The Pope resigns

[Zostrianos]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21411304

"I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."

[Sasha]

as posted in the other thread, i think i couldn't word my opinions better than the great tim minchin did here; rTIorwtJbhE

[Fourth Internationalist]

as posted in the other thread, i think i couldn't word my opinions better than the great tim minchin did here; rTIorwtJbhE

OMG :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:: laugh::laugh::laugh:

[feeLtheLove]

Ha! Even the Pope gets too old to deal with the shit the Church does.
I do wonder who the next Pope will be though

[Althusser]

People who protect child rapists are just as bad as child rapists. Fuck that kiddie fucker nazi saluting piece of shit. I hope he chokes on his next gourmet meal while Africa starves and AIDS continues to spread there because of The Pope's advice on condom use.

[Fourth Internationalist]

Fuck that kiddie fucker nazi saluting piece of shit.
To be fair, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, like every other child at the place and time.

[MP5]

Hopefully he dies of stomach cancer and Rome suffers a severe shortage of morphine while he is dying. Nazi loving bastard.

[Althusser]

To be fair, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, like every other child at the place and time.

You are right. I'm just lashing out uncontrollably about that pedophile protector....
zBUYCaSTYf4

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

He´s the first guy to do this in 600 years or something. I think he did just it for the novelty.

[Fourth Internationalist]

Hopefully he dies of stomach cancer and Rome suffers a severe shortage of morphine while he is dying. Nazi loving bastard.

He doesn't love the Nazis nor is he one.

[feeLtheLove]

He´s the first guy to do this in 600 years or something. I think he did just it for the novelty.

Honestly, I believe him in what he says that he was getting too old.

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

Honestly, I believe him in what he says that he was getting too old.
Rubbish. You are never too old to be a pope!
w8NjOfvpn-0

[Yuppie Grinder]

Bummer. I'll miss harassing the shit out of him on twitter.

[Mass Grave Aesthetics]

Bummer. I'll miss harassing the shit out of him on twitter.
I wonder if some stuff that went down on twitter is the reason he´s turning in his tiara

[Yuppie Grinder]

You can always do that to the next pope. I wonder if some stuff that went down on twitter is the reason he´s turning in his tiara
He probably got sick of my flirting.

[DasFapital]

Maybe he'll finally get arrested like Dawkins wanted

[Regicollis]

He is first and foremost an introverted theologian who had little talent or desire for administration or for being a public figure. He didn't do much as a pope and he'll first and foremost be remembered as the first pope to retire in 600 years.

And yes - fuck him for protecting child molesters, for not stopping catholic anti-condom propaganda in Africa, for admitting fascist groups into the church, for being against abortions even in the cases of rape and incest, etc., etc., etc. It's a pity there is no hell for him to go to.

I'm no fan of the catholic church or the papacy but I hope the next pope will be a progressive one (at least progressive by papal standards). It may not bring about the liberation of mankind but it will at least improve the lives of millions of people living under the reactionary norms of catholic culture.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

To be fair, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, like every other child at the place and time.

He was also a member of the SS after Hitler Youth and was actively involved in pogroms, so this shit loses credibility real quick.

[Bronco]

He was also a member of the SS after Hitler Youth and was actively involved in pogroms, so this shit loses credibility real quick.

Source?

I've never heard of any involvement in pogroms and as far as I know he was drafted into the German army (and later deserted) but not the SS. He was pressured to join at one point but was exempt because he was intending to become a Priest.

It's kinda dumb that will all the other major abuses and controversies that the Church and Benedict could be criticised for, people focus so much on a detail from his childhood to which there is really very little to

[Fourth Internationalist]

He was also a member of the SS after Hitler Youth and was actively involved in pogroms, so this shit loses credibility real quick.

He was also from an anti-Nazi family, drafted to the army, and then deserted (punishable by death).

[Princess Luna]

I have a feeling Leonardo Sandri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Sandri#Biography) will be the next pope, that way the church can claim to be hip and diverse by picking a non-European to be pope! .....by picking an old white dude of Italian descent to be pope.

[Nikolay]

Hopefully he dies of stomach cancer and Rome suffers a severe shortage of morphine while he is dying. Nazi loving bastard.

Don't you have any common decency or respect at all? I for one am really offended by this comment. My step father died of cancer, and I would never wish that anyone. And he died painfully, it wasn't quick.

And this has to be the worst comment I've ever read on the internet, just disgusting.

PS: This doesn't mean I like the man (the pope), I just found this comment disturbing and disgusting.

[sixdollarchampagne]

I have a feeling Leonardo Sandri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Sandri#Biography) will be the next pope, that way the church can claim to be hip and diverse by picking a non-European to be pope! .....by picking an old white dude of Italian descent to be pope.

Well, judging from wikipedia, he certainly has a long history of serving in multiple positions, both pastoral and Roman curial/administrative. It's like having it both ways, they get a non-European, someone from my own hemisphere, of Italian descent, with an enormous amount of training, someone in tune with the Roman/curial bureaucracy.

I can't imagine, with all that education in Rome, in at least a couple of "Pontifical" universities and then serving in Argentina, all the while steadily climbing the ladder of advancement, that il Signore Cardinale Leandri is any kind of ecclesiastical "progressive," a term that loses any real content when applied to the Church, I think. So, I am betting that the problems the Church faces, like the priest shortage, the challenge of winning over the (former) colonial world, or addressing people outside the Church in times of social decay (like the present), will go unresolved. More of the same, I think.

And, just to reiterate, factually, Benedict XVI was not a fascist.

[LOLseph Stalin]

I heard that the pope resigned because he didn't want to be tried for the church's sex scandals since apparently he has diplomatic immunity as long as he stays in The Vatican. That's pretty absurd since the church has been involved in so many of these sorts of things.

[sixdollarchampagne]

The Cardinals just chose Bergoglio, from Argentina, a Jesuit, to be the next Pope; he is over 75 years old, but younger than Ratzinger, when Ratzinger assumed the Papacy. Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to be elected Pope, in the history of the Roman Church.

[Slavoj Zizek's Balls]

The Cardinals just chose Bergoglio, from Argentina, a Jesuit, to be the next Pope; he is over 75 years old, but younger than Ratzinger, when Ratzinger assumed the Papacy. Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to be elected Pope, in the history of the Roman Church.

His focus is 'simplicity' so I guess he's going to continue the previous Pope's legacy without the lovely décor on the outside. /sarcasm

[Red Banana]

On a side note, also the first Pope named Francis and the first to come from outside Europe.

[Sasha]

socially very conservative, anti-gay and anti-choice but also not fond of capitalism apparently. he discouraged liberation theology jezuits who wanted to overthrow the junta but also kept the junta itself at arms length. takes public transport to work and a small apartment.
in a lesser evil sense i guess an improvement but not much i'm afraid.

[sixdollarchampagne]

On a side note, also the first Pope named Francis and the first to come from outside Europe.

It is interesting that a Jesuit took the name "Francis," particularly given the fact that the Cardinals had a chance to choose an actual Franciscan, I believe his name is O'Malley, the head of the Archdiocese of Boston, but they made another choice. My alma mater is a Jesuit university, and it always seemed to me that the Jesuits are hardcore. I can only imagine what Bergoglio will be like as a teacher and religious leader. Pope Francis' pontificate is going to be an interesting experience, I think.

EDIT: I have a bunch of leftist friends in Argentina. I look forward to reading their reaction to the new Pope.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

I honestly don't know why seemingly everyone expects something significant to come from this election. As if the current catholic ras will somehow reverse the entire bigoted and reactionary tendency of Catholicism.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

Bergoglio was head of the Jesuits in Argentina during the military dictatorship.I haven't found any dirt on him.Apparently he was a low key guy and although he wasn't a leftist, showed concern for the poor.So far it looks like he's not implicated in the corrupt Vatican factions and vicsous infighting which is probably the real reason Ratzi the Nazi resigned.
Apparently President Kirchner of Argentina came out against Pope Frank.

Anyway the RCC is an utterly archaic patriarchall misogynist institution which has brought harm to millions.I briefly met Sean O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston at a pro-choice demo.I passed by him, shouting "shame, shame". I don't think he looked too happy.



Bergoglio couldn't prevent Argentina from becoming the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage, or stop its president, Cristina Fernandez, from promoting free contraception and artificial insemination. When Bergoglio argued that gay adoptions discriminate against children, Fernandez compared his tone to "medieval times and the Inquisition."

This kind of demonization is unfair, says Rubin, who wrote Bergoglio's authorized biography, "The Jesuit."

"Is Bergoglio a progressive _ a liberation theologist even? No. He's no third-world priest. Does he criticize the International Monetary Fund, and neoliberalism? Yes. Does he spend a great deal of time in the slums? Yes," Rubin said.

Critics also accuse him of failing to stand up publicly against the country's military dictatorship from 1976-1983, when victims and their relatives often brought first-hand accounts of torture, death and kidnappings to the priests he supervised as leader of the Jesuit Order in Argentina

Like other Jesuit intellectuals, Bergoglio has focused on social outreach. Catholics are still buzzing over his speech last year accusing fellow church officials of hypocrisy for forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.

Its in Spanish but this work is supposed to have inside dirt on Bergoglio in his relations with the dictatorship.

http://www.worldcat.org/title/silencio-de-paulo-vi-a-bergoglio-las-relaciones-secretas-de-la-iglesia-con-la-esma/oclc/493366740?referer=di&ht=edition

[Red Banana]

It is interesting that a Jesuit took the name "Francis," particularly given the fact that the Cardinals had a chance to choose an actual Franciscan, I believe his name is O'Malley, the head of the Archdiocese of Boston, but they made another choice. My alma mater is a Jesuit university, and it always seemed to me that the Jesuits are hardcore. I can only imagine what Bergoglio will be like as a teacher and religious leader. Pope Francis' pontificate is going to be an interesting experience, I think.

EDIT: I have a bunch of leftist friends in Argentina. I look forward to reading their reaction to the new Pope.

Yeah I have to agree, I was raised Catholic and the borderline if not closeted communist priest that did most of the masses on Sunday at my church was a Jesuit, and he was pretty kick-ass. I can't imagine how tiring it would be to go to a Jesuit university though, at least for me. As to whether or not Bergoglio will bring about any real progressive change within the church, I can't be sure, but I remain doubtful.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

The Catholic church’s complicity in torture and murder in Argentina should be no surprise; it had, after all, long precedents in extreme doctrines that came to Argentina (and elsewhere in Latin America) from the far right in France. But many details of Horacio Verbitsky’s account are revelatory, and his researches are a vital contribution to continuing efforts in Argentina to reach a full historical, legal and moral accounting for the violations of the “dirty war” years.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/catholicchurch_2709.jsp

I'd be surprised if "pope Francis" turned out to be completely clean.

[Sasha]

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/catholicchurch_2709.jsp

I'd be surprised if "pope Francis" turned out to be completely clean.

He was accused by a priest of complicity in the disappearance of two fellow priests but no evidence was provided. He himself claims he let several dissidents hide on the church ground and even one escape across the border with his passport. But then again he remained completly silent when recently some prominent clergy got prosecuted in argentina for complicity in the dirty war.

[sixdollarchampagne]

Yeah I have to agree, I was raised Catholic and the borderline if not closeted communist priest that did most of the masses on Sunday at my church was a Jesuit, and he was pretty kick-ass. I can't imagine how tiring it would be to go to a Jesuit university though, at least for me. As to whether or not Bergoglio will bring about any real progressive change within the church, I can't be sure, but I remain doubtful.

I have never been able to generalize about the Jesuits, even after being in a Jesuit-run university for four years. I could not draw any conclusions about political stances they might take. I just know that they are intensely Catholic and fairly well-off. It was a Jesuit from our university, who, in the years following the Second World War, persuaded Joe McCarthy, of "McCarthyism," to go after commies. McCarthy, a Member of Congress, had originally been thinking he would focus on housing, but that particular Jesuit, I believe (after whom one of the buildings at my alma mater is named), changed the course of US history. On the other hand, back in the late sixties, our Jesuit philosophy Prof gave us some advice on how to argue effectively in opposition to the war in Vietnam, and, as I remember, he offered to cancel a class, so we could observe the (anti-war) Moratorium for a day. Jesuits are a mixed bag.

The other thing I wanted to say, for the last time, is that Ratzinger was no Nazi, because of family reasons (at least) that I have already explained.

[sixdollarchampagne]

On a side note, also the first Pope named Francis and the first to come from outside Europe.

If you count Peter (Cephas) as the first Pope, which the Roman Church does, Peter would be the first Pope "to come from outside Europe," since he lived in Roman-occupied Palestina (I hope I got the Latin right), which is a Roman imperialist way of referring to Judea and Samaria without mentioning Jews or Samaritans. (I hope I got the geography details right.)

[Prometeo liberado]

Malachi Martin wrote a very interesting book about the Jesuits. If in fact the book is based on fact then this could signal a radical turn for the church.

[Orange Juche]

On a side note, also the first Pope named Francis and the first to come from outside Europe.

The first in the modern era - there have been a number of Middle Eastern Popes... the last being, I believe, in the 8th century.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Malachi Martin wrote a very interesting book about the Jesuits. If in fact the book is based on fact then this could signal a radical turn for the church.

Martin's appearances on Coast to Coast AM about the practice of exorcism were always pretty good.

[Prometeo liberado]

Martin's appearances on Coast to Coast AM about the practice of exorcism were always pretty good.

Not to get off topic but he did have a way of scaring the shit out of people and making demonic possession sound very real. He also claims that Satan pushed him down a flight of stairs once. Why The Angel of the Morning Star didn't kill him is beyond me.