There is a new Pope

[Alexander's Horse]

Its improved this thread immensely

[Ted Striker]

How about a pic of Judge Mathis!!!

I think he'd make a solid pope, he'd get like the entire western youth population into the church.

[Dinner]

I don't think Ratzinger is protecting these pedophile priests because he wants to harm children; he probably has some misguided notion about covering these abuses up will help the church. Still, the ends do not justify the means so protecting pedophile priests from facing legal charges for their crimes isn't a good thing even if hiding those crimes makes the church look better. I'm sure Ratzinger believes in helping fallen priest redeem themselves by giving them anothe4r chance but sex offenders have the highest rate of recommitting their crimes and there has been case after case after case of pedophile priests being shuffled to new locations only to abuse more children. This pattern has been repeated for decades and is still going on.

I have no problem with helping people redeem themselves but the must first pay the penalty for their past crimes as must the Catholic Church for obstructing justice and releasing these predators to harm still more children. Attempting to bully or intimidate witnesses into not alerting authorities to sexual abuse of children is inexcusable and Ratzinger is an immoral man for doing so. These cases have happened in Europe, America, Australia, Latin America, and Africa and each time the Catholic Church has helped abusing priests escape justice.

For the Catholic Church to deal with this issue it must start cooperating with police, local officials, victim's & their families in order to make the guilty pay the price for their crimes. This will not only help past victims over come their abuse but it will also protect other children from pedophile priests who serially abuse children. Ratzinger’s past actions have shown he isn’t willing to do this. I hope he changes so that he no longer aids the abuse of children but I don’t believe such a dogmatic man can change his spots. Ratzinger’s actions; how he continues to allow children to be abused and how he covers up the crimes of the abusers is simply damning. On this fact alone it is clear Ratzinger will never be the type of man John Paul II was.

[molly bloom]

Joe Da Rat becomes Benny XVI- the Vatican goes Sopranos again.

[Drake Tungsten]

Who wouldn't want this guy as their Pope?

[Provost Harrison]

Apparently he once denounced rock music as "the vehicle of anti-religion" Looks like the nonce Pope is going to be an interesting one

[DaShi]

I love that new pope smell.

[Jaguar]

I think this image about sums it up.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Jaguar



I think this image about sums it up.

"I tell ya, you shoulda seen the jugs on that nun...."

[Jaguar]

When I first saw it, I was tempted to make a "caption this" thread out of it, but we've got like eight pope threads.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Jaguar
When I first saw it, I was tempted to make a "caption this" thread out of it, but we've got like eight pope threads.

Well, at one time there were three different rival popes, all making a claim to the holy hotseat.


Plural livings were also a feature of the Catholic Church in times gone by- clerics could be Archbishop of one place, and Bishop of another- and never visit it.

Like Margaret Thatcher being British p.m. and steering clear of Scotland...

[DaShi]

Please. He's German. No one who speaks German could possibly be evil.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by DaShi
Please. He's German. No one who speaks German could possibly be evil.

Ned would agree with you.

He blames WWII on the British, for instance, and thinks that Hitler had a right to vast areas of Europe that weren't German because of the previous existence of the Holy Roman Empire.


I swear, I couldn't make this up if I tried....

[DaShi]

All countries should be able to claim territory that was once a part of a past empire of theirs. Isn't that obvious?

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by DaShi
All countries should be able to claim territory that was once a part of a past empire of theirs. Isn't that obvious?

Worked with Tibet, I suppose.


Just wait until Tibet claims the bits of China it once occupied.