I definitely fell face first into that one.
And only six hours later uglybeech gets the joke. 
I’m with you on Turkey, though.
Perhaps I misinterpreted the MSNBC article. Here it is in context:
Bad piece of work.
From the thread you linked:
“Formal cooperation” . . . “remote material cooperation” . . . “proportionate reason” . . . 
Gotta love it! Nobody can match the RCC for refined, measured, gymnastic moral sophistry!
It was half-joke, half-serious. Benedict XVI does not exactly fill me with good feelings about what his papacy will do for the RCC, though I’m basically lasped ELCA.
He’s gonna barf in Rowan William’s lap? 
Actually, that’s one of the things I respect about the RCC. Morality isn’t always so simple, and they seem to recognize that.
No, you interpreted it fine; the article is misleading. Yes, he did issue a letter, and yes “some observers” viewed it any number of ways. The fact was, however, that the American bishops were divided and asked for guidance. He danced around the issue of giving the candidate communion as much as canon law allowed, and he said that people could vote for whoever they like so long as their vote wasn’t based exclusively on promoting abortion.
Call that moral sophistry if you like; I call it an attempt for as much compromise as you can reasonably expect, given that the church considers abortion murder.
The correct term is Poputus of Love.
L’il Nemo is probably correct, but the word that is in common use in English is papacy.
My initial reaction was that Benedict XVI will not be like JPII. Something about him tells me that he may be a Pope who will not bode well with Catholics and non-Catholics alike. There is so much about him that sceams “hardliner”. However, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That would be Pompit(o)us of Love, and it is attributed to Pope Mauritius. 
Makes no matter to me --however, if the RCC wishes to turn more of their faithful away, they’ve done a bang-up job.
At this rate I don’t see too many more Popes down the line before a schism between the different interpretations of dogma – sects? – happens.
Whether that’s good or bad, obviously depends on your worldview. If you’re like me, and thinks that organized religion is but a legal sham this can oly be a good thing.
Geez, you’d think at least a few of those fossilitic (?) Cardinals would realize that in a precious few years seminaries are all but going to be out of business. And since we’re pretty much guaranteed that women won’t be able to join the priesthood anytime soon – Ratzinger’s been pretty adamnant about this – hopefully, we’ll see the RRC become largely irrelevant as women and other believers realize just how out of step its become. Specially if Ratzinger defies the odds and remains Pope for a long time.
Long Live the Pope! Self destruction’s worked wonders in the past…
.
Already happened. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedevacantism.
Difference is, in the age of John XXIII, the RCC alienated the arch-conservatives, but now it’s alienating the even-moderate-liberals. Before long, there will be no Catholics left but the Entirely and Intractably Stupid. Not that that’s a constituency to be discounted, in terms of sheer numbers . . .
I’m ashamed I had to read it three times before I got it.
Scanning the covers of the tabloids this morning, I’m fairly sure that amongst the pictures of the new Pope Benedict waving from a balcony, England’s Daily Mail had a picture of him in the 1940s in Hitler Youth uniform :rolleyes: Of course, this is the same paper that critcised a German officer for having a high role in NATO because his father was a German Army officer in WWII…
I was hoping for Cardinal Arinze from Nigeria or the Honduran Cardinal.
But oh well- God bless & guide Pope Benedict XVI to lead the Church in the Word of God & the Spirit of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ.
I’m Evangelical Protty, hopeful for close working relations with evangelical Catholicism, favoring an end to clerical celibacy, a change on the contraception issue & better Vatican-Israeli relations- so yeah, I’m not totally thrilled.
But I’m also against religious relativism & cultural secularism, most abortions, and doctrinal & sexual-moral liberalism, and his election seems to irritate the same people that irritate me, so I’m hopeful.
Yeah, and I’m sure they failed to mention that being a Hitler Youth or joining the army was obligatory. Incidentally, he even served in the German army (also obligatory of course), and then defected in Austria in 1944.
Perhaps he’s open to suggestions.
Jack did a tract a couple of years ago called HE’S COMING BACK. Before, the Beast & the False Prophet were always non-descript figures (formerly in suits or generic robes, recently in priestly/episcopal/papal vestments). In that one, they were quite clearly drawn to represent Jesuit-General Hans Peter Von Kolvenbach and John Paul II.
So for Jack, I guess it’s quite literally “back to the drawing board”.
I’ve seen other sources that say it was May 1945, when half the Wehrmacht was doing the same thing.
Ahem, back to the subject of finding humor in the situation, let me be the first to hail the new Pope in the manner to which he is accustomed:
**Vivat Grendel! **
[(Wait, the fiction pope in Matt Wagner’s series Grendel wasn’t named Pope Benedict? Well, color me surprised!)