# The official Pope Benedict XVI thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 19, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079 "2005-04-19T16:41:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/61 "2005-04-19T19:09:04Z")
I wish a toast to this big step towards the end of the Catholic Church… an icon of conservatism and religious hypocrisy. Ratzinger is as fundamentalist as they come… he will bury what is left of the RCC… and hopefully evangelicals won’t pick up the slack too much. He is quite a politician to have pulled this off… and in many ways its a continuation of the last papacy without the “charisma”. I’d rather seen someone more open minded… but alas hopefully this bodes the end of the Vatican’s power. Faithful will run away in droves. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/62 "2005-04-19T19:12:12Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I don’t think it will be that bad. What this vote seems to be, to me, is a vote for the status quo. > > I just find it sort of amazing, because it appears to be an admission of defeat for the Church in the Old World. One of JPII’s greatest ambitions was to restore the relevance of the Church in Western Europe, and he arguably failed to achieve that goal. Quite the contrary, some might say. Meanwhile, in the Third World, especially Africa, the Roman faith as grown at a healthy pace. Does this mean the College of Cardinals is comfortable with the current trend, or sees it as somehow inevitable? Based on a limited knowledge base it sure looks to me like the Church is willing to go where superstion still largely rules society and not pay too much attention to the places where superstion is losing ground. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/63 "2005-04-19T19:17:12Z")
I’m actually looking forward to Mel Gibson’s take on this guy. On the one hand, you’d expect him to rejoice at the election of an arch-conservative. On the other hand, he’s already made that vicious movie about Papa Ratzi… Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/64 "2005-04-19T19:18:58Z")
I really don’t think much will change, if what I’ve read is true. The Roman Church will increase its marginalization in Western Europe, and increase its influence in Africa and perhaps other places, like Latin America. Something of an X-factor in my mind is the US, where liberal Catholics have been steadily trickling away, but conservative Catholics are growing the demographic. Which is the greater trend, in terms of numbers? I don’t know myself, but when you look at the exit polls in FL from the last election, for instance, it seems the Latino component of US Catholicism is becoming a force to be reckoned with, and will likely supplant the formerly predominant ethnicities (e.g. Irish, Italians), if they have not already done so. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/65 "2005-04-19T19:20:01Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I don’t think it will be that bad. What this vote seems to be, to me, is a vote for the status quo. Maybe his politics aren’t that much more conservative than JPII’s but he always seemed quite a bit more venomous in his writings. Maybe he’ll tone down now that he’s pope and not the enforcer of the orthodoxy, but if not I think you’ll find out very quickly that it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. If he doesn’t change a lot he’ll rapidly alienate much of the West. Especially Europe. But then as someone already pointed out, maybe he’s already given up on Europe. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/66 "2005-04-19T19:24:19Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > On the other hand, he’s already made that vicious movie about Papa Ratzi… groan…have you no shame at all, sir? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/67 "2005-04-19T19:26:45Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I’m actually looking forward to Mel Gibson’s take on this guy. On the one hand, you’d expect him to rejoice at the election of an arch-conservative. On the other hand, he’s already made that vicious movie about Papa Ratzi… > > Daniel Which one was that? I am going to cautiously say that he MIGHT tone down the rhetoric, considering now that HE’S the one who’ll be responsible. I don’t think he’ll make any _ex cathedra_ statements, (hopefully!), at least not about women in the church, because it’s his ass on the line now. Before, he could just stand behind JPII and say, “Well, HE said it!” He also doesn’t have nearly the charm or charisma of the late pontiff. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/68 "2005-04-19T19:27:40Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > …maybe he’s already given up on Europe. Ah, but you see, it’s Europe that’s given up on the Church. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/69 "2005-04-19T19:27:48Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Ratzinger is as fundamentalist as they come… Cite that Ratzinger is a fundamentlist (note that “fundamentalist” is _NOT_ a synonym for “social conservative”)? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/70 "2005-04-19T19:38:19Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Which one was that? You’ll be sorry you asked, but [this one](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338325/). (And **uglybeech** , no, I’m pretty sure I don’t.) Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/71 "2005-04-19T19:38:27Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Ah, but you see, it’s Europe that’s given up on the Church. So very true… but parts of Europe still haven’t… yet. The Church can always make an effort. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/72 "2005-04-19T19:38:33Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Ah, but you see, it’s Europe that’s given up on the Church. Are you being facetious or serious? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/73 "2005-04-19T19:40:12Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > He also doesn’t have nearly the charm or charisma of the late pontiff. Who does? The man was a rock star. Hell, even I thought he was cool. Every time I saw that picture of him carrying the Koala, every fiber of my being said “I _like_ this guy.” JPII was a PR giant, there’s no question. In his prime he was handsome, robust, almost absurdly articulate, incredibly charming, exuding a warm benevolence and self-confidence of the sort I think comes along once in a lifetime, if not longer. Playwrite, poet, linguist, top-flight theologian, wordly intellectual…JPII was nothing short of an astonishing figure. For all his faults, he accomplished a great deal that was undeniably good, for the Church, and for the world. Plus, he made it look good. Filling his shoes is an impossible task, and I think anyone would be something of a letdown after a generation of John Paul II. The rather considerable letdown Ratzinger presents liberals is, I think, probably mitigated by the seeming inevitability of his election. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/74 "2005-04-19T19:41:29Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > You’ll be sorry you asked, but [this one](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338325/). > > (And **uglybeech** , no, I’m pretty sure I don’t.) > Daniel Oh…that was bad. That was really, really bad. (Okay, they changed the picture at Wiki almost immediately, but in case anyone wondered, for a brief few minutes, the picture under the new pontiff’s entry was of Emperor Palpatine.) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/75 "2005-04-19T19:42:18Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > Are you being facetious or serious? I honestly don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/76 "2005-04-19T19:46:54Z")
[puts former catholic hat] My god! does he look like Emperor Palpatine! [/drops former catholic hat to virtually never return to it for the choice the church took today] [![](http://www.theforce.net/kids/coruscant/probe_droid/palpatine.jpg) ](http://www.theforce.net/kids/coruscant/probe_droid/palpatine.jpg) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger\_mass\_monday.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger_mass_monday.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/77 "2005-04-19T19:53:39Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > [puts former catholic hat] > > My god! does he look like Emperor Palpatine! > > [/drops former catholic hat to virtually never return to it for the choice the church took today] > > [http://www.theforce.net/kids/coruscant/probe\_droid/palpatine.jpg](http://www.theforce.net/kids/coruscant/probe_droid/palpatine.jpg) > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger\_mass\_monday.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger_mass_monday.jpg) Ah, so YOU were the one who switched the pictures! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/78 "2005-04-19T19:59:29Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger\_mass\_monday.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ratzinger_mass_monday.jpg) I think he looks more like Studs Terkel, actually. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/79 "2005-04-19T20:26:47Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I am going to cautiously say that he MIGHT tone down the rhetoric, considering now that HE’S the one who’ll be responsible. I don’t think he’ll make any _ex cathedra_ statements, (hopefully!), at least not about women in the church, because it’s his ass on the line now. Before, he could just stand behind JPII and say, “Well, HE said it!” Tell us you don’t mean to say that he was just the Bad Cop half of a “Good Cop-Bad Cop” routine. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079/80 "2005-04-19T20:27:36Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Ah, so YOU were the one who switched the pictures! Nah, Geek minds think alike 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-official-pope-benedict-xvi-thread/300079.md?page=5)