AIDS epidemic, but I'm not blaming the Catholic Church for the epidemic.

 

[MrsKreamer]

OT...Veronica...I almost didn't recognize you with your new avatar!

 

[jgmklmhem]

I just hope they elect someone who will come down extremely hard on the child abusing priests. That is the one area I thought the late Pope was weak.

 

[BuckNaked]

I just hope they elect someone who will come down extremely hard on the child abusing priests. That is the one area I thought the late Pope was weak.

I'm not sure what you would expect the Pope to do - he can have them booted from the Church and turned over to police, but other than that...

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

OT...Veronica...I almost didn't recognize you with your new avatar!

I like to change things up now and then...I'm such a rebel

As great as I think it would be for the next pope to be non-Italian (Latin American or Nigerian would be cool) I don't see that happening. But I would love to be proved wrong. And it's not that I would be upset having an Italian pope...it'd just be cool to see another pope that's not of Italian descent.

 

[Caradana]

A Nigerian pope ... HomeSweetDisney, there's a book you'd enjoy, check it out: Conclave, by Greg Tobin. It's fiction, and its climax is one that would interest you.

Interesting quote from another book, written back in 2002, that tried to predict the post-JPII papacy: "Conclave: The Politics, Personalities and Process of the Next Papal Election" by John L. Allen:
"the only probability determined by geography is that the next pope will not be from the US. The Vatican prizes its diplomatic independence too keenly to risk it by electing a superpower pope." Interesting.

 

[Disney Doll]

The Cathoplic Church has been around for hundreds of years. I doubt that its basic doctrines are going to change. There are some who like the steadfastness of the Catholic Church. I daresay that those who find that they cannot reconcile themselves with the basic tenets of the Catholic Church will look elsewhere for their religious base.

I believe the next Pope will be older, to have his be a shorter papacy. I would hope that he would continue to travel and reach out to his "flock" all over the world. I would like to see him get a little more into areas of Russia and China, although that might still prove difficult.

I doubt you'll see any huge changes to basic doctrine, I doubt you'll see women priests, I doubt you'll see any change on the abortion stance.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

A Nigerian pope ... HomeSweetDisney, there's a book you'd enjoy, check it out: Conclave, by Greg Tobin. It's fiction, and its climax is one that would interest you.

Interesting quote from another book, written back in 2002, that tried to predict the post-JPII papacy: "Conclave: The Politics, Personalities and Process of the Next Papal Election" by John L. Allen:
"the only probability determined by geography is that the next pope will not be from the US. The Vatican prizes its diplomatic independence too keenly to risk it by electing a superpower pope." Interesting.

Thanks, I'll definately check that out!

 

[WishinOnaStar]

No one's going to go to hell for using birth control.[/QUOTE]
You know somethin I don't?

 

[WishinOnaStar]

I just heard something interesting. American Catholics make up 34% of the worlds Catholics. The majority of the rest come from 3rd world countries. Most of the rest are fine with the current laws of the Church. Sort of silly to think that the Church would change for so few. Also, I keep hearing on the news that there is a shortage of priests. American priests yes, 3rd world no. They are beating them off with a stick there.

 

[BuckNaked]

I just heard something interesting. American Catholics make up 34% of the worlds Catholics.

Even less than that - something like 6% of the world's Catholics. I think it's much more likely that the American Catholic Church will break away from Rome than it is that the Vatican will change the rules to suit American Catholics.