Benedict might be gearing up for his final ride

[47of74]

Sounds like Benedict is prepping people for his departure.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0207/939058-benedict-vatican/

Quote

The former Pope, Benedict XVI has hinted that he is nearing the end of his life and is ready for what he described as his final "pilgrimage". 

Joseph Ratzinger made the comments in a letter written for the Italian daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera. 

The Pope emeritus said: "In the slow decline of my physical strength, internally, I am on a pilgrimage to the House of the Lord." 

The former pope, who will turn 91 in April, said he was moved that so many of the paper’s readers wanted to know how this last period of his life was going. 

It wouldn't surprise me if it happens sooner rather than later.  Some people just know when they're going to be taking their final ride. 

[Carm_88]

It wouldn't shock me either. He is 91! 

[Briefly]

I kind of have expected a death announcement ever since he retired, or that he had some serious illness such as alzheimers.

[Cleopatra7]

I know the exact reason for Benedict’s resignation is still being debated, but I do think that it was a good idea for him to retire if he was suffering from some kind of physical or cognitive decline. I think JPII would have stayed in office no matter how sick or incapacitated he became. Given the recent controversies over Catholic end of life issues, I’ve often wondered if we’ll reach a point where there will be several popes hanging around the Vatican in vegetative states or suffering from dementia, none of whom will have technically resigned. The Holy See has funds enough to run a papal retirement home of sorts, but there’s no precedent for such a thing; until JPII, a pope just died (or was murdered, depending on the circumstances) and that was it. Science has created a number of ethical dilemmas that were unthinkable in the past, which is why I think natural law reasoning is insufficient to address them.

[anjulibai]

@Cleopatra7They could get around some of that by electing a younger pope. Someone in his 40s or 50s. It would be good for stability, too, since he's likely have a long reign. 

[JenniferJuniper]

Wear lightweight clothing, Benedict.  You definitely won't need an overcoat where you're headed.

[hoipolloi]

6 hours ago, JenniferJuniper said:

Wear lightweight clothing, Benedict.  You definitely won't need an overcoat where you're headed.

And leave off the Prada shoes -- they'll just get ruined.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

8 hours ago, anjulibai said:

@Cleopatra7They could get around some of that by electing a younger pope. Someone in his 40s or 50s. It would be good for stability, too, since he's likely have a long reign. 

They did with JPII. But  you can never really know who will die relatively young or will be worn out by a long illness as you can't know who will last lucid till a very old age. Electing a young pope could also be problematic for an institution that desperately needs to change and adapt to times. Having the same pope for 40 or 50 yrs could be lethal for an institution that is often felt as already fossilized.

[Briefly]

13 hours ago, JenniferJuniper said:

Wear lightweight clothing, Benedict.  You definitely won't need an overcoat where you're headed.

I have a very close friend who was Catholic and she often said that she thought Benedict looked and acted evil. From the way she always talked about him, I think most of her fellow parishioners felt the same way.  I don't mean to sound like she's gone, she just is a former Catholic because she left the Catholic church and now goes to a non-denominational Christian church.

[Four is Enough]

Since Cardinal Ratzinger had been the head of the Inquisition prior to becoming Pope, a LOT of people felt he acted evil.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

1 hour ago, Four is Enough said:

Since Cardinal Ratzinger had been the head of the Inquisition prior to becoming Pope, a LOT of people felt he acted evil.

Being nitpicky. It's called Congregatio pro doctrina fidei nowadays.

[Cleopatra7]

8 hours ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

They did with JPII. But  you can never really know who will die relatively young or will be worn out by a long illness as you can't know who will last lucid till a very old age. Electing a young pope could also be problematic for an institution that desperately needs to change and adapt to times. Having the same pope for 40 or 50 yrs could be lethal for an institution that is often felt as already fossilized.

The impression I get is that the College of Cardinals and the Curia don׳t want a pope who’s going to stay in office 25+ years like JPII did. For all of his charisma, he neglected the governance of the Vatican, and the damage still hasn’t been fixed. However, the Vatican was never a model of good government to begin with, so who knows if it’s political culture can be changed for the better, especially when it supposed to appear timeless by design.

[Four is Enough]

6 hours ago, laPapessaGiovanna said:

Being nitpicky. It's called Congregatio pro doctrina fidei nowadays.

Fully aware of that, and I knew someone would provide that information, still... if it walks like a duck....

4 hours ago, Cleopatra7 said:

The impression I get is that the College of Cardinals and the Curia don׳t want a pope who’s going to stay in office 25+ years like JPII did. For all of his charisma, he neglected the governance of the Vatican, and the damage still hasn’t been fixed. However, the Vatican was never a model of good government to begin with, so who knows if it’s political culture can be changed for the better, especially when it supposed to appear timeless by design.

I think there was a huge shakeup when the Curia and CC were no longer run by the Italian contingent, as they had been for eons, it seems. 

I HOPE the Vatican can become something better than it is... but who knows.

[Granwych]

10 hours ago, Briefly said:

I have a very close friend who was Catholic and she often said that she thought Benedict looked and acted evil. From the way she always talked about him, I think most of her fellow parishioners felt the same way.  I don't mean to sound like she's gone, she just is a former Catholic because she left the Catholic church and now goes to a non-denominational Christian church.

Wychling thought Benedict looked like one of the bad guys in Star Wars.

[elliha]

In many countries "life in prison" usually means something like 20 years in reality because they can apply for a change of punishment to a given amount of years after some time. Why not decide the same for the Pope? Say that a Pope is expected to stay a Pope for "life" say 25 years and then he is "dead" in the sense that he cannot be elected a pope or involved in the process of picking the next pope. In other aspects he is of course alive and there can probably be a role for him within the church but one that is not of the same dignity. There should be this understanding that if you take on being the Pope you get 25 years, then you graciously allow someone else to take that role. 

[Four is Enough]

@elliha, that kind of arrangement may work in theory, but not well in fact. Once a person has had that sort of power, would he be able to step back and follow another? Particularly one with whom he disagreed? Methinks not easily.

[47of74]

On 2/8/2018 at 9:06 AM, Briefly said:

I have a very close friend who was Catholic and she often said that she thought Benedict looked and acted evil. From the way she always talked about him, I think most of her fellow parishioners felt the same way.  I don't mean to sound like she's gone, she just is a former Catholic because she left the Catholic church and now goes to a non-denominational Christian church.

Yeah I swam the Thames myself during the time Benedict was in charge.  I just did not see things getting better and was so tired of the makeover of the church into the reich wing at prayer that was going on under his leadership and that of the curia.  A combination of things did it for me - including the new stuffy translation they foisted on us and Bishops openly comparing President Obama to Hitler.  Maybe if Francis had been elected in 2005 I might have stayed but I don't regret leaving and don't plan to go back either.  

On 2/8/2018 at 5:12 AM, laPapessaGiovanna said:

They did with JPII. But  you can never really know who will die relatively young or will be worn out by a long illness as you can't know who will last lucid till a very old age. Electing a young pope could also be problematic for an institution that desperately needs to change and adapt to times. Having the same pope for 40 or 50 yrs could be lethal for an institution that is often felt as already fossilized.

John Paul I barely lasted a month before he passed.  And he wasn't all that old either - he was 65 in 1978 when he was in office.  I wonder what sort of mark he might have made on the church if he had lived longer and had a longer reign.  

[Four is Enough]

There were so many rumors about JPI's death.. WAS it an accident?

[Hane]

7 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

There were so many rumors about JPI's death.. WAS it an accident?

I am the opposite of a conspiracy theorist, but I’m convinced that John Paul I’s death was an inside job—either murder or neglect following a heart attack. His liberalism in certain areas was well-known: When he was an archbishop, he saw families struggling under poverty when they had too many mouths to feed, and was leaning toward acceptance of hormonal birth control. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

On 2/8/2018 at 6:35 PM, Granwych said:

Wychling thought Benedict looked like one of the bad guys in Star Wars.

Hmmm.....

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