Pope

[oshta]

Well if you had any clue about religion at all you might realise their entire faith might just happen to centre around such things.

hehe

[Elmo]

The thing i found funny abt the elections is ur vote is guided by the ***holy spirit*** . I mean how the heck can u be guided by ***it*** and in this 21'st century world if they vote like this it is a shame as the pope chosen could be really bad at its job. Sorry, if i am being a bit imature(spell?).

it's not *OUR* vote tho, it's the cardinals that vote amongst themselves. No one else gets a say in the matter. And yeah they are "guided by god" to become cardinals (eventually) so it's god who guides them to vote for the person that should be the next pope.

Anyhooz, if anyone knows anything about being the pope, it's him, he was old JP's right hand man!

[aeonf242]

Anyway I hope he turns out to be a good man.

[Sailor]

did I hear he was part of the hitler youth?

I wouldn;t have thought so. This guy was all for making the chruch stand up for itself, so i think not. Even so he was born in the economical collapse of Germany and probably was all for Hitler before the war... that means he may well have been a devoted supporter

(almost 50 posts now!)

[Rave]

Nonsense. I'm as against conservative catholicism as anyone, but he clearly was not a Nazi sympathiser, he joined the Hitler youth as a young man because it was a legal requirement to do so, then left shortly after to go to a seminary (terminology?). To tar anyone who had the misfortune to be German or Austrian at the time of the second world war with the brush of nazism is uttely absurd.

[headbrace]

Nonsense. I'm as against conservative catholicism as anyone, but he clearly was not a Nazi sympathiser, he joined the Hitler youth as a young man because it was a legal requirement to do so, then left shortly after to go to a seminary (terminology?). To tar anyone who had the misfortune to be German or Austrian at the time of the second world war with the brush of nazism is uttely absurd.

At last, it makes a change to see someone who grasps this concept that he may not have been a Nazi purely because he was in the Hitler Youth. I didn't think anyone in that area at that time had any choice in the matter, you joined it or else.

I doubt that Ratzinger will be that interesting a pope, one of the African cardinals would probabaly have been a more radical choice but Ratzinger is probably more stable, and having been JPII right hand guy will probably know how the system works.

[Stewart]

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is named as new pope - Benedict XVI. More soon.

Overlooked again!

Ok, fair enough, I'm not a Catholic, I am an Athiest, and have no interest in the modern Church, or indeed any organised religion at all, but still... they are not seeing the bigger picture.

I'm young, healthy and think Jesus was a proper nutt job. We could have a right laugh.

So serious this Pope choosing stuff...

They should adopt the light-hearted and non-serious approach to religion so popular with modern Muslims.

[Knoxville]

Jesus wasn't a nutt job, he just did PCP alot

[oshta]

did I hear he was part of the hitler youth?

I wouldn;t have thought so. This guy was all for making the chruch stand up for itself, so i think not. Even so he was born in the economical collapse of Germany and probably was all for Hitler before the war... that means he may well have been a devoted supporter

Apprently its true, i he was.

[nichomach]

Joseph Ratzinger was legally required to join the Hitlerjugend, as noted above. He's an arch-conservative, known as "God's Rottweiller", "The Vatican's Enforcer" or "The Panzerkardinal". He's the former head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, basically the bunch responsible for determining and enforcing orthodoxy. He's definitely NOT a mjiddle-of-the-road choice and will likely continue down the same conservative path espoused by JPII. That said, he was born in 1927, so would have been 6 when the Nazis came to power. He entered a preparatory seminary in 1939, and was drafted at the age of 16 into a Flak unit, becoming a Wehrmacht soldier in '44, before being interned as a POW in '45. No more a Nazi sympathiser than any ordinary German of the period.

[Auran]

And it appears that the Turkish aren't happy with the choice as he has stated that he believes that they should not be allowed to join the EU, which is made up of Christian Societies. They should instead form alliances with fellow muslim countries.

So I'm wondering what he actually thinks of us in the UK belonging to the EU. The protestant faith being an anathema to the hardline Catholic doctrine.....

[yamangman]

Popey popey pope. Sick to the teeth of it all. I hope he turns out to be a right far left bastard.

[neonplanet40]

Popey popey pope. Sick to the teeth of it all. I hope he turns out to be a right far left bastard.

Some people like myself who are Roman Catholics may just find that to be a tad offensive. If you dont have nothin respectful to say you might as well keep it to yourself as that comment made no contribution of any relevance to thread whatsoever.

Neo

[yamangman]

If you are of a particularly overly-sensitive disposition then yes, I can see how that might be offensive. I'm sure you'll cope however.

[Twigman]

I have to say for the people that dont give a ****, the news has been a bit over the top for this.
I understand it affects a lot of people, but I hate it when any subject takes up a whole news broadcast in place of other equally important (to different people) stories.

[Nick]

Guys and girls, discuss the new Pope by all means but have a bit of respect for others.

I'm not Catholic and am about as religious as a roof tile, but I respect others views and beliefs. I agree, the coverage has been somewhat ott, but lets keep it civil, ok?

Thanks in advance.