Flicking through the sky channels on crimbo day… asyerdo… and spot a news item about the pope blah blah christmas blah blah, with shot of pope waving. I say to the room in general “Is that the pope??” (double question mark for surprise)
Room in general: “Yes”
I: “He looks… younger… than he did before”
RIG: “Maybe he’s had botox”
(at this point my memory googles ‘botox’ and the first search item is ‘Anne Robinson’)
I (rejecting this comment as a joke): “No, last time I saw him he looked half dead, like this” <does impression of half dead person> “Now he looks cheery and waving”
RIG:“Maybe he was ill then”
So what’s the deal? New pope? Same pope recovered from illness? Botox?
The Pope has Parkinson’s disease – severely. It’s deteriorated him physically, while leaving him (according to insider reports) still mentally as acute as ever – though he has some problems expressing himself from time to time thanks to the effect of Parkinson’s on his voice and hands.
Someone with more expertise on Parkinson’s than I can speak with more authority, but my distinct impression is that there are periods of “remission” (a misnomer, but making my point clearly) when the person suffering from the disease is more able to function than before or after them. You may have caught him at one of the “good spells.”
Polycarp that makes sense (and also makes obvious the insensitivity of my OP, for which I apologise)
The Pope is a subject of interest for me as I am aware that he is unwilling to do what it takes to make someone else pope (forgive me if I don’t know the term right now) while at the same time being very frail and not far from death. And that if a pope dies without having made someone else pope this creates a logic problem for the faith.
Actually, no. The Pope can, contrary to the assertions of some Catholics, abdicate, but no Pope has done that since before the Protestant Reformation. John Paul is still of sound mental health, albeit his body is falling apart around him, and is reportedly not prepared to change that precedent.
When a Pope dies, the Cardinal Camerlengo (it’s a title) convenes the College of Cardinals to elect a new Pope. There is canon law on how this is done, though, not being myself Catholic, I don’t have a quick reference to it. But it’s SOP for a Pope to die with no replacement named – they elect one, after prayer for guidance of the Holy Spirit in doing so.
‘abdicate’ was in my head but I thought it referred to kings rather than also ( or ‘rather’) the pope.
So what you are saying is - when the pope dies, what some may regard as senility (but which you state is merely a sound mind in a failing body) will not risk the stability of catholicism?
Lobsang - Speaking as a Catholic, the Pope never names a successor. It’s not his job to pick his replacement, although I’m sure he can make preferences known. In that way, the College of Cardinals can lead the Church in the direction they feel is best at the election of a new pope. They can continue to be conservative (my hope) or choose someone with a more radical bent. Since most cardinals are older, conservative is likely the way they’ll go.
I think that the fact the college of cardinals is locked in a room until they decide the next pope might be a factor on making the negotiations on the next pope cantidate go a bit faster…i think it has lead historically to some very bland and neutral pope choices that may not have been the correct person for the job.
because his nibs is picked by a group of men locked in a room, i seriously doubt that the hand of god is anywhere invoved…they just want to burn those votes to make that puff of smoke and get the hell away from everybody else…
<can you tell I really have serious doubts about any claim to papal infallibility here :rolleyes: but then again i was born a protestand and in general the christians of all flavors pretty much consider my choice of agnostic pantheism heretical…I refuse to believe that any godhead concept is incorrect, that hell exists in the christian sense that anybody who doesnt believe exactly as you do is going to burn…ok i confess to thinking that scientology is not a religion, nor are many forms of satanism…but you can believe anything you want=)>