posted
This is big news - it means they selected a pope with a 2/3 majority. At some point, with no decision, the requirement for selection would have been reduced to simple majority.
Dagonee Edit: removed the very confusing "before" in the first sentence. No wonder some of you were confused.
posted
Thanks for the link. Someone on my LiveJournal friends list said we had a new pope, but didn't include a link, and I couldn't find one on Google News. Wish the link had more info, though.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
I think he meant that because they voted for a Pope this quickly, it didn't come to the point where they MUST choose a Pope, which would employ a simple majority rather then the initial 2/3rds.
Posts: 291 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Sorry. Historically, 2/3 of the cardinals have to agree for a pope to be selected. Pope John Paul II changed the rules for selecting the next pope. If, no candidate received 2/3 of the vote after a certain number of ballots, the requirement was to drop to simple majority.
I'm happy they could make a decision based on the greater consensus rather than letting it get to the simple majority point.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
At this point in time, a new pope required a 2/3 majority for election.
Had it gone on long enough without a 2/3 majority, the requirement would have decreased (to a simple majority, iirc).
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:There is no word on the new pope's identity or what name he will choose, which the Vatican has indicated will be announced 45 minutes after his election.
posted
I'm going to predict Ratzinger with the new name of John Paul III. Just a guess though. I was hoping for a John XIV, but that was a bit much to expect.
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Does anyone else think he looks a little bit like the Emperor from Star Wars? Probably not, but I can't strike the physical resemblance from my mind.
Posts: 291 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Anyone knows what were the names of the previous popes? How many John's, John Paul's or whatever other names were out there? And I wonder what consists a proper name for a pope?
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I second Dag. Must you inject your venom into every religious conversation? This is (and should be) a happy day for all Catholics. There will be plenty of time for criticism later.
edit: oh, and he does look a bit like Emporer Palpatine
[ April 19, 2005, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: Brian J. Hill ]
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posted
Its just a little sad that such a conservative Pope has been elected, well at least if you ask me. I'm a rather liberal Catholic, which I suppose still makes me pretty conservative Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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posted
Could someone elaborate on the significance of the choice of name? I mean, I know what Benedict means, but who were the last few holders of the name?
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posted
While I think that Tom was way out of line, this isn't exactly a happy day for all Catholics. Ratzinger's a hard-core conservative who has been even more authoritarian and curialist than John Paul II. I think that there are many Catholics who aren't going to be happy with this choice.
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Why didn't they pick a younger one? If John Paul II was 84.. and this guy's ALREADY 78.
I'm guessing it's because he won't make a lot of changes and this gives more time for the Church to consider it's direction after JPII.
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posted
John Paul had a relatively very long transformative pontificate. It's customary to choose a transitional following a reign like that. All of the top contenders were old men. Benedict XVI is unlikely to make many changes in the way the Church has been going before he dies, so there's time to consider who the next pope should be and what comes next for the Church in an atmosphere of relative stability.
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posted
Hey, sorry, but I'm just a bit disappointed that the Cardinals felt that the best resolution to the many intellectual disagreements facing the church was to appoint the Grand Inquisitor to look into them.
Speaking as somebody employed by a liberal Catholic institution, there's as much gritting of teeth as celebration visible in the hallways at the moment.
In fact, compared to the liberal Catholics I've already heard discussing this decision not ten feet away, my comment was remarkably civil. Out of respect for Dag, I will not quote here what his fellow Catholics -- including, at the moment, a Dominican nun -- are saying about the choice.
posted
Hey, somebody gets elected Pope who was a Boy Scout, you can bet the Boy Scouts are going to be all over that. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Well, you know every German who was alive during WWII really wanted to be a Nazi and rule the world at Hitler's side... Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote: Could someone elaborate on the significance of the choice of name? I mean, I know what Benedict means, but who were the last few holders of the name?
Benedict XV was pope during the first world war. I don't know very much about him but have heard him refered to as a man of peace. You can find the text of his published encyclicals here The Holy Father but sadly the biography has not yet been posted.
I think it is a good choice myself because it sidesteps all the political implications of say John Paul III, John XXIV, or say Pius XIII.
posted
It just made me a little sad to see someone other then John Paul II step out onto the balcony. Even though I didn't always agree with his stands, he was the only Pope I ever knew. Posts: 601 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
I just want to point out that my reply was NOT intended to say that membership in the Hitler Youth said something particularly meaningful about any particular German's personality, given the circumstances, but rather to observe -- humorously, I hoped -- that the Boy Scouts would in fact make a big deal out of a Pope's Boy Scout membership. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I wasn't saying that all Catholics are happy with this particular choice. I was saying that I'm under the impression that the choosing of a new pope is a generally happy occasion, much like a wedding is happy even if you think the groom is a neanderthal.
Grumbling just seems out of place. Kinda like turning funerals into political rallies (e.g. Terri Shiavo, Ronald Reagan.) Of course, I'm not a Catholic so I don't presume to speak for any or all of them.
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I don't understand how there could be dissension over the new pope, though, among catholics. Don't they believe that the pope is actually chosen by God? If he stands as the Earthly representative of God, and they really believe that, then how could they question his appointment?
I don't get it.
Is it that they think he was incorrectly chosen? Like the council ignored God?
I just want to understand the catholic perspective. Personally, I don't believe in any of it. But we're not talking about ME.
quote:compared to the liberal Catholics I've already heard discussing this decision not ten feet away, my comment was remarkably civil
Tom, did you really mean to imply that rudeness is a liberal trait? I mean when someone suggests that you are being so and your response is "well all the liberals within earshot are doing it..."
I'm just asking...
*polishes halo and looks innocent*
Edit to add: For clarity, I am just pulling your chain, Tom... please don't feel you have to defend yourself from this...
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