Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Wir haben einen Deutschen Papst!

(We have a German Pope!) So it is finally done. Ratzinger was kind of the odds-on favorite I guess. I don't really have a lot to say on the subject, except that I would imagine that some Germans are less happy about it than you think, since Ratzinger is a strict traditionalist, and many Germans had wanted someone a little more reform-minded. Well, it's their religion. They will take it where they want it to go I suppose. I hope he is as much a goodwill ambassador as JPII, but I doubt he will be. He's actually not much younger than John Paul II when he died. Time will tell, but I don't see a lot of change coming from this Pope. Guess I'll just watch the show.

11 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

Thank G_d. A traditionalist? Do you mean someone who follows the tenets of his faith? That is JUST CRAZY!

Wayne World said...

Good , now we can get back to our regularly scheduled program instead of staring at a G*d Damned chimney for 4 hours!!

AndiM said...

As some of you might know I'm German ... and Bavarian.
And I'm not happy with the choice of Ratzinger. He's far too conservative.

Hm ... okay, time will tell if he'll change. I don't think so, but I hope so.

Erik Grow said...

Faith is not unmoldable Two Dogs, and you certainly have seen that over the years with the Catholic Church. Of course we weren't around when they were granting indulgences, but I'm sure you read about it in textbooks? Luther didn't leave for nothing! Religion is used to justify all sorts of things, but religion will change slowly over time. They find ways of saying "Ah, well now we see that this passage really meant *this* instead"...and religion goes on. Just like I was saying in my "Big Tent" post a couple weeks back, it just changes very slowly. There is nothing wrong with that in my opinion. The people in the religion determine what the religion is, whether they would like to admit it or not.

AndiM said...

The Catholic Church has changed its attitude towards other religions and confessions, but that isn't the problem.
It has to change its attitude in many modern issues. There are many issues one can't answer just with "Well the bible says this and that ...". And that's the point imho where J.P. II failed.
And - as I'm afraid of - Ratzinger will do so as well.

Wayne World said...

This new pope looks like he has performed an exorcism or two as a young priest.These guys give me the creeps with their funny robes and their funny hats and their creepy traditions.I hope he rids the church of those child molesters. Those poor alter boys!!The Catholic church must be rooted in homosexual traditions if they forbid priests to marry .It just reminds me of what one of the victims of the clergy sex scandal said, he was often deeply touched and moved by his priest.

Paul Mitchell said...

Thank G_d y'all are not Catholic. As I am not the most devout Catholic on the face of the Earth, I want someone to look up to as the head of my church. I do not want someone that continually capitulates to the ever changing tide of public opinion regarding the tenets of my church. I want for the Pope to be someone that takes me back in time with his beliefs to a point where things were the way that Christ wanted them.

Gay marriage? Against the rules. Female priests? Against the rules. Abortion? Against the rules. Birth control? Against the rules.

If you believe that these things are good, maybe the Catholic church is not for you. Try Episcopalian or maybe Presbyterian, they are much more liberal or so I have been told.

But Ratzinger is somewhat old for the rigors of the job. Just my opinion.

Erik Grow said...

You even follow the birth control stuff Two Dogs? That's about 28% of American Catholics, isn't it? That's one of the parts of Catholicism I find particularly nonsensical. It is the dominant religion in so many Third World nations that are already overpopulated, and they tell them to not use birth control and then they end up even more overpopulated. Sure, there are more Catholics in the world that way, but they are also doomed to poverty.

It's easy to pontificate about various teachings when you aren't living there and don't have to experience reality. There is no need to square teachings with what's going on in the world today in many respects, because people can and do ignore a lot of things, but on this particular issue it doesn't seem like the church is being socially responsible. I know they are not required to be, but it would be nice if they were.

Paul Mitchell said...

I do not find the birth control stance stupid at all. If you are going to tell people to have sex only with their spouse, it seems the logical way to go. Damn morals of those Catholics.

Erik Grow said...

It's all about your interpretation of Christianity. Catholics think one way, Protestants think another. Any religion that tries to regulate bedroom activity more than the average Protestant sect I see as highly suspect, and certainly Catholicism does that. I don't necessarily agree with all of what Protestants say either. Your church can think what they want. Far be it from me to demand you change. You're not obligated to change at all.

Paul Mitchell said...

I really don't think that Catholicism tries to regulate bedroom activity any more than book, what was it again? Oh, yea, THE BIBLE!

And I'm not sure exactly how Catholics think any differently than most Protestant religions. I don't really remember the Baptist church coming out and saying that they love the idea of homosexuality and sexual liberation. Maybe I missed that announcement.