ok you had a day to think about it ..

[frenchy]

what do you think of the new pope ?? better than the old pope ?? or same as the old pope ?? seems he was the one we almost got the last time instead of the one we did get .. but it makes me wonder .. hes 76 years old ..from what they say he's in decent health other than havin a lung removed for some reason as a youth but he's done ok for quite some time with only one so that probably won't be a factor all that much .. but even with two good lungs and a workout plan like jack lalane 76 is still kinda old for such a strenuous job .. i mean wasn't that the reason the last pope stepped down ?? i watched yesterday after they announced that they had made a decision and the white smoke was out the chimmney . and the square was filled with people .. holdin on to rosary beads .. cryin , prayin , all lookin for some kind of sign .. i saw a lot of hope in that crowd yesterday .. any thoughts on if you think he'll be able to live up to the hope they all had in him ?? 

[dwalt]

A pope i a pope to me.  And I agree, thats kinda  old to me too.

[Shadowman]

If he takes Sister Simone up on her offer to go with them on the "Nuns on the Bus" tour, then maybe he will interject some new energy into the Catholic Church, otherwise I suspect the same old thing.  White smoke came out of my chimney yesterday also - - I got elected to do the cooking, dishes, get the mail, bring in firewood, etc. etc.

[ProblemAgain]

what do you actually KNOW about the catholic religion? and it isn't just the catholic church that sheltered pedophiles. it has also been known to happen among the boy scouts, the baptists and LOTS of other groups. they didn't give him his name... the person becoming pope PICKS his own name. and they (the cardinals) pick who they consider to be the best candidate for the office given the input of religiosity and church politics, much like any organization. the age kind of goes with the territory

[crestofwaves]

I think the Cardinals who picked him know that slowly the Church has to come into the 21st century.  I believe this Pope is a transitional Pope and they don't expect him to be in power for 25 years.  I will believe in him and hope, like the crowd yesterday.  Let's see what happens.

 

The mud slinging has already begun with reference to the "Dirty War" in Argentina years ago.  Some say he didn't do enough to save people, others said he worked hard behind the scenes.  So, let's see where these accusations go.  In me, hope springs eternal.

[blithe spirit]

I'm not Catholic either, but it does interest me...there are millions of Catholics and they have a strong and ifluential clergy and a long history. I am interested enough to pay attention to the news and am familiar with many of their traditions. If I'm going to have an opinion I feel I should at least know basic facts. I watched a lot of the broadcasts and It seem that many of the people were quite hopeful about the future of the Church. I hope for them that he is able to do what needs to be done.

[Shadowman]

I work for a Franciscan institution and this is a montage of bits of their flurry of emails today:  The youngest Cardinal voting was 53 and the average age was 72. A few years back, Pope Benedict XVI and other church leaders said, “It was the moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.”  It will be interesting to see if anything new happens. Franciscan schools and institutions have been pondering the historic significance of that name choice. However, there was also St. Francis Borgia, an early leader and some say cofounder of the Jesuits.

 

[Lifesighs]

If he does something to make a difference to the poor, gets rid of a lot of glitter and gold that would do a lot towards making me respect him, If while he is there the news about cover ups and scandals goes away I would like that also.

I'm not a Catholic so the issues regarding the faith won't matter to me, birth control etc seems to need to evolve but old tired men aren't going to make that happen.

I've heard that you can't be Pope unless you are at least 70, kind of odd to me since it's faith is based a lot on Jesus who died young.

[frenchy]

i wish him well too , i was brought up as a catholic and went to catholic school from kindergarten to the  5th grade but we had a partin of the ways around then .. they didn't want me there anymore and i was glad to go . got expelled in the 5th grade .. my mom forced me to go back after school to make my confirmation so i had to take catacisim classes so i could .. the thing was the rest of the kids there were studyin all the stuff i knew from the first grade on so i was heads hands and feet beyond all of them .. i thought ok this will be a breeze but just to set the tone of how the class went and this is a very true story .. the first day of catacism the nun came over to me and smacked me right across the face .. and hard too and said thats just in case you're thinkin of makin any trouble in here .. i was there all of 3 minutes .. i told my mom about it and she said just don't make any waves, go along .. so i went along did all the lessons like everyone else .. actually better than everyone else cause as i said i was doin this stuff since i was in first grade .. maybe even kindergarten , and then when we got to the end of the class and it was time for the big day in a week or two they told me i couldn't make my confirmation .. why i asked ?? because my birthday was in october and i had to be 12 by may 30th . now they could have told me that when i first started the classes but didn't .. or told my mom .. she didn't know either .. i came to find out that there was a girl in the class who did make it and her birthday was in july so they bent the rules for her .. and each school had their own rules , across town where i went to school before we moved to where we were then, they were makin their confirmation in the third grade..which some might think is a little young but thats how it was.. different orders of nuns and priests practicin the same religion with different rules from parish to parish .. so my mom went down to the mother superior to plead with her to let me make my confirmation and she refused .. she said i wasn't old enough and that was it .. when my mom told her i knew she was lettin someone else make it and they weren't the right age for that parish either the mother superior said she could only bend the rules so far .. so i guess from july to october was too far .. now you have to bear in mind that the bishop only comes around but once every three years or so and only a bishop can confirm you if it wasn't gonna be then then it would be 3 years later when i was 14 almost 15 . so i told my mom ya see they don't want me makin my confirmation .. so my mom went back and again pleaded with the mother superior and told her if you keep him out now then you'll lose him as a catholic ..i know how my son is and he'll never be back..  does that matter to you at all ?? obviously not cause she didn't relent at all .. now all this is true but here's the thing .. if that hadn't have happened i probably would have severed ties with the catholics anyway .. i thought they were hypocritical even at a young age .. they taught you church doctrine most of the time and not the bible but one thing always jumped out at me .. jesus called the saduces and the pharices hypocrites because they dressed up in their robes and would walk throughout the town and pray loudly so all could hear them yet they would always get the best seats at all the banquets ..they demanded and got respect because of their pompous way of dress with the finest  robes and had that air of superiority..  jesus said thats all the reward you're ever gonna get .. you're hypocrites .. which of course that and turnin over the tables in the temple got him crucified .. you can't buck the system even if you're right .. but i saw the similarities between the catholic clergy and the saducees and pharicees .. good thing i didn't say anything about when i was 11 .. i wonder what they coulda done to me ?? probably not much in 1963 .. but if it was back in 1492 ?? they probably could have crucified me too ..    

[Shadowman]

I also went to a Catholic Grade School, for seven years.  This is how I became an atheist. Years later, after they had condemned the building and brought in one of those big cranes with a big steel ball to demolish it, I went and watched.

[crestofwaves]

Everybody's experience is different. I taught in Catholic School 17 years, but am a product of publick schools.  The people I worked with were dedicated, the holy people were truly holy and good and helpful; I can attest to this because my daughter was a teen at the time and suffered from anorexia. Her school nurse would call and scare the hell out of me by saying things like, "I can't get a pulse on Jessi today."  The nuns were supportive and loving and sweet. I loved the masses which included all the kids with various musical talents, the sermons were inspiring, and the spirit of peace during those times was palpable.

 

Every powerful institution has scumbags in it.  The Church is not different; however, I will defend the good done by the Church always, and I have known truly holy people.