# New Pope **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971 "2013-02-11T14:38:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/41 "2013-02-11T22:41:58Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > The only part of the Vatican likely to be closed during the conclave is the Sistine Chapel. So you can still go see the warehouses crammed with art treasures, the unbelievably gaudy interior of St. Pete’s, and **the gaping lady-parts on the pillars of the central podium** thing. Go see the what? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/42 "2013-02-11T22:55:55Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Your main worry should probably be getting to close to the cloud of cardinals desperately looking for anybody able to take on the job. You wouldn’t want to end up pope by default. In these situations, the Church has been known to [not take “no” for an answer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Celestine_V). ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/43 "2013-02-11T22:56:19Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > My vote is for the Peruvian Cardinal simply because it would throw so many people into spasmodic fits that it’ll be fun. I think the time has come for Pope Paco. Those other names are so blah. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/44 "2013-02-11T22:57:38Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Look for a reform pope. The pattern tends to be Great Reformer followed by one or more “status quo” individuals. John Paul II was a major reformer; unsurprising that the next pope was very much a non boat rocker. The church is in deep trouble and needs a leader to fix the problems and regain their moral authority. I’m skeptical. The College is packed with cardinals appointed by Mr. Wojtyla (whose “reform” period ended long before he did) and Mr. Ratzinger (whose reactionary retrenchment to pretty much everything that had been done in the 50 years prior to his election boggled the mind). I think we’re going to see not only a similarly rigid new Pope, but possibly the first Opus Dei Pope. > [@Bricker](#): > > And more tellingly, the single largest category of priests are diocesan priests, who ALSO take no vow of poverty. Diocesan priests meaning what? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term. Our parish priests at my family’s parish are Franciscans (TOR), who definitely have a vow of poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/45 "2013-02-11T23:50:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Diocesan priests meaning what? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term. Our parish priests at my family’s parish are Franciscans (TOR), who definitely have a vow of poverty. [Meaning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocesan_priest): > [@](#): > > A diocesan priest is a Roman Catholic priest who commits himself to a certain geographical area, and is ordained into this service of God’s people within a diocese. This includes serving the everyday needs of the people in parishes, but their activities are not limited to that of their parish. Diocesan priests may serve in a myriad of different capacities, these services include, but are not limited to, campus ministry, teaching, and chaplain work for hospitals or prisons. They are expected to address the needs of those that they serve. As opposed to the [Franciscans, a religious order](http://www.ofm.org/ofm/?lang=en). Priests with “OFM” after their names are not diocesan, and are under the ultimate assignment authority not of the local bishop, but of the Minister-general of the OFM, [Fr. José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM.](http://www.ofm.org/01eng/gov/03govern.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/46 "2013-02-11T23:56:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > [Meaning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocesan_priest): > > As opposed to the [Franciscans, a religious order](http://www.ofm.org/ofm/?lang=en). Priests with “OFM” after their names are not diocesan, and are under the ultimate assignment authority not of the local bishop, but of the Minister-general of the OFM, [Fr. José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM.](http://www.ofm.org/01eng/gov/03govern.html) ETA: Sorry, I didn’t catch the “TOR” until I re-read the post. That’s “Third Order Regular.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/47 "2013-02-12T00:16:09Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > ETA: Sorry, I didn’t catch the “TOR” until I re-read the post. That’s “Third Order Regular.” I know. Our parish priests have been TOR since well before I was born. It’s entirely possible that we were an unusual parish in the diocese, but I’ve had 13 years of Catholic education and have never heard the phrase “diocesan priest”. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/48 "2013-02-12T00:21:34Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Go see the what? Heh heh heh. At the center of the basilica is the papal altar, with a canopy - baldaccino - by one of the great Renaissance sculptors. At the base of each of the four posts is a cubical footing. On each of the outer faces of these footings is a peculiar design that could be a flower, could be representations of drapings, could be anything… but each one (all eight look different) looks exactly like a somewhat agape vulva. It is surprisingly hard to find good detail photos of this part of the altar; I’ve just searched for ten minutes without success. I’d have to go to my own photo archive to find some high-res shots of the bases. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/49 "2013-02-12T00:55:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **NitroPress** : > > I will not be the first to point out that a microscopic fraction of those works could be auctioned for enough to feed whole continents,… To whom? Who has enough wealth to feed a whole continent, let alone who’s willing to spend that much on artwork? And what would such a person do after buying the art? About the only thing to do with such a precious work would be to give it to a museum (either outright, or as a permanent loan, which amounts to the same thing), in which case it’s basically just a donation of that much wealth to the museum. And if these hypothetical buyers are charitably inclined, why aren’t they already feeding continents? ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/50 "2013-02-12T01:02:40Z")
Perhaps the Mafia has a finger in this pie.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/51 "2013-02-12T01:04:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To whom? Who has enough wealth to feed a whole continent, let alone who’s willing to spend that much on artwork? And what would such a person do after buying the art? About the only thing to do with such a precious work would be to give it to a museum (either outright, or as a permanent loan, which amounts to the same thing), in which case it’s basically just a donation of that much wealth to the museum. And if these hypothetical buyers are charitably inclined, why aren’t they already feeding continents? I think already you know the answer to every one of these questions. Do I really have to work through the answers, or do you just want to skip to the end, where you say it’s okay for the Vatican to hold billions and billions of dollars worth of art treasures while the world - their world - starves, dies of preventable diseases, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/52 "2013-02-12T01:10:23Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I hear there’s a good chance it might be a Canadian, Cardinal Ouellet. The same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/53 "2013-02-12T02:20:41Z")
Question about the artwork displayed at the Vatican: Is all of it actually owned by the Vatican or is a portion of it owned by individuals and on “permanent loan” to the Vatican for display? ---
**Author:** ![Jr.DNA\_test](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d78d45/32.png) [@Jr.DNA\_test](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jr.DNA_test)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/54 "2013-02-12T02:26:20Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > I wonder who gets to smash Benedict XVI’s ring. Since he’s alive, could he do it himself? Wouldn’t he have to go to a TLOR mountain to do that? This ain’t your grandmother’s ring we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/55 "2013-02-12T02:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I think already you know the answer to every one of these questions. No, of course I don’t know the answers to these questions. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/56 "2013-02-12T03:00:55Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Question about the artwork displayed at the Vatican: Is all of it actually owned by the Vatican or is a portion of it owned by individuals and on “permanent loan” to the Vatican for display? Owned by the Vatican. When you’re a 2,000 year old institution, and you commission art work for the going rate (a few month’s wages) and then hold onto it for 400 years and the artist is famous… then it becomes invaluable. Literally invaluable. A true auction of the Vatican’s art-treasure would break banks world-wide leaving many items unsold unless they start selling it on the cheap after the deep pockets have been tapped out. And even if the Vatican raises trillions of dollars and spends it all on feeding the poor, the proceeds would be spent in a few years leaving the Vatican back to its regular bank account levels but its galleries emptied. And there’d be all this artistic junk crammed into other museums and someone would complain loudly that it should be sold to feed the poor. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/57 "2013-02-12T03:03:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’d just like to make the College of Cardinals aware that my services are available, if so required. To be Pope, you must first be a baptized Catholic man. That is all. They’ll ordain you up the ranks when the time comes if you’re drafted. Although, it doesn’t hurt to already be a Catholic Cardinal Archbishop. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/58 "2013-02-12T03:27:22Z")
A friend of mine who is into “End Times” prophecy has maintained that the current Pope will be the next-to-last one. Anyone else heard this? If this notion is popular among end-timers, they must be salivating right about now. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/59 "2013-02-12T03:36:01Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > A friend of mine who is into “End Times” prophecy has maintained that the current Pope will be the next-to-last one. Anyone else heard this? If this notion is popular among end-timers, they must be salivating right about now. Under discussion right now in this nearby thread: > **[Does the Vatican actually believe in the 'Prophecy of the Popes'? (and other...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682041)** > > Alright, title wording is a bit odd, but let’s see if I can clarify a bit. With Emperor Palpa-- sorry, Pope Benedict retiring this month, much discussion has turned to Saint Malachy’s so-called ‘Prophecy of the Popes.’ Now, being Catholic in only... ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971/60 "2013-02-12T03:37:05Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > A friend of mine who is into “End Times” prophecy has maintained that the current Pope will be the next-to-last one. Anyone else heard this? If this notion is popular among end-timers, they must be salivating right about now. The Church considers the prophecy in question to be a hoax. But it does say that the next pope will be called Peter of Rome and be the last pope. I imagine that whoever the electee is will choose a name other than Peter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pope/649971.md?page=4)