Can we please quit hoping Ratzinger dies soon?

[cally]

Too many describe him as a 'transitional pope.' Get over it, he is the Pope. I don't care how old he is or how long he lives....he is the Pope and speaks for the Catholic Church. He is the POPE.

I don't like him, I don't accept his special sanctity, but I do accept that he speaks for the Catholic Church. I'm dismayed when too many think past his lifetime. I know many American Catholics hope for a more sympathetic Pope in the future. I hope so too but right now this is the Pope. Look to the here and now. Former Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, is the spiritual and political leader of the Catholic Church.

[sam sarrha]

1. The Cardinals started it,!!! they elect old farts so they can get another

chance in a few years..

[deadparrot]

2. I don't understand the concept of a "transitional pope."

Honestly? If this man is going to be the spiritual leader of over a billion people, I'd like to think that, ideally, they were going to pick the best man for the job, regardless of age.

We don't nominate a "transitional president," for Christ's sake.

[unhappycamper]

3. Keep in mind that God does fire popes. Look at John Paul I. n/t

[saltpoint]

4. We could all keel over at any moment. The role Ratzinger --

-- has played in the past has earned him a deserved reputation as an "enforcer." A bouncer. An Inquisitor. The muscled thug at the high school drive-in.

He faces the same divided Church for the same reasons it's divided in the first place, a division he himself has a lot to answer for.

I don't hope he dies. I hope he lives and gets told by women the world over that policies he has enforced are Dark Ages crap.

[LiberallyInclined]

5. aren't we all entitled to our opinions...?

it's not like anyone has put out a contract on the guy...(no one has, right?)

[TahitiNut]

6. Quit hoping or quit saying so?

:eyes:

[cally]

10. I'm happy in pretend land

Sadly, it's not reality. He's the Pope, the Reps control Congress, and the imposter occupies the White House. The Catholic Cardinals chose Ratzinger to be the Pope. He's the Pope and he's not dying.

[TahitiNut]

12. Non-catholics have no obligation to view him any differently ...

... than Jimmy Swaggert or Billy Graham. I'm reading a LOT of projected dogma on DU recently. Dogma belongs within the confines of a congregation of those who subscribe to it - not in a public forum. Even though I have close ties to the Roman Catholic Church, I personally don't think the title "Pope" confers upon one any greater due than that of "King" or "Dog-catcher." :shrug:

FWIW, the religion is about the worship of Christ and His teachings, NOT of any priest, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, OR Pope. I think it might be good to remember that the Pope is NOT rightfully worshipped.

[DistressedAmerican]

7. Can We Hope For The Death Of The Whole Damn Organization?

More interested in saving souls than saving lives!

I say as long as he represents the backward policies that have marked the church, He can't be too short lived for me. Same goes for the institution for whom he is the mouthpiece...

[Inland]

8. This is what you get when change of office depends on death

It's wrong to wish him ill, but recognizing that the next pope might be better and that death gets the next pope....

I don't wish any ill on Bush, besides his being thrown out of office in political disgrace. That's what's good about democracy. Nobody has to die.

[geek tragedy]

9. Nope.

I don't mourn bigots and dictators.

[cornermouse]

11. Let's think about this for a moment.

His real name is RATzinger.

He took the name Benedict (as in eggs or Arnold).

I think he's old enough to be considered a transitional Pope; possibly an intransigent transitional Pope, but he has reached an age where he clearly can be considered transitional.

[earthside]

13. Just Joe ...

As far as i am concerned this guy is just Joe Ratzinger. Period.

He isn't better than me. He isn't smarter than me. He isn't prefered by God anymor than me. He isn't inspired more than me. He doesn't speak for God more than I do.

He's just another human being that politicked his way to the top of his organization. The only thing about Joe that is different than me is that I don't wear funny hats or wear a dress all day long.

[Malva Zebrina]

14. He is 78 yo

and it is realistic to assume that he will live a normal life span.

[fedsron2us]

15. You could have said the same about Andropov or Chernenko

in the last days of the Soviet Union.