Lets hope the next Pope.. [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Lets hope the next Pope..



Smokey
02-13-2013, 01:32 PM
...will not be an old white guy as Vatican need to look beyound Europe for a candidate. I don't mind a black or Spanish Pope to liven up the Vatican as couple of Cardinals from Africa and latin America are on short list of top contenders for the Pope.

JohnMichael
02-13-2013, 04:31 PM
As a former catholic I am glad our current Pope will soon be ex-Benedict. Since he is too pooped to Pope I hope they find someone younger and more liberal. Oh and someone to take care of all the corruption. Pope John Paul was my last Pope that gave me any hope of changes. Sadly he died suspiciously when he was beginning to change things.

Let priests marry.
Let women become priests.
Oh and get over the whole gay thing. It is okay to be gay as long as you remain celebate. If you are not celebate you are not in a state of grace and so you are not able to participate in the sacrements.

Oh I could go on.......

Smokey
02-13-2013, 07:01 PM
I really doubt if the new Pope is chosen, there will be a major shift in topics you mentioned. As the old saying goes, why rock the boat.

If you look at history, most religion figures that are in power (especially politically) have resisted changes as they prefer status quo. They afraid giving in to little changes will be prelude to bigger changes down the road that might erode their authority.

Feanor
02-13-2013, 07:37 PM
I really doubt if the new Pope is chosen, there will be a major shift in topics you mentioned. As the old saying goes, why rock the boat.

If you look at history, most religion figures that are in power (especially politically) have resisted changes as they prefer status quo. They afraid giving in to little changes will be prelude to bigger changes down the road that might erode their authority.
More than half the current cardinals was appointed by Benedict; I can't see much support for a liberal.

In this day and age objection to birth control is perverse. A celibate clergy is and always was perverse: it was never the Jewish practice; the Orthodox churches admit married priests to the priesthood; it was never the Islamic practice, etc. But I don't see any of this changing. My advice to Catholics: love it -- or leave it. Why not? Scared? If you need to be Christian, there are plenty of other denominations to choose from. (The closest would be high-church Anglican/Episcopal or Eastern Orthodox, I suppose.)

Smokey
02-14-2013, 07:47 PM
My advice to Catholics: love it -- or leave it. Why not? Scared? If you need to be Christian, there are plenty of other denominations to choose from. (The closest would be high-church Anglican/Episcopal or Eastern Orthodox, I suppose.)Almost everybody follow the religion that their birth parents had no matter what religion it is. That is why you don't see too many poeple switch sides :)

ForeverAutumn
02-14-2013, 08:28 PM
Almost everybody follow the religion that their birth parents had no matter what religion it is. That is why you don't see too many poeple switch sides :)

That seems to be true. The few people that I know who have changed religions have converted for the sake of marriage.

StevenSurprenant
02-15-2013, 02:57 AM
On topic...

Religion is a large part of my sisters life and for all purposes, she is a fundamentalist Catholic. She talks a lot about fake churches and fake popes. To me it's confusing and I really don't know what she means, but whatever it is, she travels 6o miles every Sunday to a “real” Catholic church.

Slightly on topic...

Knowing that what you believe is determined purely (in most cases) by how you were raised should raise flags and force you to question your beliefs. For instance, if the pope was born in, let's say, China, there is very little chance that he would ever become a Catholic, let alone be a pope, and yet he would probably believe in his new religion just as staunchly as he did as a christian.

Really off topic...

I think the bigger question is, how does someone went missing? You hear it all the time, that so and so went missing. Does that mean that if they eventually show up they came found?

Feanor
02-15-2013, 06:10 AM
Almost everybody follow the religion that their birth parents had no matter what religion it is. That is why you don't see too many poeple switch sides :)
I switch from Reform Protestant to atheist -- actually conversion to atheism happens a lot.

ForeverAutumn
02-15-2013, 06:19 AM
I switch from Reform Protestant to atheist -- actually conversion to atheism happens a lot.

I don't really consider that a conversion. It's more a realization.

I have friends who were Jewish who converted to Catholocism because it was important to their future spouse to be married in a church. And I have friends who have converted to Judiasm for the same reasons. In most cases, their belief in God has not wavered, the only thing that has changed is how and where they practice that belief.

JohnMichael
02-15-2013, 10:42 AM
I don't really consider that a conversion. It's more a realization.




I agree, realization is what I came to in my life. As a child who was very involved in church and going to mass every morning it was predicted I would be a priest. As I began to realize I was different I became more aware of the church's teachings about someone like me. What they were teaching and what I knew of myself were opposite. I also knew I could not teach against homosexuality because I knew I am a good person.

In the second grade a nun was teaching us that if you are good you go to heaven. I raised my little hand and asked "Sister shouldn"t we be good just to be good"? Even then I felt being good was what you should do with or without an award. Even back then things were not ringing true to me.

As I began to realize there is a difference between god's will and the rules of a church my doubts grew. When I learned how Jesus lived and taught I was surprised how his followers behaved. Doubts grew even more. Today regardless of my faith in god I have no need for organized religion. I have reached the realization that god is most likely man made and if he/she is not and I feel like talking to him/her I will do so directly.

Feanor
02-15-2013, 01:52 PM
I don't really consider that a conversion. It's more a realization.

I have friends who were Jewish who converted to Catholocism because it was important to their future spouse to be married in a church. And I have friends who have converted to Judiasm for the same reasons. In most cases, their belief in God has not wavered, the only thing that has changed is how and where they practice that belief.
Actually I completely agree with your first paragraph.

It is a huge irony I guess that I, though I take an atheist position in most forums, happen to still be an official a member of the Presbyterian Church (!!) I attend church services regularly though not every week. In that particular context I admit to being a skeptic and rather non-spiritual, but I don't own to being a frank atheist. Hypocritical? In the eyes of some no doubt.

One thing I never considered, and would never have considered, is converting to another religion, (i.e. other than Protestant Christianity), for the sake of a fiancée. The combination of being at once a Calvinist and atheist, is a weird one.

Feanor
02-15-2013, 01:59 PM
I agree, realization is what I came to in my life. As a child who was very involved in church and going to mass every morning it was predicted I would be a priest. As I began to realize I was different I became more aware of the church's teachings about someone like me. What they were teaching and what I knew of myself were opposite. I also knew I could not teach against homosexuality because I knew I am a good person.

In the second grade a nun was teaching us that if you are good you go to heaven. I raised my little hand and asked "Sister shouldn"t we be good just to be good"? Even then I felt being good was what you should do with or without an award. Even back then things were not ringing true to me.

As I began to realize there is a difference between god's will and the rules of a church my doubts grew. When I learned how Jesus lived and taught I was surprised how his followers behaved. Doubts grew even more. Today regardless of my faith in god I have no need for organized religion. I have reached the realization that god is most likely man made and if he/she is not and I feel like talking to him/her I will do so directly.
Parenthetically I once heard that 50% of North American priests are gay by orientation, though celibate. Does this make Catholic Church's position of homosexuality hypocritical? I'm really not sure.

Smokey
02-15-2013, 09:03 PM
I don't really consider that a conversion. It's more a realization.

Excellent response :thumbsup:


Parenthetically I once heard that 50% of North American priests are gay by orientation, though celibate.

If they're celibate, then how do we know their orientation :)

It really takes a strong mind to be celibate as human sexuality is very powerfull force to supress. And if a priest can't hold it together, they look for [relief] outlets that other wise they would not imagine. Like in prison.