Pope to resign? Feb 28

[meep]

There's been prophecies and ideas over the end times with each pope before. Why would this time be any different?

There is a prophecy that lists all the Popes...Pope Benedict is last pope named, then comes "Peter the Roman, who will lead the Church through tribulations. Then all people will be judged. The end." Or something to that effect.

[miffy]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Father-J ... -for-Pope/

:lol: :lol:

[Tom Slick]

There is a prophecy that lists all the Popes...Pope Benedict is last pope named, then comes "Peter the Roman, who will lead the Church through tribulations. Then all people will be judged. The end." Or something to that effect.

This i agree.... Hang on folks life is about to get VERY interesting!

[Tom Slick]

I know it's WIKI but this is very accurate. Mankind is in for some troubling times of Biblical proportions!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

[PennySycamore]

Ironically enough, today was the first time I was back in a Catholic church in a long while, for the funeral of a dear family friend.

As he was preparing for communion, the priest told the congregation, "For those of you who accept communion weekly, we have the sacrament available for you. For those who do not, we invite you to take part in a 'spiritual communion' and consider the role of Jesus in your life." Not even joking. My family sat out, and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with "Catholic guilt." As we were leaving, my dad said, "You know, I was going to go up anyway, but then I just said 'fuck 'em.' Not exactly the best approach to attract people back to an institution mired in scandal and losing followers in droves."

I don't practice Catholicism anymore, but it does make me sad to see the church swinging further and further to the right. And there's no reason to believe the new pontiff will be any different.

This reminds me of a time when a bunch of us from all over SC were gathered for the funeral of Dr Tom Essman, a local family doc who had been killed in an auto accident. Tom was beloved by lots of people. The priest at his Catholic Church had the temerity to announce just before the Eucharist was distributed that only Catholics could receive Communion. The women sitting next to me was Episcopalian and a dear friend of Tom's and Michelle's. She went forward anyway as she said that Tom would have wanted it. Btw, a number of the same people had gathered the week previously for my daughter's funeral and our priest didn't say that. I can't imagine that Father Nick would have though.

ceg045, have you seen the picture of Grumpy Cat with the Pope's mitre on his head with the caption "Meet your next Pope". Cracks me up every time!

[thekate]

And that Benedict's last act in office will be to proclaim that abortion, contraception, female priests, priestly marriage, and gay marriage are all in line with Church doctrine.

Even better if it were infallible!

[ceg045]

ceg045, have you seen the picture of Grumpy Cat with the Pope's mitre on his head with the caption "Meet your next Pope". Cracks me up every time!

Ha! I haven't. The church should be so lucky.

[Savoring Samsara]

I know it's WIKI but this is very accurate. Mankind is in for some troubling times of Biblical proportions!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

Check out the rationale for Benedict XIII, "Soldier in War":

Before he was pope there was a lot of wars in nearby countries, and it is possible he could have fought in one as a soldier.

So, "very accurate" in the same way a newspaper horoscope is "very accurate" - sufficiently vague as to allow any tortured interpretation that one likes. :roll:

[Anxious Girl]

Ironically enough, today was the first time I was back in a Catholic church in a long while, for the funeral of a dear family friend.

As he was preparing for communion, the priest told the congregation, "For those of you who accept communion weekly, we have the sacrament available for you. For those who do not, we invite you to take part in a 'spiritual communion' and consider the role of Jesus in your life." Not even joking. My family sat out, and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with "Catholic guilt." As we were leaving, my dad said, "You know, I was going to go up anyway, but then I just said 'fuck 'em.' Not exactly the best approach to attract people back to an institution mired in scandal and losing followers in droves."

I don't practice Catholicism anymore, but it does make me sad to see the church swinging further and further to the right. And there's no reason to believe the new pontiff will be any different.

... I wish... I wish that my dad could be progressive spiritually like your dad. * admires your dad * I wish I could meet him irl.

[Diana]

After the pope resign this hapens... :shock:

creepy uh? hahahah maybe god is not happy with the decision.

[DrPusey]

As he was preparing for communion, the priest told the congregation, "For those of you who accept communion weekly, we have the sacrament available for you. For those who do not, we invite you to take part in a 'spiritual communion' and consider the role of Jesus in your life." Not even joking. My family sat out, and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with "Catholic guilt." As we were leaving, my dad said, "You know, I was going to go up anyway, but then I just said 'fuck 'em.' Not exactly the best approach to attract people back to an institution mired in scandal and losing followers in droves."

I'm sorry you and your family had to hear that at a funeral of someone dear to you. The way that the priest phrased it was not only mean-spirited, in my opinion, but also not even theologically specific if the aim was to only give communion to those whom he'd deem to be good Catholics. Some Protestant denominations also do communion weekly. So someone belonging to one of those denominations could have gone up to communion and then the priest might have stopped them to say "No, I meant only regular Catholic churchgoers." (?)

I'm not sure I'm making my point very clearly (coffee has yet to kick in fully) - I guess I'm taking your experience as an example of how that priest was so narrow-minded that he couldn't even accurately define the terms of his exclusions.

[ceg045]

... I wish... I wish that my dad could be progressive spiritually like your dad. * admires your dad * I wish I could meet him irl.

You never know; there might still be hope! My dad has always been politically liberal (probably more so since the GWB years), but always went to church regularly until a few years ago--though probably more out of 50+ years of habit than actual devotion. Anyway, he always seemed to take the increasingly regressive policies of the church in stride--it never seemed to rile him the way secular politics did. Even the molestation scandals--he was horrified, but firmly believed that they were a few isolated incidents and not the massive cover-up it actually was.

It wasn't until the 2004 election, when our state had a stem cell research ban on the ballot, that he had his wake-up call--during mass one week, the priest wheeled a TV to the front of the church during Mass to play an anti-stem cell commercial. My dad walked out and hasn't been back since, other than weddings and funerals. Since then, he's read up, watched documentaries, and just generally become actively derisive of many policies and disillusioned with the church in general, which up until a few years ago, he thought was antiquated and often nonsensical, but generally harmless/powerless.

So with your dad, even if he is very devout/conservative in his beliefs, change is possible. It's hard to erase habits and attitudes--especially religious ones--that have been in place for decades. But who knows? One incident might be all it takes to make him start asking questions. Heck, I'd count even a slight modification of beliefs as a victory--my dad is living proof that the RCC can be deeply, deeply ingrained, and have a lasting effect on one's worldview, even if they're no longer religious.

[ceg045]

I'm sorry you and your family had to hear that at a funeral of someone dear to you. The way that the priest phrased it was not only mean-spirited, in my opinion, but also not even theologically specific if the aim was to only give communion to those whom he'd deem to be good Catholics. Some Protestant denominations also do communion weekly. So someone belonging to one of those denominations could have gone up to communion and then the priest might have stopped them to say "No, I meant only regular Catholic churchgoers." (?)

I'm not sure I'm making my point very clearly (coffee has yet to kick in fully) - I guess I'm taking your experience as an example of how that priest was so narrow-minded that he couldn't even accurately define the terms of his exclusions.

I completely understand (and agree). I guess with it being a funeral and not a normal weekly service, he thought it was a good opportunity to guilt-trip those of us who don't practice or attend regularly. Which, whatever--I understand there are technically rules about that kind of thing, but a funeral seems like an inappropriate forum in which to start excluding or calling out people. Plus there's that whole "letter of the law versus spirit of the law" thing and maybe you shouldn't try to make people who are already in pain and grieving feel worse.

Anyway, going to Catholic elementary school 15-20 years ago (when I was in Catholic high school 10 years ago, it was already starting), I don't remember that sort of open hostility happening (at least not on a regular basis). Now that could very well be my foggy memories and childhood naivete talking, but it really seems like the insular "if you're not the right kind of Catholic, fuck off" attitude has really ramped up in the last decade or so. While I'd hope the new pope would try to rehabilitate that image, looking at the leading contenders, I'm not optimistic.

[redhotmess]

I am a recovering catholic.

As a child I was only allowed to receive communion if I went weekly. If I missed a week I had to go to confession before receiving it again.

I went to Latin mass most of the time though it was 1 hour away. This was observed in my family for regular mass and Latin mass.

[Jinger Jar]

Ironically enough, today was the first time I was back in a Catholic church in a long while, for the funeral of a dear family friend.

As he was preparing for communion, the priest told the congregation, "For those of you who accept communion weekly, we have the sacrament available for you. For those who do not, we invite you to take part in a 'spiritual communion' and consider the role of Jesus in your life." Not even joking. My family sat out, and I can guarantee it had nothing to do with "Catholic guilt." As we were leaving, my dad said, "You know, I was going to go up anyway, but then I just said 'fuck 'em.' Not exactly the best approach to attract people back to an institution mired in scandal and losing followers in droves."

I don't practice Catholicism anymore, but it does make me sad to see the church swinging further and further to the right. And there's no reason to believe the new pontiff will be any different.

:shock: The priest phrased that in a craptastic way.

The Catholic Church doesn't have open communion, but it's on the celebrant to use his pastoral skills and announce that a little more diplomatically than this priest did. Many wedding and funeral Masses have non-/non-practicing Catholics in attendance, and at the ones I've attended - including my own wedding Mass - the priest welcomes everyone in the Introductory Rites before he reminds folks that Holy Communion is available to those who are practicing Catholics. He says something like "We will celebrate Holy Communion today. Those who will not receive Communion are invited to remain in their pew." It's then on each person to decide if they should receive.

I've never seen a priest make the "closed communion announcement" during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I don't even know if that's licit.

Hearing experiences like yours always makes me cringe. :cry:

[Irishy]

I am loving all the father Ted banter!

[valsa]

a funeral seems like an inappropriate forum in which to start excluding or calling out people.

I agree and I'm sorry you had to go through that. When my greatgrandmother died, her paster used his speech at her funeral to take a couple shots at the Catholic church. Pissed me off, as several members of our family are Catholics (including my grandmother, her daughter!)

[ADoyle90815]

:shock: The priest phrased that in a craptastic way.

The Catholic Church doesn't have open communion, but it's on the celebrant to use his pastoral skills and announce that a little more diplomatically than this priest did. Many wedding and funeral Masses have non-/non-practicing Catholics in attendance, and at the ones I've attended - including my own wedding Mass - the priest welcomes everyone in the Introductory Rites before he reminds folks that Holy Communion is available to those who are practicing Catholics. He says something like "We will celebrate Holy Communion today. Those who will not receive Communion are invited to remain in their pew." It's then on each person to decide if they should receive.

I've never seen a priest make the "closed communion announcement" during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I don't even know if that's licit.

Hearing experiences like yours always makes me cringe. :cry:

I was baptized Catholic, but never raised in the church, so I've gone there for weddings and funerals. At least, I've heard priests say that non-Catholics could stay in the pew, and at my brother's wedding, the priest said that those who aren't receiving Communion can get a blessing if they have their arms folded across the chest. Either way, it's been left up to the individual to go up if they're practicing Catholics. Funerals are not the time to guilt trip people, especially if the majority of those attending aren't even members of the church, but are there out of respect for the dead person.

[mg78]

I was actually surprised the first time I went to a Catholic wedding in the US that everybody was participating in Communion, because I find that Catholicism in te US is more conservative than in many other places. Where I come from (a mostly Catholic country), only people who assist weekly to Mass take part of Communion. You can usually the huge confession lines during services because people have not been going to Mass and they want to Communion.

[So Says I]

All I can say is that my devout bro-in-law and my SO's Catholic parents are all very happy that Papa Benedict is Outtie 5000. The were all fans of John Paul II.

[Irishy]

I agree and I'm sorry you had to go through that. When my greatgrandmother died, her paster used his speech at her funeral to take a couple shots at the Catholic church. Pissed me off, as several members of our family are Catholics (including my grandmother, her daughter!)

Last funeral I went to, the (asshole) priest had a little rant on abortion and savita halapanavar. This was the funeral of DH's 90 year old aunt and was totally inappropriate and nothing to do with this poor dead woman. Her family were really disgusted.

[darareaksmey]

I had a Catholic wedding. I am not Catholic but my husband (nominally) is. The monsignor who was to perform it avoided the whole problem of who could receive Eucharist by saying we should just have the cermony and not a Mass. Thinking back on it now, of the 100 or so people who attended, maybe a third were Catholic, but probably fewer than 5 were in that state of grace required to receive. My DH had to be, since in order to recive the sacrament of marriage he had to have reconciliation first. This was in 1991, and it's the last reconciliation (confession) he's done.

[Irishy]

I had a Catholic wedding. I am not Catholic but my husband (nominally) is. The monsignor who was to perform it avoided the whole problem of who could receive Eucharist by saying we should just have the cermony and not a Mass. Thinking back on it now, of the 100 or so people who attended, maybe a third were Catholic, but probably fewer than 5 were in that state of grace required to receive. My DH had to be, since in order to recive the sacrament of marriage he had to have reconciliation first. This was in 1991, and it's the last reconciliation (confession) he's done.

We were not required to have reconciliation before our catholic wedding. Last time I did I was probably 7 or 8. I think it's utterly ridiculous. It's interesting, the whole state-of-grace thing. Here in Ireland, almost everyone in the church takes communion. It's like an excuse to get up and walk around and see who's there etc. Mass is a very relaxed affair here.

[takers401]

We were not required to have reconciliation before our catholic wedding. Last time I did I was probably 7 or 8. I think it's utterly ridiculous. It's interesting, the whole state-of-grace thing. Here in Ireland, almost everyone in the church takes communion. It's like an excuse to get up and walk around and see who's there etc. Mass is a very relaxed affair here.

The Priest who married DH and I (I'm Catholic/he's not) suggested I receive reconciliation before our ceremony but it wasn't a demand or anything. More of a "it's a good idea to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before you get married to have a clean slate, so to speak, when you say your vows. Okay, next Pre-Cana question." It really is interesting how the Catholic church, which is supposed to be the same wherever you go, can differ so much in its practices depending on your local clergy and their 'running' of things.

[Irishy]

Agreed takers401. Our impression is always that the church in the US is waaaay stricter and more conservative and that American Catholics and REALLY catholic!!!