6 billion people on Earth, gimme a break missing bum for butt.
Even if it was bum in the American meaning, it didn’t really warrant such a long-winded response.
(I can’t beleive shit like this misunderstanding being taken care of before I know about it can make me happy.)
Drugs are good. 
Go ahead and ignore this, but I can’t resist a hanging curve ball.
I think you mean the French.
There, now I feel better. 
By “bums” I thought Skammer merely meant “butts”, as in more butts in the pews equalling higher rates of evangelization and attendance.
If only Jean-Bertrand Aristide were on that list! 
(Yes, I know he’s not a Catholic priest any more, but he’s the only person who ever has been one for whom I can feel any respect. With a pope like him, maybe, just maybe, the Church might start deserving to be taken seriously for the first time in its two-millennium history.)
**Aeschines **, I can believe that the RC may not be having its best days in Indiana, but from a global perspective, it’s still doing pretty darn well. Hardly on its ‘last leg.’ I’m pretty confident that despite the occasional scandal it will comfortably outlast both of us.
Not just in IN but in the whole US, the Chuch is quite sickly. No priests, empty seminaries, declining numbers of parishoners. Lessee, no nuns, etc.
In the rest of the world? Low attendance in Europe. Competition from Evangelical churches everywhere (S. America and Africa).
Yes, it will outlive us both. But it is a slowly dying meme horde. Good riddance.
why an american pope? u just want crusades again, ay? honestly yanks are more blood thirsty than the poms ever were…
how bout an australian pope?
he could change the communal wine to beer, the wafers, meat pies, and instead of stupid poxy choirs, they could chant stuff like MARY!, MARY!, MARY!, OI!, OI!, OI!.. how cool would that be?
Who shall chosen to be the next Pope?
I will.
True, I am not a priest, nor even a Catholic.
But heyyyyy!—I mean, I’m the obvious choice.
Dear rukkus,
I can assure you that I have no desire to see a return of the Crusades.
However, I’m kind of curious as to why you think that having an American Pope would mean a return of the Crusades. Let’s not forget that the original Crusades started in Europe, not America (indeed, there was no church in America at the time).
Zev Steinhardt
The On-Line Betting Guide page linked in the OP lists the following favorites:
Dionigi Tettamanzi 5/2 17/5
Francis Arinze 3 9/2
Claudio Hummes 4 23/5
Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino 11/2
Ennio Antonelli 6
Joseph Ratzinger 8
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga 10
Giacomo Biffi 10
Jorge Mario Bergoglio 12
Count Christoph von Schoenborn 12
Cardinal Angelo Scola 12
Crescenzio Sepe 14
Juan Luis Cipriani 14
Giovanni Battista Re 14
Cardinal Dario Castrillion Hoyos 14
Angelo Sodano 16
Ivan Dias 16
Sean Patrick OMalley 20
Norberto Rivera Carrera 20
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martina 20
Keith O Brien 20
Cormac Murphy-OConnor 20
Godfried Daneels 20
Jean-Marie Lustiger 20
Miloslav Vlk (Czech Republic) 25
Jose Da Cruz Policarpo 25
Wilfred Napier (South Africa) 33
Cardianl Ruini 40
Cardinal George Pell 40
Diarmuid Martin 66
Cardinal Edward Cassidy 66
Cardinal Edward Clancy 66
But it doesn’t tell us anything more. I would wager most of these names are unfamiliar to most lay Catholics and practically all non-Catholics. Who are these guys? What are their religious politics? Nation of origin is noted for a few but omitted for most – where do they come from? Are any of them Americans? Are any of them “liberation theologians”? Are all of them dedicated to John Paul II’s doctrinal conservatism? Any serious dissenters?
Ahm, sorry to burst your bubble… ok, not sorry, so scratch that, I just don’t feel like going to confession right now…
The global number of vocations is UP. It’s down in the traditional locations, but the vocations we get in those are higher quality than they used to be. Part of the reason for this is that in 1st world countries, if you have a vocation for service but not for the clergy/nunnery, you can fulfill it as a layperson. 150 years ago, you just couldn’t (in those same countries; in Spain every single teacher in the country in 1855 was a priest or nun).
In the places that have a high number of vocations (Africa, Latin America, India), they also know that many of them are linked to social status and simply being able to stay in school. To give you a famous example, these were the reasons why D. Francisco de Jaso y Azpilcueta became a priest (his other choice was soldier of fortune)… his classmates called him Francisco el de Javier; he is widely known as St. Francis Xavier (he converted after he’d been ordained, thanks to Ignatius Loyola, a retired soldier who was the only founding member of the SJ not ordained at the time).
This led to a recent scandal, when it was discovered that some priests in Central African locations were living in common law marriages. Here in Catholic Spain the comments were along the lines of “well, it’s like that old joke: ‘in a Galician village, how do you know who is the priest’s son? easy, the only guy who calls him Uncle instead of Father’”
Priests are human, JPII is a stubborn old codger… but heck, he’s OUR stubborn old codger.
BrainGlutton, here is the list of Cardinals appointed this century. It has links to short biographies.
Joseph Ratzinger(8) is the Cardinal mentioned by jayjay and Polycarp, he’s apparently the Dean of the College of Cardinals. I assume Polycarp meant “Arinze” from Nigeria when he mentioned “Arunze”.
Here’s the official vatican site listing the Cardinals by region/country. It’s Italian but understandable. An asterisk means they are an “elector” and, note to Marley23, underlined means they were appointed by Paul VI.
Well, liberation theology is pretty much dead, as far as I know. Here’s a breakdown of the people listed:
Cardinal Tettamanzi-Archbishop of Milan. He’s generally considered a theological moderate. He’s a strong advocate of the church getting involved in world politics…he’s been an outspoken opponent of abortion, human cloning, gay rights, and globalization that doesn’t pay attention to human rights or enviornmental or social justice issues. Generally considered a strong candidate.
Cardinal Arinze-Head of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, formerly archbishop of Onitsha, Nigeria. Theologically conservative, a big advocate of interreligious dialogue and ecumenicism, but he’s getting old…he’s 72.
Cardinal Hummes- Archbishop of Sao Paulo. Says that a bishop must lead his congregation in “dialogue with a post-modern, urban, and pluralist society”
Cardinal Ortega-Archbishop of Havana. He’s spent most of his career fighting against an oppressive, anti-Catholic government, and has primarily focused on keeping Catholicism alive in Cuba.
Cardinal Antonelli-Archbishop of Florence…I don’t know much about him.
Cardinal Ratzinger-Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly Archbishop of Munich. A staunch theological conservative and strong ally and friend of the current pope, he’s probably too old to be a serious candidate
Cardinal Rodriguez-Archbishop of Tegucigalpa. Really involved in social justice issues and outspoken in favor of human rights and fighting poverty in the third world.
Cardinal Biffi-Archbishop of Bologna. Theologically conservative, believes the church has to be involved in politics. Strong opponent of Muslim immigration to Italy/Europe, arguing that it threatens Italian identity
Cardinal Bergoglio-Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Dunno about him either
Cardinal Schoenborn-Archbishop of Vienna Supporter of the EU, but I don’t know much about him either.
So there’s a start, at least.
I’d just like to note that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that Ratzinger holds, used to be known by a different name. “The Sacred Office of the Universal Inquisition”.
Not that the Congregation even comes close to the infamy it previously claimed anymore, but it’s kind of an appropriate pairing, in my opinion…
Ratzinger has publicly spoken out against admitting Turkey to the EU. http://www.cathnews.com/news/408/96.php
Monseñor Bergoglio is the ArchBishop of Buenos Aires, and the “Cardenal Primado”, (can`t find the translation), of Argentina. He is a jesuist. He is supposed to be a quiet man, and a brilliant intelectual.
Yes, my money’s on Cardinal George Pell of Sydney. I think the odds would be pretty high. Good bloke though.
Seriously though, the gossip I’m getting from priests whom I know within the Sydney and Melbourne archdioceses all points towards Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria.
Dunno. I’ve been told all my life (by priests, etc.) that the number of priests/nuns/etc. in the USA has been going down down down, and I’ve seen nothing ever to contradict that in my own experience.
If you wish to claim that global vocations are up, I’d like to see some stats. Also, if they are up, how will those extra priests and nuns be used to shore up the big dearth in the US, etc.
Sure, I’ve read articles about priests being increasingly processed in Africa and elsewhere. Maybe so. But how does that change the patheticness of the Church in the US and Europe? And if the Church is dying in its native environments, how can the “new blood” really help very much?
It seems somewhat like Zen. Zen is totally dead in Japan, yet there is still a trickle of interest in it in the US. Since the root is dead, I don’t think the plant can avoid extinction, even if some people are keeping some of the cut flowers perky with water and that plant powder stuff.
Yeah – but “Nobody expects the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith!!” just leaves something to be desired…