The Next Pope?

[Green Nationalist]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

A link to the actual article (for archiving purposes) is here: "He was known as God\'s rottweiler...now he\'s Pope Benedict XVI".

Another article on the Mirror: "The Panzer Cardinal".

Notice that the titles suggest that The Mirror is a sensationalist trash tabloid. Nothing new here.

Indeed, the tabloids sensationalism can be seen as a sort of propaganda of empty vaccuos sensationalism, designed to fill empty heads with nonsense.

It is not hard to see the coincidence (rather the lack of) in the names "God's rottweiler" to Ratzinger and "Domini Cani" (Latin for "God's dogs") to the Inquisition Dominicans.

I think the term came about as he was refferd to once as a guard dog of the faith or something, forgive me if I appear to pulling random S++t oout of my A+S, but I cant find the link at the moment.

Does anything here suggests you that he may be any sort of Odinist... "Dean of the College of Cardinals and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his main role has been to discipline dissidents and block attempts at reform."

I was joking! Although it would be cool if he turned out to be a wotanic avatar. Although I enjoy reading about such nonsense in occult magazines, I doubt such things actually happen.


I see they are calling him "Paparazzi" now as well

[Scoob]

Originally Posted by Agrippa

At least the church understood that Europe must be in the centre of its interests since if Europe is lost, the Catholic future will not be a bright one, thats clear. A pope for South America, like I though would come, would have been a signal for them, but not for Europe.

Now the church must fight for Europe or losing ground once and for all and being replaced in one way or another...

It is good that Benedict VXI is pro-European preservation. He made some statements about this that are quoted elsewhere.

However, many Catholics would like to see certain reforms in the church, such as allowing women and married men as clergy. They see the exclusively male, celibate priesthood as unnatural and crypto-homosexual in an unnatural way. They also see marriage for priests as a way to tie priests to the community and give them a better knowledge of life.

A big task for the Catholic Church is to remain relevant to modern people in Europe and the USA. It must offer practical answers for modern life, not just criticisms. There needs to be much less Mother Theresa style "feed the (non-European) world" emphasis and more "preserve the flock and recover lost sheep" emphasis. Catholicism might seem extreme by European standards, but compared to most American religions, it is rooted in the ethnos and more practical and down to earth: it even accepts evolution.

[Phlegethon]

The Church is not a toothpaste that has to be advertised in order to be sold. The Church is dealing in Truth and Moral.

[Scoob]

Originally Posted by Phlegethon

The Church is not a toothpaste that has to be advertised in order to be sold. The Church is dealing in Truth and Moral, of which yankees have nothing and know nothing.

It is not a matter of advertising. Giving money to help the deserving poor (disabled, elderly, or just unfortunate etc within community) is very important, but giving money indiscriminately in hopes of finding converts in Third World nations is immoral because it can be exploited and can lead to alienation amongst the primary Church community.

The best part of Catholicism is its emphasis on real practical family and community values. Unfortunately, modern society, especially in the USA, is not a community: it is a marketplace and a mob. In order to focus on community, one must be more selective.

And if newspapermen want to call Benedict XVI a rottweiler, good. Jesus himself was a strongman who was not afraid to physically expell traders and moneylenders from the temple.

[Agrippa]

Originally Posted by Scoob

it even accepts evolution.

I can't take anybody seriously who still denies the reality of evolution. The American Evangelists, the Calvinist sects, are no better Christians but retarded. I can't call them another way since they are more primitive and unrealistic in their world view than the most fanatic Muslim extremists, Taliban...

[Phlegethon]

Roma locuta, causa finita.

Yankees will have to live with that. Doctrine instead of feelgood factor, humility instead of lucre, peace instead of warmongering, giving instead of robbing, praying instead of threatening - no surprise they cannot understand the Church. It is the utter negation of everything the abomination U.S.A. stands for.

[Phlegethon]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.
The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.
Let us move forward in the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.


First Address of Pope Benedict XVI
to the Faithful Gathered
in St Peter's Square, 19 April 2005

[Ederico]

Originally Posted by Phlegethon

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.
The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.
Let us move forward in the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.


First Address of Pope Benedict XVI
to the Faithful Gathered
in St Peter's Square, 19 April 2005

I saw that address live on Italian TV, the address by the Pope was actually in Italian. The best word that describes his state at that moment does not come to my mind in English, he was what in Maltese we call emozzjonat from Italian emozionato.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Scoob

It is good that Benedict VXI is pro-European preservation. He made some statements about this that are quoted elsewhere.

However, many Catholics would like to see certain reforms in the church, such as allowing women and married men as clergy. They see the exclusively male, celibate priesthood as unnatural and crypto-homosexual in an unnatural way. They also see marriage for priests as a way to tie priests to the community and give them a better knowledge of life.

There are big reasons for celibate, such as that the priests must dedicate themselves ("in soul and body") to serve God and their community. A family would not allow priests to dedicate themselves entirely to their tasks and, more important, they couldn't be spiritual guides without they practising a spiritual life as close as possible. And the terrenal issues get in the way.

A big task for the Catholic Church is to remain relevant to modern people in Europe and the USA.

Why the US? Why not America (South and Central)? There are more souls living there and they are mostly Catholics.

Rabbis can take care of the US.

It must offer practical answers for modern life, not just criticisms. There needs to be much less Mother Theresa style "feed the (non-European) world" emphasis and more "preserve the flock and recover lost sheep" emphasis.

Are you sure you are not talking of a Corporation here?

Giving money to help the deserving poor (disabled, elderly, or just unfortunate etc within community) is very important, but giving money indiscriminately in hopes of finding converts in Third World nations is immoral because it can be exploited and can lead to alienation amongst the primary Church community.

For your information, the money goes to financing people (doctors, nurses, teachers, experts in different fields of community building and developing, and a long etcetera) to help the needy. They don't give it away indiscriminately in the hope of finding converts among Third World people.

Thank God that there is a big ocean that separates Europe from America.

[Phlegethon]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Thank God that there is a big ocean that separates Europe from America.

Often I think it isn't big enough.

[Nerthus]

Pope's Birthplace Ecstatic as Visitors Flock




Marktl has been in the grip of pope frenzy since Tuesday
Residents of Joseph Ratzinger's tiny birthplace of Marktl in Bavaria who have greeted his election as Pope with unrestrained joy and partying now find themselves at the center of world attention.

The 2,500 residents of Marktl am Inn, a sleepy village in eastern Bavaria near the Austrian border, were probably the happiest when news of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's election as new Pope Benedict XVI broke late Tuesday afternoon.

The village, where the new Pontiff was born 78 years ago, burst into spontaneous jubilation as residents lit fireworks and led a procession through the community accompanied by a brass brand. The town's volunteer firefighters organized an impromptu party fuelled by free beer as the faithful chanted "Benedict from Bavaria, we want to celebrate you!"



In the evening, inhabitants packed into the village's overflowing church, where the new pope was once baptized with the name 'Joseph,' to attend Mass in an electrified atmosphere.

Pride and happiness

Josef Kaiser, the local priest, was visibly moved.

"It's the most beautiful day, I think. What's happening here in Marktl, during mass and even before that, it was crazy," Kaiser told German radio station BR. "We're completely overwhelmed."

He added that the news of Ratzinger being elected pope had been a thunderbolt.

"I was stunned. I was speechless. I never thought it could be a German pope," Kaiser said after the service at the church.



A huge picture of the silver-haired Ratzinger, surrounded by white roses, was hung in front of the town hall, close to the a 15-room building where a plaque marks Ratzinger's birth on April 16, 1927. Streamers in the yellow and white colors of the Vatican were unfurled from the windows of houses.

"This is a huge event for us. It's difficult to grasp because it's all so new," said village mayor Hubert Gschwendtner. "But, it's a huge source of happiness to us and an honor. We're naturally proud because the cardinal (the present pope) is our honorary citizen."

Dealing with a visitor flood

But, even amid the euphoria, residents have to contend with a growing number of journalists and camera teams from around the world and pilgrims, particularly from neighboring Austria, who are all making a beeline for the Pope's tiny birthplace and shattering the calm.

The village's market square is already overflowing with television equipment, media vans and busses. Village authorities are now grappling with the problem of accommodating all the visitors.

Mayor Gschwendtner, who has been besieged by interview requests by journalists as far away as Mexico and Japan, admitted that the whole media hoopla was a bit tiring.

Some, however, have been quick to sense a commercial opportunity, hoping that the centuries-old village of Marktl on the river Inn would get a badly-needed boost from Ratzinger's residency.



Bakers in the town were making special "pope bread" with cinnamon and raisins, suitably decorated with a cross, and marzipan-glazed "Pope Benedict XVI" cakes.

"It's just super for us," Gertraude Becker, 48 told Reuters. "Business is insane today. I've never seen anything like this before. Everyone's coming to Marktl."

The grilled sausage sellers were also quick to cash in, promising a special papal version would go on sale later in the day.

Unreserved welcome

The new pope, who is an arch conservative, may have caused dismay elsewhere in Germany, but the he has been welcomed without reservations in Marktl



A resident, Karl Mühlthaler, said he hoped Ratzinger's election would attract the faithful to the town.

"I want the world to see how beautiful it is here," he said, holding up postcards of the town to the cameras of the world's media despite the rain.

Mühlthaler had happy memories of meeting the then cardinal when he visited his hometown in 1997 to be made an honorary citizen.

"Cardinal Ratzinger is a very pleasant man, not at all the distant figure he is portrayed as in the newspapers," Mühlthaler said.

DW staff (sp)

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...558637,00.html

[Milesian]

Josef Kaiser, the local priest, was visibly moved

Oh dear, it's all becoming clear now....

[Gil]

It's amazing the warmth of the Bavarians towards Ratzinger. It's good to see that belief and faith are still strong in Europe.

[Phlegethon]

Your Eminences,
My dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

During these days of great intensity, we have chanted the litany of the saints on three
different occasions: at the funeral of our Holy Father John Paul II; as the Cardinals entered the
Conclave; and again today, when we sang it with the response: Tu illum adiuva – sustain the new
Successor of Saint Peter. On each occasion, in a particular way, I found great consolation in
listening to this prayerful chant. How alone we all felt after the passing of John Paul II – the
Pope who for over twenty-six years had been our shepherd and guide on our journey through
life! He crossed the threshold of the next life, entering into the mystery of God. But he did not
take this step alone. Those who believe are never alone – neither in life nor in death. At that
moment, we could call upon the Saints from every age – his friends, his brothers and sisters in
the faith – knowing that they would form a living procession to accompany him into the next
world, into the glory of God. We knew that his arrival was awaited. Now we know that he is
among his own and is truly at home. We were also consoled as we made our solemn entrance
into Conclave, to elect the one whom the Lord had chosen. How would we be able to discern
his name? How could 115 Bishops, from every culture and every country, discover the one on
whom the Lord wished to confer the mission of binding and loosing? Once again, we knew that
we were not alone, we knew that we were surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God.
And now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task,
which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it? All
of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of Saints, represented by some of the
great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I too can say with
renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never
carry alone. All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And
your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany
me. Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went
before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who
have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who
draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes
us like himself. Yes, the Church is alive – this is the wonderful experience of these days.
During those sad days of the Pope’s illness and death, it became wonderfully evident to us that
the Church is alive. And the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world
and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future. The Church is alive and we are
seeing it: we are experiencing the joy that the Risen Lord promised his followers. The Church
is alive – she is alive because Christ is alive, because he is truly risen. In the suffering that we
saw on the Holy Father’s face in those days of Easter, we contemplated the mystery of Christ’s Passion and we touched his wounds. But throughout these days we have also been able, in a
profound sense, to touch the Risen One. We have been able to experience the joy that he
promised, after a brief period of darkness, as the fruit of his resurrection.
The Church is alive – with these words, I greet with great joy and gratitude all of you
gathered here, my venerable brother Cardinals and Bishops, my dear priests, deacons, Church
workers, catechists. I greet you, men and women Religious, witnesses of the transfiguring
presence of God. I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the great task of building
up the Kingdom of God whic