Pope to resign? Feb 28

[LostSamurai]

As a Catholic...............................I'm fine with this.

Never liked the Pope in the first place. Benny can go Jet.

[darareaksmey]

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.

Yeah, isn't it odd? I thought "catholic" meant "universal."

[persuas1ve]

I am loving all the father Ted banter!

It was only resting in my account!

[samurai_sarah]

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!!!

On a completely unrelated note: Do you have any time to answer the questions for you in the "conservative opinions" thread? viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15479

[B5SnowDog]

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

So is it a bring your own tin foil hat end of the world party or are you bringing enough for everybody? :D

[Irishy]

On a completely unrelated note: Do you have any time to answer the questions for you in the "conservative opinions" thread? viewtopic.php?f=8&t=15479

I've been following that thread. Did I miss a page?

[Irishy]

I did, in fact miss a page. I have addressed your comments. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[OkToBeTakei]

To any Catholics who still attend Mass. What do people wear? I'm a sporadic visitor. I remember being young and having the whole 'Sunday Best' going on. Now it appears to be any old thing. Jeans, trainers anything goes. This granted at my local.

[Irishy]

Any old thing. We try to wash the rugby muck off the kids faces and hands though before we go as their school mass is straight after rugby on a Sunday morning. Their school does a first communion mass once a month which we go to (kinda only cos kids want to tbh).

[OkToBeTakei]

Any old thing. We try to wash the rugby muck off the kids faces and hands though before we go as their school mass is straight after rugby on a Sunday morning. Their school does a first communion mass once a month which we go to (kinda only cos kids want to tbh).

Kids these days. Mine wants to be an altar server. She is just not getting the whole agnostic vibe :P

[Hane]

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.

Believe it or not, this announcement was the pinnacle of diplomacy compared with what I've heard at Catholic weddings and funerals I've attended over the past several years. (Cradle Catholic here; became UU at 55.) Sometimes I'll figure "eff you" and go up to receive anyway--those relatives who know about my new religious affiliation kind of hope I'll come back in.

I was lector at the funeral Mass for my sister's FIL. The priest, whom I'd known many years ago when he was chaplain of a divorced Catholics group I attended, assumed I was still a practicing Catholic, and actually gave me a little script to read, reminding the congregation that only Catholics "prepared" for Communion (state of grace, recent Confession) could receive. I conveniently forgot to read it. And I received Communion. My fellow UU-but-Buddhist-leaning daughter went up in the Communion line with the rest of us and just bowed and gave a Namaste gesture to the priest.

I agree, ceg045--things haven't been this right-wingy since before Vatican II. It all makes me wonder what could have happened if John Paul I had had a longer papacy.

[bbtlover]

To any Catholics who still attend Mass. What do people wear? I'm a sporadic visitor. I remember being young and having the whole 'Sunday Best' going on. Now it appears to be any old thing. Jeans, trainers anything goes. This granted at my local.

My church dresses a little more business casual although most of the kids wear sneakers with khakis or skirts. My kids do that because I am too lazy to buy them another pair of shoes that they'll outgrow of before they are really broken in.

[Nothing2CHere]

To any Catholics who still attend Mass. What do people wear? I'm a sporadic visitor. I remember being young and having the whole 'Sunday Best' going on. Now it appears to be any old thing. Jeans, trainers anything goes. This granted at my local.

Where I am in the US, it depends. We belong to a Byzantine Catholic parish, and if we go to mass (technically "liturgy" in the Byzantine rite) on a Saturday night, jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt are just fine. But if we go on Sunday morning, it's still "Sunday Best" at our church with a few women wearing fancy hats and men in suits and ties; my husband and I often look under-dressed in our khakis and his polo shirt and my blouse.

But if we go to a Roman Catholic mass - be it a Saturday night or a Sunday morning - we look way overdressed in that same blouse & polo & khakis compared to the rest of the attendees.

I also want to comment on the "state of grace" and need for confession before communion - maybe I just learned this wrong, or I made it up in my sleep, but I swear I was taught that confession was only necessary before communion for grave sins; that my every-day "I lied to my parents that my homework was done so that I could watch TV and I hit my brother because he was annoying me and then stole his lunch money when he wasn't looking" minor sins were absolved by the very act of receiving communion.

[OkToBeTakei]

Believe it or not, this announcement was the pinnacle of diplomacy compared with what I've heard at Catholic weddings and funerals I've attended over the past several years. (Cradle Catholic here; became UU at 55.) Sometimes I'll figure "eff you" and go up to receive anyway--those relatives who know about my new religious affiliation kind of hope I'll come back in.

I was lector at the funeral Mass for my sister's FIL. The priest, whom I'd known many years ago when he was chaplain of a divorced Catholics group I attended, assumed I was still a practicing Catholic, and actually gave me a little script to read, reminding the congregation that only Catholics "prepared" for Communion (state of grace, recent Confession) could receive. I conveniently forgot to read it. And I received Communion. My fellow UU-but-Buddhist-leaning daughter went up in the Communion line with the rest of us and just bowed and gave a Namaste gesture to the priest.

I agree, ceg045--things haven't been this right-wingy since before Vatican II. It all makes me wonder what could have happened if John Paul I had had a longer papacy.

OOPS I think I discovered my eff you a while back. I always go for communion no idea how long since my last confession, definitely over 20 yrs. I like the taste, reminds me of 'Flying Saucers' without the sherbert. I'm going to hell anyway so a 1 calorie wafer is not going to doom me further I reckon.

[darareaksmey]

Where I am in the US, it depends. We belong to a Byzantine Catholic parish, and if we go to mass (technically "liturgy" in the Byzantine rite) on a Saturday night, jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt are just fine. But if we go on Sunday morning, it's still "Sunday Best" at our church with a few women wearing fancy hats and men in suits and ties; my husband and I often look under-dressed in our khakis and his polo shirt and my blouse.

But if we go to a Roman Catholic mass - be it a Saturday night or a Sunday morning - we look way overdressed in that same blouse & polo & khakis compared to the rest of the attendees.

I also want to comment on the "state of grace" and need for confession before communion - maybe I just learned this wrong, or I made it up in my sleep, but I swear I was taught that confession was only necessary before communion for grave sins; that my every-day "I lied to my parents that my homework was done so that I could watch TV and I hit my brother because he was annoying me and then stole his lunch money when he wasn't looking" minor sins were absolved by the very act of receiving communion.

Could very well be. It seems to vary so much, which is the reason I don't know how they can get all excited about violations. My husband recounts that he and his dad were excoriated by their parish priest when he (DH) was a boy because they had been communing without confession. I think the thinking was that you can't always be sure what kind of sin you've done, so best to just confess and let the priest sort it out for you. Of course my response to my husband, on hearing this story, was how did the priest know you are telling him everything anyhow?

[Coconut Flan]

The last I read and what the monsignor at the local parish also said was the obligation is for at least annual confession IF one has grave sin to confess and of course one should not receive communion with unconfessed grave sin. So if people are only committing venial sins, then there is no requirement for recent confession. The church says regular confession is desirable. Some of the newer priests are more traditional than the old-timers and are repeating the old rules or their own adaptations of the old rules to their parishes. One of the traditionalist priests nearby was even telling his parishioners to forego water and meds for today (Ash Wednesday) which is absolutely not canon.

[NurseNell]

I think Pope Bennie didn't want to be another JPII who wasn't able to really do his job at the end of his life. Why not go out when you can still walk and talk and maybe enjoy a few quiet years with your cats- like most people who retire?

I never cared for Ratzinger when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He is just way too conservative for my tastes. I was disappointed when he was elected Pope but I did understand that it was a position he really didn't want and planned to hold for only a few years. But one thing I've always liked about him is that he is a crazy cat man. ;) :animals-cat: Anyone who loves cats is my kind of person even if we disagree on most other things.

[thekate]

A pope's been elected. Last minute guesses who it will be?

[Cran]

I still think they will have elected someone from the Western culture, no one who'd start a revolution or anything...

[Ellimenopy]

I dreamt last night it was O'Malley, but I also dreamed I made a dinner entirely out of sardines, so ...

[Ellimenopy]

My best guess is Ouellet.