Pope Benedict to retire for health reasons

[bullets]

I hope God does a better job choosing the next Pope.

[Pink Ranger]

Originally Posted by KalMart

Elton John.

Blast Benny And The Jets when they introduce him.

Originally Posted by danoyse

Not "The B**** is Back"??

Well, since it is The Vatican, how about Don't Let Your Son Go Down On Me?

[danoyse]

Originally Posted by Pink Ranger

Well, since it is The Vatican, how about Don't Let Your Son Go Down On Me?

I could see some changes with Elton as Pope. Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, as everyone knows...

[Hypestyle]

the next Holy See should be a progressive; they should be (a native of) Africa, Asia, or central/South America..

..there needs to be a Vatical 3 Convention.

the ongoing sex scandals and coverups have to be addressed head-on.

The ban against priests marrying needs to be lifted. Monks living in isolation and scarcely, if at all, interacting with the general public is one thing. today's Priests are expected to be embedded in their communities, interacting socially on a regular basis, expected to cultivate (relatively) intimate relationships. including, yes, regular repeated exposure to the opposite sex knowing that you are forbidden from having a spouse compared to all your contemporaries of other denominations/faiths..

[Avangarde]

So the bloke chosen by God steps down. Don't worry God, we all make mistakes.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by danoyse

I could see some changes with Elton as Pope. Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, as everyone knows...

Imagine the possibilities for new glasses.

[KalMart]

He may be old, but the night is still....um....young....?

[terry78]

Some nights I wake up cashing in my bad luck....

[xeno000]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

That's my feeling as well. You don't spend decades protecting pedophiles and suddenly, bam, one day you are burdened with guilt about it.

It might not be a simple matter of conscience. Last night, HBO premiered a documentary about the sexual abuse scandal in the church called Mea Maxima Culpa. I made it through about five minutes of victims' accounts of rape and molestation before I became sickened and had to change the channel. Their stories are gut-wrenching and the pope is shown to be clearly complicit in covering up abuse and enabling abusive priests to continue their crimes. The director and others involved with the film think that there is no coincidence that Ratzinger chose to step down the very day after it ran.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by xeno000

It might not be a simple matter of conscience. Last night, HBO premiered a documentary about the sexual abuse scandal in the church called Mea Maxima Culpa. I made it through about five minutes of victims' accounts of rape and molestation before I became sickened and had to change the channel. Their stories are gut-wrenching and the pope is shown to be clearly complicit in covering up abuse and enabling abusive priests to continue their crimes. The director and others involved with the film think that there is no coincidence that Ratzinger chose to step down the very day after it ran.

I watched that. Sickening stuff. The canon law BS needs to stop.

[Schlosser85]

What are you guys' thoughts on John Paul II's complicity in the child abuse cover-ups?

More guilty/less guilty/as guilty as Benedict?

[KalMart]

Need more info.

Frankly though, it's kinda' only guilty and not guilty. If anyone in the Vatican knew about it and cooperated with a 'code of silence' while it continued, to any extent......they're guilty.

[Hawkingbird]

Maybe God won't chose a misogynist this time



...fat chance.

[xeno000]

Originally Posted by Schlosser85

What are you guys' thoughts on John Paul II's complicity in the child abuse cover-ups?

More guilty/less guilty/as guilty as Benedict?

I think JPII was more guilty than Ratzinger because he had to have known all that was happening and the cover-up engineered by his underlings. The whole conspiracy of silence went to the very top of the church's hierarchy. Everyone above the level of bishop knew and either helped shuffle the pedophile priests around or turned a blind eye to what others were doing. When the church was paying out millions in hush money, then in settlements from lawsuits, the Pope had to know about where that money was going and why.

[xeno000]

Originally Posted by Marvolo

I watched that. Sickening stuff. The canon law BS needs to stop.

The stories of the dozens of deaf children who were subjected to systematic sexual abuse in a church-run school were just heartbreaking. The priest who abused them knew that he had scores of perfect victims under his control, whose inability to communicate effectively with other adults would protect him. Those children were so innocent, so full of childish faith and so utterly helpless. Some were abused when they were as young as seven years old.

I tuned in a bit late, while the now adult victims were speaking, and had to stop after a short while. All of those children had their lives shattered by one evil man, but you would have to multiply the number in the film by a million to get a full sense of magnitude of the abuse. And the church, which is supposed to offer comfort to the suffering, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to their plight. If there is a hell, the men who committed those crimes and the ones who helped them get away with it are all rotting there.

[terry78]

The next one won't be anything but another old white guy. As forward as the world likes to claim it is, there are still way too many on the planet that refuse to put someone other than that in power.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by xeno000

It might not be a simple matter of conscience. Last night, HBO premiered a documentary about the sexual abuse scandal in the church called Mea Maxima Culpa. I made it through about five minutes of victims' accounts of rape and molestation before I became sickened and had to change the channel. Their stories are gut-wrenching and the pope is shown to be clearly complicit in covering up abuse and enabling abusive priests to continue their crimes. The director and others involved with the film think that there is no coincidence that Ratzinger chose to step down the very day after it ran.

Yeah, I pointed that out when it premiered last week. Really important for everyone to watch.

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Godzilla2000

I guess no one can go and use Pope Palpitine jokes anymore.

Not at all. He probably has more important endeavors to pursue now that he's stepping down, perhaps oversee the construction of a new Death Star, groom a new Sith apprentice, & most importantly.....conquer the galaxy.

[Pink Ranger]

If Cardinal Oulette is the next pope, then the Palpatine jokes can keep going.

[NickNitro]

This should be the last time we let a Nazi have any form of power.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by NickNitro

This should be the last time we let a Nazi have any form of power.

I don't think he was a Nazi. he was perhaps forced into it as a youth and not knowing any better, but it's not like he continued to specifically endorse nazism. Heck, California's former governor had a Dad who was more of a Nazi.

[Lasirius]

The next Star Wars will be in production soon.

(Too late for Palpatine jokes?)

[Piper Maru]

Maybe he stopped being Pope so he can star in the new Star Wars film?

[NickNitro]

Originally Posted by KalMart

I don't think he was a Nazi. he was perhaps forced into it as a youth and not knowing any better, but it's not like he continued to specifically endorse nazism. Heck, California's former governor had a Dad who was more of a Nazi.

I was kidding

I agree with the statement "there is only guilty/not guilty". The Vatican already has made it such a grey area with the whole sex scandal charges that I feel convicting these popes/arch bishops/etc. should be black and white.

You knew about it in any way and did not take action, you're as guilty as the person who committed the crime.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by KalMart

I don't think he was a Nazi. he was perhaps forced into it as a youth and not knowing any better, but it's not like he continued to specifically endorse nazism. Heck, California's former governor had a Dad who was more of a Nazi.

Ratzinger was 14 when he joined the Hitler Youth which was required by law. His brother claims that he avoided meetings and wouldn't endorse Naziism.