Pope Benedict XVI Resigns.

[BENDERBOY]

Breaking news, more to follow.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...-live-reaction

[Telstra]

At his age,
who want to be in the public eyes, no one.

[benno5693]

Can the whole church resign now? Wishful thinking... -_-

[Ben1]

Respect, holy father.

[BENDERBOY]

They're reporting it may be due to ill health.

Only the second Pope ever to resign.

[hylas]

yeah, whatever. its not like the next one will be any better.

[rareboy]

One hopes that we'll be allowed to bury him anyway.

They elect ultra conservative old fucks like the German Shepherd and wonder why the flock is bolting.

Good riddance to him. The Only thing scarier is the possibility of electing a fundamentalist from Africa.

[Benvolio]

This sounds suspiciously like a hoax. But there is a very old prediction that the next Pope, "Peter Romanus" will be the last. In the 1500s someone claimed to have found a list of predictions by the Irish St. Malachy in the 400s, giving a short prediction about each of the future Popes, but ending with Peter Romanus, after which the world comes to an end. That is where we now are on the list. The Church rejects the predictions, as does virtually everyone else, myself included. Nevertheless, there will be some discussion of it, I assume, in the coming weeks.
The prediction for the present Pope was "Gloria Olivae"=the glory of the olive. Doesn't seem to mean much.
The previous one was "de labore solis"=of the labor of the sun, much more interesting. When does the sun labor? When it climbs in the east, of course, and PPII was the first eastern Pope in centuries. Of course, the sun does not rise. We know because of the work of Copernicus, who did his work about the sun in Krakow, Poland. Peculiar , huh?
The prediction for PPI was "of the half moon", and you will recall that he died after about a month in office.
Pope John XXIII was "sailor and shepherd", and he was prior to election, the Archbishop of Venice, who traveled around in his gondola.
Most of what is going on here is that they are extremely ambiguous predictions, which are no help prior to the election, and afterward, people look for facts which could make the prediction plausible.

[Hard-up1]

This article (made current impressively quickly) suggests that he is the fifth to resign.

[Benvolio]

Here is the Wikipedia article on St Malachy's predictions.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

[Hard-up1]

The Church rejects the predictions, as does virtually everyone else, myself included.

Mkay, you cite a prediction that you yourself disbelieve, and then give it no tie to the current resignation, and then cite it again via link.

What is your point?

[johaninsc]

I wonder if there's a secret sex tape of Benny banging some altar boy that's about to surface or something

[Hard-up1]

Nah. Anyone who knew about it would be dead already.

He had enough rivals when he ascended the throne; if there were anything more than Youth for Hitler, he'd have been outed already.

He's just old, and through.

[benno5693]

I wonder if there's a secret sex tape of Benny banging some altar boy that's about to surface or something

Bwahaha!!! I literally lol'd!

[Hard-up1]

It will be interesting to see if the Italians attempt to reassert their candidate (the Milan one) or if the throne will pass to Africa or Latin America.

Europe is SO not the growing part of Catholicism, but the second class Catholics don't get to vote directly, so numerical representation has little impact, much like in the Anglican Communion.

[freefall]

I have a feeling he was caught raping some alcolyte.
That or God cheated on him and he asked for divorce.

[Hard-up1]

Ironically for the church that elevated Mary to the #1 position, a woman won't be in the running in this election either.

[Ninja108]

Good riddance to this Darth Maul look alike.

[JWaggy]

I wonder if there's a secret sex tape of Benny banging some altar boy that's about to surface or something

Bwahaha!!! I literally lol'd!

I have a feeling he was caught raping some alcolyte.
That or God cheated on him and he asked for divorce.

It's all so very funny...

[Hard-up1]

It's not like there are any handsome cardinals out there. You pretty much have to be geriatric to don the cardinal's colors.

[nycguydowntown]

The dude gave me the creeps--he looked like the walking dead---as these things follow current trends, I expect a progressive black pope next

[gsdx]

Ironically for the church that elevated Mary to the #1 position, a woman won't be in the running in this election either.

Interesting, that. I used to know a rather naive Catholic in her 20s. She couldn't understand why non-Catholics pray directly to God. They should be praying to Mary and she will pass the messages along. As if God needed a secretary.

[Kahaih]

It's not like there are any handsome cardinals out there. You pretty much have to be geriatric to don the cardinal's colors.

There was, though, long ago, a ‘twink’ pope. He was around 18 and lasted only about a month due to an untimely and suspicious death.

[MrRochesterNY]

The dude gave me the creeps--he looked like the walking dead ...

Judging from an early picture of him when he was just a priest named Ratzinger that is posted on MSNBC, Benedict was a handsome evil devil.

[ChickenGuy]

It's a bit of a shame, to be honest. I was wanting to see how old he could get.

He was actually one of the oldest popes of them all - I just re-checked the list - he's the fourth-oldest Pope ever and would have been the third-oldest in a few months time. Which is not the same of course as longest-reigned - it all depends on their age when first appointed.

Trivia facts:

The longest-reigning Pope was Pius IX (1846-1878) who served nearly 32 years - 5 years more than recent second-place John Paul II (1978-2005). Pius IX's immediate successor Leo XIII (1878-1903) was not only the third longest-reigning but also the oldest-living Pope ever, dying at the age of 93. The current pope would have to live to the year 2020 to beat him.

Here is the Wikipedia article on St Malachy's predictions.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

Wow, that's actually quite impressive! I never knew about that! It's like the Papal equivalent of Nostradamus!

Although, upon closer inspection, it seems that a lot of the prophecies are explained away either by coat-of-arms or by play on words, which can really be interpreted as anything. I think it's very easy to search out and find 'coincidences' after the fact.

So according to that our future and final Pope 'Peter Romanus' will....

nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.

So when nothing happens, 'nourish the sheep' will be explained away as a Feast Day or something, or a sheep or goat or pastoral reference in his coat of arms or family history, 'the city of seven hills will be destroyed' will NOT be a reference to Rome but they'll find a building that was demolished or something that had a sudden special historical significance - they'll find a way to make 'city' something else, and finally 'the dreadful judge will judge his people' will refer to some sort of academic qualification or legal body or something extraordinally vague and irrelevant.

The prophecy can be construed to mean whatever you wish it to be when it's vague and ambiguous enough. That's why it seems at first glance to be so 'successful' in this case.

[Nishin]

[...]

Wow, that's actually quite impressive! I never knew about that! It's like the Papal equivalent of Nostradamus!

Although, upon closer inspection, it seems that a lot of the prophecies are explained away either by coat-of-arms or by play on words, which can really be interpreted as anything. I think it's very easy to search out and find 'coincidences' after the fact.[...]

Yeah, basically... in example:

This sounds suspiciously like a hoax. But there is a very old prediction that the next Pope, "Peter Romanus" will be the last. In the 1500s someone claimed to have found a list of predictions by the Irish St. Malachy in the 400s, giving a short prediction about each of the future Popes, but ending with Peter Romanus, after which the world comes to an end. That is where we now are on the list. The Church rejects the predictions, as does virtually everyone else, myself included. Nevertheless, there will be some discussion of it, I assume, in the coming weeks.
The prediction for the present Pope was "Gloria Olivae"=the glory of the olive. Doesn't seem to mean much. [...]

Olive = Mediterranean area = the Arab Spring ! Tadaaa

[Axxess]

It's not like there are any handsome cardinals out there. You pretty much have to be geriatric to don the cardinal's colors.

What if someone has a thing for daddies? Wouldn't they all be handsome then?

Here is the Wikipedia article on St Malachy's predictions.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

Yay, the doomsayers have something new to believe in.

[G-Lexington]

Anyone else thinking reality show? Make Me Pontiff! Twelve cardinals locked in a church for a month...

Lex

[nycguydowntown]

Bwahaha!!! I literally lol'd!

just saw the HBO special on this subject "Mea Culpa, Mea Maxi Culpa" (very worth watching if you have access to a copy)---very interesting--Benny is a featured player in the doc. Anyway--bring on the young Black or Latin pope.

[Rick Ratzinger]

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[loki81]

Interesting, that. I used to know a rather naive Catholic in her 20s. She couldn't understand why non-Catholics pray directly to God. They should be praying to Mary and she will pass the messages along. As if God needed a secretary.

what?

a lifetime of Catholic schools and religious classes and I can safely say that I was never, ever, ever taught that.

the only thing I can think of is the "Hail Mary" prayer, which is one of many (and is a prayer also used by the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran denominations)

[G-Lexington]

It seemed in my days that men prayed to God/Jesus, and women prayed to Mary. Or were more likely to pray to Mary, anyway.

Lex

[LeicsDom]

I suppose it is too much to ask that the bigotted old bastard has resigned over his guilty conscience

[nycguydowntown]

Someone on BBC just said--ironically this decision to resign is the only significant decision he's made---and a doctor said--with medicine keeping old people alive forever (sadly Dick Cheney is a good example)----maybe others will resign before they become the living dead.

[PreTTy PeTe]

I wonder what the Catholic Church is giving as a retirement package?

[Kahaih]

It seemed in my days that men prayed to God/Jesus, and women prayed to Mary. Or were more likely to pray to Mary, anyway.

Lex

OK! Here we go.

The Mary prayers are fem, and the Jesus/God prayers are butch.

So let it begin!

[gsdx]

what?

a lifetime of Catholic schools and religious classes and I can safely say that I was never, ever, ever taught that.

This was over 30 years ago. She left the Catholic church because it didn't make sense to her after she began attending a Protestant church. Things may be different now, but I clearly remember her praying to Mary and not to God. We had a similar discussion about confession. God already knows what your sins are, and all you have to do is to ask his forgiveness and you get it. Why do you have to tell a priest and why is he the one to mete out your punishment?

[statsguy]

They're reporting it may be due to ill health.

Only the second Pope ever to resign.

Not Quite. From the National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/can-pope-resign)

Historical evidence for papal resignations is limited, especially if one eliminates resignations that may have been forced.

1. Clement I (92?-101): Epiphanius asserted that Clement gave up the pontificate to Linus for the sake of peace and became pope again after the death of Cletus.
2. Pontian (230-235): Allegedly resigned after being exiled to the mines of Sardinia during persecution of Maximinus Thrax.
3. Cyriacus: A fictional character created in the Middle Ages who supposedly received a heavenly command to resign.
4. Marcellinus (296-304): Abdicated or was deposed after complying with Diocletian's order to offer sacrifice to pagan gods.
5. Martin I (649-655): Exiled by Emperor Constans II to Crimea. Before he died, clergy of Rome elected a successor whom he appears to have approved.
6. Benedict V (964): After one month in office, he accepted deposition by Emperor Otto I.
7. Benedict IX (1032-45): Benedict resigned after selling the papacy to his godfather Gregory VI.
8. Gregory VI (1045-46): Deposed for simony by Henry III.
9. Celestine V (1294): A hermit, elected at age of 80 and overwhelmed by the office, resigned. He was imprisoned by his successor.
10. Gregory XII (1406-15): Resigned at request of Council of Constance to help end the Great Western Schism.

[FuryOfFirestorm]

I smell a Rat(zinger). These guys hang on to the pointy hat even when they're drooling on their robes and pooping themselves. He's either bailing out before another major scandal like "Molestgate" pops up, or the Cardinals got tired of the him making Catholics look bad and dug up enough dirt on him to scare him into "retiring".

Either way, good riddance to bad rubbish.

[eastofeden]

Now that they have knocked Nazi Youth out of the park....what's next?....White Supremist or KKK youth?

I fear the day when they embrace gays so hopefully the next evil man who takes the reins will be just as bad as the last one.

[CupidBoy]

[animalius]

what?

a lifetime of Catholic schools and religious classes and I can safely say that I was never, ever, ever taught that.

the only thing I can think of is the "Hail Mary" prayer, which is one of many (and is a prayer also used by the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran denominations)

It's more cultural than catholic doctrine.

Western cultures tend to pray directly to god while South American and East Asian tend to pray to god's so-called secretaries, like Mary and Saint Peter. The reason, as I've been taught (grew up catholic in East Asia) is that god as portrayed in the bible is a benevelent being who killed entire civilizations of people. Praying directly to him you might say something wrong and incure his wrath. Therefore, it's a better idea to pray to his secretaries like Mary and Saint Peter so that they could better word your prayers and present them to god for you. It's sort of like having a lawyer to represent you in court rather than you speaking directly to the judge and jury.

[Keeland]

Can the rat vote for the next pig?

[loki81]

Can the rat vote for the next pig?

no.

he gave up his Cardinal position on becoming Pope, and even if he was re-appointed as a Cardinal (which would require someone else stepping down, since the College of Cardinals is limited to 120 members), only Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote.

[Nishin]

^^ you got your zodiac wrong... it's a snake this year ...

[Saybrooke]

Here is the Wikipedia article on St Malachy's predictions.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

Omg! That's the first thing I thought of when I heard this! XD

[animalius]

what?

a lifetime of Catholic schools and religious classes and I can safely say that I was never, ever, ever taught that.

the only thing I can think of is the "Hail Mary" prayer, which is one of many (and is a prayer also used by the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Lutheran denominations)

Another way at looking at this from what I said in my previous post is this. In America, the father figure is very approachable, very loving figure, yes? In a lot of other cultures, like my own, the father figure is a benevolent figure that is impersonal and ought to be respected. You need help or have a problem? You go to your mother, not your father.

When christianity came to my home country, the father figure carried over to god. God is not to be disturbed most of the time. If you have a problem or need help, you pray to the mother figure (Mary). Mary will then bring your plea to god.

You probably don't understand this, since you were brought up by a different culture than me. Just know that while catholic doctrines are universal, cultural understanding and interpretations of them are not.

[nycguydowntown]

I think he's just exhausted from staying up all night watching Cam 4

[thatgirl]

Excuse me what about Georg Gänswein, his rumored boyfriend personal secretary? This is all that matters.

[unloadonme]

I'm completely indifferent to it. The Pope resigns. Another Pope is elected. Nothing changes. It's all mumbo jumbo to me.