Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope

[RedAnarchist]

Ratzinger is elected as new pope

St Peter's Square is now full of people eager to greet the new pope
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected as the pope - the head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.
Taking the name Pope Benedict XVI, the 78-year-old German has appeared on the balcony of the Vatican palace.

His arrival was greeted by cheers from the many thousands of pilgrims who had packed St Peter's Square as news of his election spread.

He was chosen on the third round of votes by the 115 cardinals meeting to select Pope John Paul II's successor.

[FriedFrog]

78? He's not gonna be around for long is he?

Is'nt he about as liberal as Catholics come aswell? Which cant be a bad thing...

[coda]

oh no.. he's a hardline conservative.

Germany's Cardinal Ratzinger Elected Pope

1 minute ago
[Add to My Yahoo!] Europe - AP

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, the church's leading hard-liner, was elected the new pope Tuesday evening in the first conclave of the new millennium. He chose the name Pope Benedict XVI and called himself "a simple, humble worker."

Ratzinger, the first German pope since the 11th century, emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he waved to a wildly cheering crowd of tens of thousands and gave his first blessing as pope. Other cardinals clad in their crimson robes came out on other balconies to watch him.

"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me ? a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord," he said after being introduced by Chilean Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estivez.

"The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers," the new pope said. "I entrust myself to your prayers."

The crowd responded by chanting "Benedict! Benedict!"

If the new pope was paying tribute to the last pontiff of that name, it could be interpreted as a bid to soften his image as the Vatican 's doctrinal hard-liner. Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, was a moderate following Pius X, who had implemented a sharp crackdown against doctrinal "modernism."

Ratzinger served John Paul II since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In that position, he has disciplined church dissidents and upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms. He turned 78 on Saturday.

The new pope had gone into the conclave with the most buzz among two dozen leading candidates. He had impressed many faithful with his stirring homily at the funeral of John Paul II, who died April 2 at age 84.

Ratzinger is the first Germanic pope since monarchs imposed four men from that region in a row in the 11th century.

[RedAnarchist]

I've just heard on another board that our friend Benedict was a member of the Hitler Youth, although i cant currently confirm that has any truth.

[bushdog]

Originally posted by NoMan,NoProblem@Apr 19 2005, 05:04 PM
78? He's not gonna be around for long is he?

Is'nt he about as liberal as Catholics come aswell? Which cant be a bad thing...

This geezer is one of the most conservative of the bishops, i was hoping for the liberal guy from argentina. oh well, thier loss.

[bushdog]

i have heard that he was HY also, and BBC says he served in the nazi military.

[Son of the Revolution]

Yep, he was in the hitler youth, but i think it was compulsory. Still, hitler youth or no hitler youth, he's evil. He said homosexuals were working for the devil, described women as inferior, said jews were traitors to their heritage unless they became catholic, told anglicans their ministry was invalid, warned against an evil tide of secularism that was set to swamp the world, said anyone who wasn't a catholic was a child, declared contraception a work of the devil, and said giving treatment to drug addicts was a collusion with evil.

He also headed the congregation for the doctine of the faith, who were formerly known as the inquisition.

And now he's pope. Bring on saint mussolini...

[che's long lost daughter]

Yes, i think he is the most conservative amongst the popular candidates. He goes by the book and lives by the book, i wonder what future the Catholics will have under his administration...

[redstar2000]

How appropriate!

His father was a fucking cop!

[Son of the Revolution]

Ratzinger and two catholic theologians who disagreed with him go to the pearly gates together. St. Peter says that god will see them one by one. The first theologian goes and comes out five minutes later, muttering 'How could I have been so wrong?'. In goes the second theologian. Five minutes later he comes out, muttering 'How could I have been so wrong?'. Then Ratzinger goes in. There are screams, shouts, bangs, and the sound of someone weeping. Five hours later god comes out muttering 'How could i have been so wrong?'.

[Don't Change Your Name]

He's old because it seems they want "transitional" popes after long "popehoods"(?).

And yes, HE IS A NAZI AND AN ULTRACONSERVATIVE ASSHOLE, so fuck him. I hope they shoot the motherfucker as soon as possible.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Originally posted by redstar2000@Apr 19 2005, 05:48 PM
How appropriate!

His father was a fucking cop!

Hey, you know what?
My father was a cop, and I was never a member of the fucking Hitler Youth.

Of course, after John Paul II forced out progressive movements within the Church, and stacked the upper eachelons with reactionary Conservatives, and members of fucking Opus Dei, could we expect anything but a fucking Nazi for Pope?

Well, lets get down to what really matters: the Christian-Right is gaining strength, so what the fuck are we going to do about it?

[bed_of_nails]

Yes, he was a member of the HY. Prepare for the 4th Reich!

[Wolnosc-Solidarnosc]

NovelGentry (and several others) were raised as Christians!!!

BAN THEM IMMEDIATELY

[redstar2000]

Actually, the "Nazi connection" of the new pope is pretty tenuous...I don't think we're going to get much mileage out of it.

But he is, even by Catholic standards, a hardline reactionary...and we should get plenty of mileage out of that (if he lives long enough).

With a bit of luck, he might well drive many "left" Catholics out of the Church altogether...and perhaps in our direction. (Probably means more "Jesus was a Commie" threads in this forum. )

The more openly reactionary the Church becomes, the more the rebellious peasantry in the "third world" will be tempted to abandon the Church in favor of more secular revolutionary movements.

And that will be a good thing.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Originally posted by redstar2000@Apr 20 2005, 05:09 AM
Actually, the "Nazi connection" of the new pope is pretty tenuous...I don't think we're going to get much mileage out of it.

But he is, even by Catholic standards, a hardline reactionary...and we should get plenty of mileage out of that (if he lives long enough).

Fair enough, but grant me my opening slags.

Of course, it's also posible that the Chruch's extreme rightward swing might drag already religious, conservative peasentry further right with it. It's also posible that religious discourse in general will shift to the right, just like political discourse in Dubya's America (see: ABBism).

I've been thinking alot about the CNT/FAI method of dealing with religious institutions . . .

[RedCeltic]

Personally, I had hopes that they would have elected someone from the third world as pope, rather than another white guy… not that I really give a shit about popes or the catholic church.

What RedStar said has the most significance and tell tale sign of his coming “papacy”.

With a bit of luck, he might well drive many "left" Catholics out of the Church altogether

From what I’ve read about this individual, he seems to be keen on the idea of driving out more liberal voices within the church, and creating a catholic faith with a smaller, yet more loyal following.

I just hope it all comes crashing down around him and we’ll be there to pick up the pieces.

[Elect Marx]

Originally posted by RedCeltic@Apr 20 2005, 12:10 AM

With a bit of luck, he might well drive many "left" Catholics out of the Church altogether

From what I’ve read about this individual, he seems to be keen on the idea of driving out more liberal voices within the church, and creating a catholic faith with a smaller, yet more loyal following.

I just hope it all comes crashing down around him and we’ll be there to pick up the pieces.

We can hope; strip-mine the church on Earth!

Welcome back RC; where you been man? PM me with a long story if you like...

[Intifada]

Latin Americans and Africans, in particular, should now realise that the Catholic Church is shit.

[bed_of_nails]

They couldnt have a minority for pope. That would show some leftist leanings, duh.