Benedict XVI

[arisbe]

The Romans have a new Pope. What this means for my own Church remains to be seen.

JP II and Cardinal Ratzinger were a team, the good cop and the bad cop, when, by all reports, the good cop role would suit Ratzinger's private character better. If he can make the transition from sheepdog to shepherd, my friends on the right will be seriously disappointed.

But let me state for the record that I am personally prejudiced in favor of Bavarians.

Comments

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

Actually, he was very active in the original Vatican II reforms, but later decided that the revolution had gotten out of hand.

[nandan.livejournal.com]

Which will come first...female priests, or married male priests? Or the end of Catholicism?

[naqerj.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that married male priests both have existed and continue to exist within the churches in submission to the Pope of Rome, I imagine they're more likely (though I have no idea if the new Pontiff is in favor of them). I don't see Catholicism ending any time soon.

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

We have married priests, just not very many in North America, because the Irish didn't want them around. I think we will soon see more and more Eastern Catholic churches served by married men.

I am sorry to say that the ordination of women would destroy any hope of good relations with the Orthodox.

Maybe there will always be a Catholic Church. But the Church my father grew up in is pretty much gone already.

my terms are screwed up again.

[nandan.livejournal.com]

By Orthodox you mean what I think of as Greek or Russian Orthodox, or are you talking about the traditionalist/ fanatical element?

How is it that the church of your father is gone? I realize that's probably a huge question, but if you feel like answering, I'm interestested.

Re: my terms are screwed up again.

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

My fault. When I say Orthodox, I generally mean the Greek, Russian, Antiochian, and so on.

My father was born in the pontificate of Leo XIII, Latin Mass, priests and nuns walkkin around like alien overlords. Suddenly, when he was already old, the American Church became, outwardly at least, more Protestant than my mother's (Eiscopal) Church.

Would it have killed them in Rome to allow an old man to continue to receive communion on his knees?

Re: my terms are screwed up again.

[nandan.livejournal.com]

Well surely they didn't forbid it. They just changed custom. It was the local Priest's responsibility to leave the options open, wasn't it?

Re: my terms are screwed up again.

[nandan.livejournal.com]

forbid it(?) typo.

Re: my terms are screwed up again.

[arisbe.livejournal.com]

No, though some of them removed the cushions to make kneeling harder.

Re: my terms are screwed up again.

[nandan.livejournal.com]

Heh, institutions exercising control in the name of being more responsive to the people. They were probably just happy to save on the laundry bills. Gotta love it.