New Pope elected

[Chip R]

Ratzinger from Germany is Benedict XVI.

[Redsland]

Isn't he the guy from Cheers?

That was fast. The cardinals must have had a plane to catch.

[Puffy]

I understand them choosing an older Cardinal so as to not have back to back long reigns, but this guy is not the face Catholics should want right now.

We took a step backwards today, and thats a shame, IMO.

[M2]

What happened to BtLPtPoTT XII?

On a separate note, I believe Ratzinger's a lot more liberal than JP II.

[KronoRed]

Is he?

Puffy posted an article in another thread, he sounds like a hard liner

[Puffy]

What happened to BtLPtPoTT XII?

On a separate note, I believe Ratzinger's a lot more liberal than JP II.

Well, we never know how a Pope will "rule" thats for sure, and I think you're correct that when JP II was elected he was considered more conservative that Ratzinger.

My only fear is the message this sends out - they only wanted a temporary Pope, and thats clear by the fact he is 78. But if thats the case I wish they went liberal, to bring people back in, instead of pushing them to other faiths.

Of course, this is all only my opinion, and they are surely wiser than me, so I probably have no idea what I am talking about. Which is nothing new

[Danny Serafini]

This will probably sound like a silly question, but as a non-Catholic I really don't know. Why is it when a pope is elected he a) takes a new name and b) takes a name 15 people have already used? Why doesn't he go by Pope Joseph Ratzinger?

[zombie-a-go-go]

This will probably sound like a silly question, but as a non-Catholic I really don't know. Why is it when a pope is elected he a) takes a new name and b) takes a name 15 people have already used? Why doesn't he go by Pope Joseph Ratzinger?

It's not a silly question - I'm Catholic and I have no idea either.

Well, I'm not fiercely Catholic.

[macro]

That was fast. The cardinals must have had a plane to catch.

They had to be in Pittsburgh by 7:05 tonight.

[zombie-a-go-go]

They had to be in Pittsburgh by 7:05 tonight.

Good one.

[M2]

Is he?

Puffy posted an article in another thread, he sounds like a hard liner

My bad, I flipped him and the Italian Martini in my head. Old guys in red robes all look the same to me.

[Roy Tucker]

Basically, its just a tradition since 1009...

From http://www.catholic.org/cathcom/inte...y.php?id=13589 (a good article about the whole pope process but I've just excerpted it)

What happens after the election?

The cardinal dean asks the man, "Do you accept your canonical election as supreme pontiff?" Rarely does anyone say no. When offered the papacy at the 1271 Viterbo conclave, St. Philip Benizi fled and hid until another candidate was chosen. Likewise St. Charles Borromeo, one of the few cardinals to be canonized, turned down the papacy. When Cardinal Giovanni Colombo, the 76-year-old archbishop of Milan, began receiving votes during the October 1978 conclave, he made it clear that he would refuse the papacy if elected. If the man says yes, then he becomes pope immediately if he is already a bishop. The rest is simply ceremony. If he is not a bishop, he is to be ordained immediately by the cardinal dean and becomes pope as soon as he is ordained a bishop.

He is then asked by what name he wants to be called. The first pope to change his name was John II in 533. His given name, Mercury, was considered inappropriate since it was the name of a pagan god. Another pope in 983 took the name John XIV because his given name was Peter. Reverence for the first pope precluded his becoming Peter II. At the end of the first millennium a couple of non-Italian popes changed their names to ones that their people could more easily pronounce. The custom of changing one's name became common around the year 1009. The last pope to keep his own name was Marcellus II, elected in 1555.

The cardinals then approach the new pope and make an act of homage and obedience. A prayer of thanksgiving is then said, and then the senior cardinal deacon announces to the people in St. Peter's Square that the election has taken place and the name of the new pope. The pope then may speak to the crowd and grant his first solemn blessing "urbi et orbi," to the city and the world. John Paul I and John Paul II prolonged the conclave until the following morning so that they could meet and dine with the cardinals.

John Paul II had audiences for diplomats and the press in the week after his election. The inauguration mass took place six days after the election.

[gm]

So, does Puffy now loathe the Joe Ratzinger "signing"?

(Even Randa's uniform number matches the "Benedict") :randa:

[Puffy]

So, does Puffy now loathe the Joe Ratzinger "signing"?

(Even Randa's uniform number matches the "Benedict") :randa:

Well, there is a chance I do, but I'm watching my soul carefully, so I won't be posting that as much as the Randa loathing ©.

[Chip R]

The last pope to keep his own name was Marcellus II, elected in 1555.

I nominate this guy to be Pope Marcellus III