White smoke...bells...A NEW POPE!!!

[Disneykat]

4 ballots later and we have a new Pope. A very exciting day...the anticipation is killing me here (I think it's Ratzinger...but we'll seeeeeee)

[sunnygirl]

This IS a very exciting day! I can't wait to know who it will be.

[MickeyMania]

You know, after this many Popes and is "it it black or white?" dramas, you'd think they'd give up the smoke and bells and just go for something like the Batsignal.

[ah schucks]

I pray its not Ratzinger- he will divide the church. Too extreme to follow a great man like John Paul II.

[dramaqueen]

I am so happy to be able to witness this moment- a historic moment! I am confident that whoever has been chosen is the right man for the job. It is funny that we had to wait 15 minutes to see if the smoke was white or black. Now they are staring at curtains to see if they are moving. It is nice to see that our information age cannot hurry the traditions of the Church. Habemus papam!

[sunnygirl]

We've got Ratzinger!

[MickeyMania]

Oh boy, a hardline conservative. Congrats, fellas.... :botox:

[dramaqueen]

Well, lets not panic, JPII entrusted him with the doctrines of the church.

Lets not forget JP II was also a conservative, but a compassionate one.

[Demigod]

Ratzinger has chosen the name Pope Benedict XVI.

[MickeyMania]

Well, lets not panic, JPII entrusted him with the doctrines of the church.

Lets not forget JP II was also a conservative, but a compassionate one.

I'm not saying he's heartless, and I liked JPII even though I'm not Catholic and didn't agree with him on some issues. My issue is that it doesn't take them a hundred years to come to a conclusion like accepting women as equal to men. In the case of this Church, all it takes is the man in the right robes to deem it so.

[The Mad Hatter]

Ratzinger has chosen the name Pope Benedict XVI.

So they get to choose their name huh?? I didn't know that. What if the guy picked some off the wall name....like Pope Bill.

[sunnygirl]

So they get to choose their name huh?? I didn't know that. What if the guy picked some off the wall name....like Pope Bill.

BWAH HAH HAH!!! Pope Bill, that's awesome.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I am more than dissatisfied. I was hoping for a bolder move by the conclave--somebody to host a Vatican III. Instead, they picked the most conservative guy in their arsenal.

His fan club says of him:
"As Grand Inquisitor for Mother Rome, Ratzinger keeps himself busy in service to the Truth: correcting theological error, silencing dissenting theologians, and stomping down heresy wherever it may rear its ugly head."

He opposed ordination of women, among many other things. In my esteem, this is backwards thinking. What other way can the steep decline of men in the seminary be fixed?

He was, as a teen, a member of Hitler Youth. That's right. A Nazi. Supposedly there was "no other choice." There have been vocal dissenters that have said that they themselves made other choices.

[The Mad Hatter]

BWAH HAH HAH!!! Pope Bill, that's awesome.

I don't mean to make fun of the situation or anything...I just thought it'd be funny.

[cellarhound]

I don't mean to make fun of the situation or anything...I just thought it'd be funny.

Some of the popes did have odd names... Pope Dionysius is a good example... A Pope named after a greek god...

[DJ_MENTOS]

The whole idea of a pope (Holy Father) is funny because it conflicts with what the bible says at Matthew 23:9, "Moreover, do not call anyone YOUR father on earth, for one is YOUR Father, the heavenly One." :confused: :confused: :confused:

[buzz lightbeer]

As Christians, we need to pray for this Pope to lead people to the Truth, not to man made doctrine. I was raised Catholic but left the church in my early teens. However, I am a Christian that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and Him alone.

This new Pope is merely a man, no better or worse than anyone here. As Romans 3:23 states, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,".

Sometimes I fear we place the representative of God on a higher pedastal than God himself.

[Disneykat]

I think that Catholics look to the Pope as the leader of the Church much like we look to the President as the leader of our Country. Though in a sense I was hoping for a slightly more liberal Pope (and no...I, am not an advocate for women priests), I pray that Ratzinger will be guided by the Holy Spirit!!! I was not at all surprised that he was elected because of all the talk about him. (For crying out loud the man has a fan club ONLINE)

[dramaqueen]

Maybe it is best if we keep our discussions out of the doctrinal relms and focus on discussion of this historic occasion.

Not that I wouldn't LOVE a good theological debate (its been a while since I stretched my muscles ) But I don't think these boards are the best place for that to happen.

[Alan]

Katie, please don't compare the pope to the president. That idea scares the hell out of me.