White smoke arisin'

[Stan]

Turns out they have picked a new Pope.

[Gail]

Was just going to mention that...

[Gail]

Joseph Ratzinger, from Germany- the land of the Reformation

[Neil D]

Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would...I expected a full nine days of deliberation....

[aka]

Pope Benedict XVI was the name chosen by the newly elected RCC Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, this hour.

It is going to be very intriguing watching the enfolding of events in the next months and years under the leadership of this highly divisive public figure.

It went fast because there were really hardly any threatening contender to the throne to meet the qualifications other than Ratzinger.

Turmeric

[Neil D]

[:"blue"] Well, here is what I found on the net concerning this guy....[/]

CARDINAL RATZINGER: PROFILE

BBC TWO Thursday 18 December 2003 midnight-12.30am

[]http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/images/ratzinger_lead.jpg[/]

To some, he is the Catholic Church's intellectual salvation during a time of confusion and compromise. To others, he is an intimidating "Enforcer", punishing liberal thinkers, and keeping the Church in the Middle Ages. Certainly, in the world's largest Christian community the Pope's prefect of doctrine, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, cannot be overlooked.

Against dissent

While many theologians strive for a Catholic Church that is more open and in touch with the world around it, Ratzinger's mission is to stamp out dissent, and curb the "wild excesses" of this more tolerant era.

He wields the tools of his office with steely efficiency. By influencing diocese budgets, bishops' transfers and even excommunications, what an opponent calls "symbolic violence", Ratzinger has clamped down on the more radical contingent of the Church.

He has even claimed the prime position of the Church of Rome over other Christian Churches. Although he has apologised for this, he has never been so contrite about excluding liberation theologians, more progressive priests or those in favour of the ordination of women.

Charming

Personally charming, quick-witted and fluent in four languages, the Cardinal is a convincing orator. Jesuit Father Thomas Reese calls him "a delightful dialogue partner", but adds that most of the Cardinal's fellow clergy would be too worried about the prospect of excommunication to enjoy talking to him.

When Ratzinger served the Second Vatican Council for three years from 1962, he supported reform. His own background, however, perhaps sheds light on his need for a Church that stands firm against the currents of change and political shifts.

Schooled in the Nazis' power of rhetoric during his childhood in Bavaria, Ratzinger later deserted the German Army during World War II, only to be sent to a POW camp when the Allies reached his hometown.

Later, as an eminent theologian lecturing at Germany's premier faculties, he was horrified by the Marxist ideologies that punctuated campus small talk in the late 1960s.

"Papal fundamentalism"

Since then, Ratzinger has pursued doctrine that can endure, independent of cultural or social trends. He argues that only with a completely separate values system can the Church offer individual freedom. His critics call this "papal fundamentalism", but Ratzinger is unflappable in his personal theology.

The Cardinal claims that "everything falls apart without truth". Whether his noble aims justify his tactics is just one of the issues challenging the Catholic Church today.

[aka]

Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, was a moderate following Pius X, who had implemented a sharp crackdown against doctrinal "modernism." He reigned during World War I and was credited with settling animosity between traditionalists and modernists, and dreamed of reunion with Orthodox Christians.

Benedict comes from the Latin for "blessing" and is one of a number of papal names of holy origin such as Clement ("mercy"), Innocent ("hopeful" as well as "innocent") and Pius ("pious").

The last pope from a German-speaking land was Victor II, bishop of Eichstatt, who reigned from 1055-57.

[Ulunruh]

It's official,

Joseph Ratzinger -- the stern leader of the "Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith", the modern successor to the Inquisition, is now pope Benedict XVI

You do realize he's the one who issued the paper stating the Catholic church is NOT a sister church but the Mother church, and all other churches are "deficient".

http://www.cephasministry.com/catholicism_is_mother_church.html

[Ron Lambert]

At 78, he is expected to be a "transitional" pope, since his reign likely will only be a few years. But a lot can happen in a few years. He is being referred to as a "hard-liner" on doctrine. His election dashes any hopes of liberalizing such Catholic church traditions as celebacy for nuns and priests, and the various issues surrounding reproductive rights.

One news account said he was expected to clamp down on certain isms, including marxism (still an issue in some parts of South and Central America), relativism, modernism, agnosticism, atheism, liberalism. I will look forward with interest to see if he revisits the earlier proclamation of Pope John Paul II concerning evolution, where it was given tacit approval.

[Dr. Shane]

A pope that was a deserting nazi <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> This should be interesting to say the least. Do you think some of these popes are just chosen because they are next in line?

[cricket]

Locally, the election of the Pope was signified by a ringing of the church bells. St. Louis, predominantly Catholic, heard bells ringing all over the county.

Anyone else hear any bells today?

[K]

I think he was choosen because he is a safe choice. He follows the traditional lines which is very important to most Catholics.

Don't expect any big changes to come down from him. It will be very much the same as Pope John Paul.

K