Less than an hour ago, the news started to change dramatically since the first sources told all the same thing, or variations of the same thing. The longest article seems to be in NYT, which, apart from hosting Friedman, is serious enough to be considered. I have borrowed the pic from them, anyway. I’m not a Catholic, I’m not against them, nor praising. Now the picture is of the old Benedict, who is 85 by the way, blessing members of the Order of the Knights of Malta at the Vatican, this passed Saturday. He announced that he will resign. “The Catholic World is in shock!” stated a few tabloids. I don’t know.
“The pope should be praised for relinquishing power, number one — how rare that is. But he’s old — some of us know the feeling — and there’s less and less win there.
The institution of the church and its most conservative members have been a roadblock to truth and social justice for the last fifty years. Conservative Catholics elected Bush twice. To be sure, there are noble elements but they have been overwhelmed for decades. Primarily this is over birth control and abortion.
Now where does this all come from? My guess (sociology class) is that like all bureaucracies, it wants to recruit maximum membership. A smaller pie cuts back on the possibilities. From that original impulse comes all the convoluted theology on birth control, abortion and stem cells. The church once ruled counterpoint in music was an ex-communicable offense.
Meanwhile as the world populates well past 8 billion, we have exceeded carrying capacity, clearly, and are rapidly destroying what we live on. Churches are constructs, rationalizations, imaginations and revenue.
Nature is reality. Eventually, religion must fit into nature. The questions are one: Why must misery be so prolonged before the church faces the obvious? and two: Will it be in time for our survival as a species?” anonymous comment
Oh my, the guy goes on to propose Let Priests Mary!. Atta boy, maybe he’s a priest or a priest lover… I don’t know why I haven’t thought at a heterosexual union, with all the Richard Chamberlain miniseries as a priest and a cardinal, at last. [Thorn Birds]
Back to the event: A profoundly conservative figure whose papacy was overshadowed by clerical abuse scandals, Benedict was elected by fellow cardinals in 2005 after the death of John Paul II. That’s why I haven’t thought marriage with women.
Pope Benedict XVI blessing the Knights of Malta at the Vatican
[source]
About The Knights of Malta, people say that it is one of the most peculiar organizations in the world. Apparently they marked its 900th birthday with a pompous colorful procession through St. Peter’s Square, a Mass in the basilica with Pope Benedict XVI as guest.
Once a Catholic religious order, they now pose in an aid group that runs soup kitchens, hospitals and ambulance services around the globe, and a sovereign entity that prints its own passports and enjoys diplomatic relations with 104 countries – yet has no country to call its own.
Saturday procession in Vatican – The Knights of Malta
Photo by AP. The few words about Maltese Knights Order are inspired by India Times which copied them from USA Today, which took the text from the AP redactor, and that’s how masses are manipulated. About the Order, maybe in a future post in The Shadows.
If you liked what you read (and for that I humbly thank you for your patience), subscribe to this blog by Email! Follow this blog on Twitter, and on Facebook! For a joyous day, check out my pins on Pinterest or my grams on Instagram 😄. I hope you like this blog so much that you think it’s time to take a step further by becoming yourself a blogger; in order to do that have the kindness to read the Own Your Website offer I have prepared for you! You won’t regret. Thanks for passing by 😄 Speak your mind, don’t be shy!
Copyright © 2013 Rodolfo Grimaldi Blog – Pope Benedict XVI will resign!
It is time for women priests. I was raised Catholic and still practice, but have lost a lot of trust in an institution that hides the crimes of its members and tries to blame the young victims. The next pope should be one that was born in one of the third world countries. Someone who knows poverty, has witnessed crimes against women and children (human trafficking) and someone who will put souls ahead of wealth.
Marie, thanks for leaving your print :). It’s a lot at stake of becoming a Pope, they are part of a greater organism than we can grasp. It’s nothing to do with sufferance and help, as I know them. After passing the rank of priest, everything become politics. I hope I’m not right on this issue. My grandfather was a priest…
My family came from Italy and my grandfather was in the seminary and then changed his mind. You’re right about the politics and sadly, this is what is losing a lot of the young people. I just would like a Pope that was young enough and more open minded to understand what is needed to bring people back to the church.
Only Pope Benedict XVI himself could know if he absolutely cannot do it anymore and we should respect his decision. It seems that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, formerly the archbishop of Quebec City, has the best odds of replacing the Pope and he is expected to be the continuity of Benedict XVI.
Sorry for not replying on spot, I was writing on my other blog in Romanian, but you have to be right! It is a lot at stake to become the next Pope. If the Canadian former Archbishop is on the list, they’ll vote him for sure. I almost like your plugin 🙂
This latest news about the Pope resigning has fired up many of the doomsday preachers, in which many are saying that if the next Pope comes from Italy with a certain name (forgot what it was) that it will represent the evil one and the end of days, blah, blah. Just wondering if anyone else has heard any of that hype, lately…