Pope Benedict resigns.

[Fandango]

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would mean a lotta behbies and elders heading for hell.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would mean a lotta behbies and elders heading for hell.

I meant specifically pooping in your pants about who the next Pope is.

 

[Fandango]

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would mean a lotta behbies and elders heading for hell.

I meant specifically pooping in your pants about who the next Pope is.

That's like not being scared about who the next president of America is. Politicians there are bananas and they have a tendency to steamroll over countries they don't like, killing innocent people like they're videogame characters. You need someone on the top of the foodchain who you can trust. And I don't trust cardinals, or whatever, for as far as I can throw em.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would mean a lotta behbies and elders heading for hell.

I meant specifically pooping in your pants about who the next Pope is.

That's like not being scared about who the next president of America is. Politicians there are bananas and they have a tendency to steamroll over countries they don't like, killing innocent people like they're videogame characters. You need someone on the top of the foodchain who you can trust. And I don't trust cardinals, or whatever, for as far as I can throw em.

The Pope doesn't have quite the impact of someone who actually plays a role in legislation, like the leader of a country that is composed of more than just Vatican officials. The Catholic Church's "brand" has also been badly damaged in the past decade by the child molestation scandals, which is why the most recent pope hasn't been able to have quite the impact on said world leaders that, say, Pope John Paul II did.

I'm also, you know, kind of joking. But I was kind of tipsy when I made that joke so who knows if it was actually funny?

 

[Dorothy]

Problem is they can't with out violating the bible as it says in it the infallible word of god and must taken that way literally word for word and as result such things as lifting the ban on gay marriage is bad, the same for contraception and woman as clergy etc would be impossible as a result

The Catholic church isn't fundamentalist. Reality is that most people in the Holy See are just conservative.

Exactly - they don't take the Bible literally when it comes to evolution (official Vatican doctrine is that evolution happened, it's conservative Protestant churches that reject it). They also almost changed their mind on contraception with Vatican II.

Specifically, they accept evolution with the exception of special creation of the human soul.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

Problem is they can't with out violating the bible as it says in it the infallible word of god and must taken that way literally word for word and as result such things as lifting the ban on gay marriage is bad, the same for contraception and woman as clergy etc would be impossible as a result

The Catholic church isn't fundamentalist. Reality is that most people in the Holy See are just conservative.

Exactly - they don't take the Bible literally when it comes to evolution (official Vatican doctrine is that evolution happened, it's conservative Protestant churches that reject it). They also almost changed their mind on contraception with Vatican II.

Specifically, they accept evolution with the exception of special creation of the human soul.

Which means they accept evolution completely, since souls are a specifically religious concept that aren't addressed in the scientific theory of evolution at all.

 

[Iteru]

BBC News - US Cardinal Mahony urged to avoid conclave over abuse

BBC News - Cardinal Keith O'Brien misses Sunday Mass after accusations

So we have one cardinal who has been asked not to go to Rome to vote on the next Pope by a significant number of Catholics, and another who I imagine is going to get the same treatment. I think we'll see a few more cases like this; it certainly adds a bit to those thinking that the resignation is because something big is going to happen/be revealed.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

Has anyone heard the stuff about how the Pope might be implicated in the child sex abuse scandal in some way, and other governments are looking to arrest him?

I've read this but not from any reliable source (and I don't mean that I read it in the National Enquirer, I mean in news blogs rather than, say, The New York Times) so I'm not sure whether to believe it.

 

[Shinobu]

Exactly - they don't take the Bible literally when it comes to evolution (official Vatican doctrine is that evolution happened, it's conservative Protestant churches that reject it). They also almost changed their mind on contraception with Vatican II.

Specifically, they accept evolution with the exception of special creation of the human soul.

Which means they accept evolution completely, since souls are a specifically religious concept that aren't addressed in the scientific theory of evolution at all.

The only opinion the Catholic church has is that humans are the products of creation. They don't really care about the rest of it.

 

[Iteru]

BBC News - Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as Archbishop

So for the important bit:

Cardinal O'Brien said in his statement he had already tendered his resignation as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, due to take effect when he turned 75 next month, but Pope Benedict "has now decided that my resignation will take effect today".

Interesting that O'Brien gets cut quickly because he was resigning soon anyway, but Mahony hasn't been told to step down by the Pope. I don't think the Pope can really afford to be so flimsy with what action he's taking on cardinals with allegations against him, especially if he wants the new Pope process to go smoothly (well, less worse than it seems right now I should say).

 

[DerMißingno]

The next pope? I'm pooping my pants.

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would certainly make for an interesting FMA character.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

The next pope? I'm pooping my pants.

This should be the eighth deadly sin.

That would certainly make for an interesting FMA character.

Yeah, could you tell where my line of thought was going with this?

(well, I guess, as I said, I was kind of intoxicated when I made that joke.)

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

UPDATE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/w...p-his-name-and-become-pope-emeritus.html?_r=0

What does everyone think of this development? Certainly helps to dispel some of the crazy rumors about why exactly he's retiring...

 

[DerMißingno]

I don't get it. So he's going to continue to serve as ex-pope or something?

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

I don't get it. So he's going to continue to serve as ex-pope or something?

No, he's not going to "continue to serve" it's just a special title. In universities, a professor emeritus is a professor who is retired.

 

[Vhazhiphor]

So, is he still going to be infallible after tomorrow? That's what I'm curious about. Maybe he stepped down so he could buy a lottery ticket.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

So, is he still going to be infallible after tomorrow? That's what I'm curious about. Maybe he stepped down so he could buy a lottery ticket.

I don't think they've made any decision about how "infallible" he's going to be considered after he steps down. At least, all I've heard is speculation.

 

[UnovaCastaway]

Regular bishops can step down and still serve in church functions, they just don't lead their diocese/ group of church parishes anymore.

So, is he still going to be infallible after tomorrow? That's what I'm curious about. Maybe he stepped down so he could buy a lottery ticket.

I think the pope is only technically infallible when making certain statements as a teacher of the Church. The last time a pope made a formal statement about doctrine that's considered to be infallible was in 1950 about the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven. See here for more explanations.

 

[Goodbye Blue Monday]

So, is he still going to be infallible after tomorrow? That's what I'm curious about. Maybe he stepped down so he could buy a lottery ticket.

I think the pope is only technically infallible when making certain statements as a teacher of the Church. The last time a pope made a formal statement about doctrine that's considered to be infallible was in 1950 about the Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven. See here for more explanations.

This is true (and sadly, is something even a lot of Catholics don't understand). But it's still an issue that would need to be addressed if he made doctrinal statements in his new position as an "emeritus Pope" or whatever, if they conflict with what the current Pope says.

I mean, yeah, it's unlikely for all of that to happen. But it's interesting to speculate on if you like theology debates or whatever.