Roni / April 19, 2005 11:41 AM

Should have known since the Virgin showed up at the Kennedy.

davin / April 19, 2005 11:49 AM

umm.
what are the chances it is a woman
or person of color?
fingers crossed.

and then let's move on.

Ken / April 19, 2005 11:52 AM

Meet the new pope.

Leelah / April 19, 2005 11:58 AM

My vote (which doesn't count) is for Steve!

amyc / April 19, 2005 12:05 PM

Not Catholic, don't care.

So, when do we get a new Dalai Lama? Will there be 24-hour news coverage of that process?

Michael / April 19, 2005 12:11 PM

Another conservative. Not a good election year for politics and religion if you're a liberal.

Shasta MacNasty / April 19, 2005 12:17 PM

Ditto AmyC.

Michael / April 19, 2005 12:21 PM

Well, what did you expect? Liberals in the College of Cardinals are like waterfalls in the desert.

LeahW / April 19, 2005 12:25 PM

I'm just waiting for some brunch place to have the Eggs Benedict XVI special.

Tom / April 19, 2005 12:28 PM

As luck would have it....another non-Italian. That's 2 in a row.

Matt / April 19, 2005 12:32 PM

Hmm, let me see, a conservative German getting to lead the world's largest social group. Is this a bad sign to anyone else?

Tom / April 19, 2005 12:38 PM

Just another in a long line of people for the mindless legion to latch onto in search of some guidance that, for some reason, they can't find from themselves or in their community. I guess catholics just love being told what to do and what to believe.

If people paid half as much attention to who the principal at their child's school and his beliefs, we'd all be better off.

Maggie / April 19, 2005 12:48 PM

Wow, Tom, that's quite the broad brush you're painting with. I guess we Catholics aren't capable of caring about who the pope is as well as our local schools? Good to know.

Michael / April 19, 2005 12:53 PM

It seems to me that people can express their views (or choose not to express them), without insulting those of a particular faith. What's the point, Tom?

Carrie / April 19, 2005 12:56 PM

I've heard he said Turkey shouldn't be a part of Europe because they're a Muslim country. Way to unite people and stop hatred. Nice job, pal.

mr bill / April 19, 2005 1:06 PM

Rats!

holden / April 19, 2005 1:15 PM

I like the quickness with which the conclave came to a decision. And I really loved watching the coverage. Man, it would've been awesome to be there, just to be a part of such a fun group of people from all ethnicities celebrating. Pretty special.

eric / April 19, 2005 1:17 PM

I was down right giddy about having a new pope, 'til I heard who it was. I'm starting to look into nice episcopelian churches where i might hide for a few years.

Andrew / April 19, 2005 1:32 PM

So, when do we get a new Dalai Lama?
As soon as the old one dies.

Staci / April 19, 2005 1:38 PM

Yeah Tom, not appreciated. Every religion has its mindless followers, not just Catholics. And even if they are mindless, isn't it ok for them to search for guidance in their own lives if it's not hurting anyone? I just wish the pope were a little younger. Being uber-conservative seems to be the trend with staunch catholics these days, but it worries me that we are just going to go through all the media hooplah and the cardinals will have to vote again in a couple of years when another old guy is needed to ride in the popemobile.

Nicole / April 19, 2005 1:52 PM

Seeing as the majority of Catholics are pro-choice, use birth control, and have pre-marital sex, they can't be much in the way of blind followers.

waleeta / April 19, 2005 1:58 PM

congratulations to all the catholics on the page! Pope Benedict may not be around for very long, but I think he's a good pick. Congrats again - so nice to see over a billion people all happy and celebrating on the same day for the same reason - doesn't happen often!

Pete / April 19, 2005 2:15 PM

Sigh. I've been passed over again. Back to the corporate grindstone.

mike-ts / April 19, 2005 2:28 PM

You figure this one will have to deal with the flack left over from the last one, who had the gift of overwhelming charisma to wow opponents and who got a lot done on other fronts. Kind of the "let's get this one, since the last one wore Teflon". The worst thing he can do is let opponents dictate his agenda, but do what he wants and hang in there. Like Truman after Roosevelt - everyone hated his guts at the time, but years later they came to respect his term. Trouble is he's 78, and according to legend, there's two popes left after John Paul II, so this is one of them, and if he ain't too long for this world. Wooooo...!

J / April 19, 2005 2:40 PM

Where can I get a german flag to hang on my car?

miss ellen / April 19, 2005 2:40 PM

mike-ts, i was just talking about that prophecy with the guys at work. end of the world is quickly approaching ;)

personally, i was hoping to see the nigerian, but alas, they went with the safe vote. bummer.

Stephen / April 19, 2005 2:42 PM

Adding to Staci's & Tom's comments, religion isn't the only group/belief that enjoys "mindless legions" amongst their following. There are plenty of atheists and agnostics out there who haven't given much thought to the matter either, and are just as - if not more - judgemental and intolerant as the "mindless legions" of religious people they claim to be better than.

As for the new Pope, I'm happy to see so many people are happy... but I'm not personally jumping for joy. It was nice to walk around on my lunch break and hear the church bells ringing all over town. But I do have some concerns about what the Church might become, seeing as it is undeniably a driving force in our world's social and religious dynamic. Something tells me we won't see any changes in policy RE: condoms, women's roles, etc.

Tim / April 19, 2005 2:44 PM

Now that the public events are complete, we Catholics can get back to the important work of secretly running the world and controlling the weather....sunny today.

Lady / April 19, 2005 2:44 PM

Creepy.

Thurston / April 19, 2005 2:52 PM

I think it would have been nice to have seen a pick from Latin America. After all, about half the Catholics in the world live in the region - it would make sense for them to have some papal representation, esepcially given the inroads evangelical Christians have been making in Latin America as of late.

Jeff / April 19, 2005 3:17 PM

Shit, dude: they sold out after Pius I.

I gave all of my Holy See tapes to Goodwill and I only wear my Vatican t-shirt to mow the lawn in.

shechemist / April 19, 2005 3:24 PM

I am not thrilled with the pick. I had hoped to get someone not from Europe, not rabidly conservative, and who would be able to bring about more unity. Given Ratzinger age, there is still time for Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga (or some other Latin American) to become pope.

but then I am still pissed that Cardinal Law was tapped to officiate JPII’s funeral. I mean really, what the fuck were they thinking?

sousboy / April 19, 2005 3:43 PM

Will he be in charge of Greenwhich Village as well as all the Catholics?

Alex / April 19, 2005 3:51 PM

Hey! John Ratzenberger was named Pope. Kick ass! Congratulations, Cliff Claven.

Oh, wait...what? Joseph Ratzinger?

Shit. Nevermind

jen*nee / April 19, 2005 3:51 PM

Meet the new Boss,
same as the old Boss.

e_five / April 19, 2005 3:58 PM

Didn't he die next to Jon Voight on a bus to Florida?

Heebert / April 19, 2005 4:09 PM

What amazes me is that the contributors to this posting keep talking about how they wish the pope was more liberal and so fourth. He is the head of the catholic church which is inherently conservative in all manners. Why would this change, and why would you assume it to change. If you are catholic and a liberal, you have issues that need to be addressed. If you aren't catholic, then it shouldn't matter to you anyways.

robin.. / April 19, 2005 4:33 PM

Heebert and amyc: i think who the pope is _should_ matter to people who aren't Catholic, as people who aren't Catholic seem to matter to the Catholic church.

the Catholic faith informs the lives and decisions of many a global political leader. as a woman and a queer, two strikes against me by the Catholic church, i think it is important to know what's going on in a huge, powerful institution that, while instructing 1.1 billion (NYT number) followers, also would like to (if i may use some loaded language) boss me around. it absolutely matters who leads the Catholic church; saying i shouldn't care who is pope is like saying that a registered independent (non-partisan) voter shouldn't care who is the president. just because it's not my party/faith doesn't mean it won't affect me.

it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. and yes, i was also holding out for a latino pope.

Cinnamon / April 19, 2005 5:14 PM

"If you are catholic and a liberal, you have issues that need to be addressed."
I think someone who is liberal and catholic has issues that need to be addressed by the Church. A lot of fundamental Catholics seem to think that the Church has remained the same throughout all of history, and that isn't the case at all. It has changed in very significant ways throughout the history of the world, as the needs of the Church and the needs of parishioners has changed. If your church doesn't listen to you, then you can either fight to make it listen to you, or you can leave it and find one which will. But the "put up and shut up" attitude is what scares off a lot of folks from religion.

And since the papal state gets a vote in issues that affect non-catholics all over the world, who the Pope is matters just as much to me as who the president of France is.

But I have to say I think it's funny that a few years after Pope JPII apologized for the Church turning a blind to the Nazis, someone who was an ex-Nazi youth gets appointed to be Pope.

Eamon / April 19, 2005 5:15 PM

I expected a bigger turnout in this election from the "Anybody But Benedictines" camp. Lousy liberals.

stanley / April 19, 2005 5:27 PM

If all you Dalai Lama supporters ever lent the poor fellow a hand in establishing his own country perhaps someone would cover his death but It seems you're all to busy bashing other faiths. Perhaps, Bendict 16th should make a visit there, those Pope's tend to be good at taking down oppresive governments. Viva Ratzinger!!

Ron / April 19, 2005 7:15 PM

Can't we just enjoy one of the few days that the news isn't filled with reports of people being blown up and killed ?

He's making millions of people happy right now and that's the coolest news I've heard in a while.

Peace be with you.

Michael / April 19, 2005 9:50 PM

AY! DA POPE-AH!

John / April 19, 2005 9:57 PM

Correction time:

Papa-Ratzy as the new moniker goes is not a Benedictine. He is known to be an admirer of the saint, his order and his most recent namesake.

B16 was not a Nazi. He had compulsory service in the youth group and was a deserter after being conscripted.

Cardinal Law did not officiate the funeral. As rector of Mary Major he celebrated one of 9 requiem masses that were part of the official mourning. It was ex officio (though I am unable to confirm that the rector at the death of JP1 was a celebrant); it was truly unfortunate; and it was intentionally snubbed by the 3 cardinals that really matter here in the states: Egan, George and Mahoney.

As for robin: I don't remember any Divine in my lifetime actually saying 'vote for x' on any issue. The example you will of course cite is B16 who wanted bishops to deny communion to certain politicans but it wasn't an order and at the most it would tell politicans to experience their ultimate concern elsewhere- just like billions of others worldwide do and have done since the age of our Savior. When you aren't allowed to get a driver's license because your not Catholic then you'll have something to bitch about (as will I since I'm a heritical anglo-catholic).

subbu / April 19, 2005 11:03 PM

my selection would have been more younger and spry - certainly not older than 25 years of age. : )

Mister C / April 20, 2005 12:04 AM

I agree with those who think that he'll be a "transition Pope" to the inevitable Latin American Pope. The Catholic Church tends to think in terms of centuries rather than years (also in terms of numbers, both demographic and financial), and by the time "Benny" kicks off, the number of Latino Catholics will be even higher than the current 1/3.

I think he'll be good for American Catholics, who won't have to feel guilty about ignoring his edicts the way they did with JP II.

As far as those who were hoping for a liberal pope, I think about how many centuries it took the Vatican to officially admit that the earth revolved around the sun (help me out here historians, 400ish?) and estimate that it should be another couple hundred years for women priests and other crazy (shall we call them 20th Century?) ideas to bear fruit. Although the growing priest shortage and the exponential increase in social change might speed things up a bit.

PS- Hate to be a downer, Ron, but I'm sure people got blown up and killed today, it just didn't make the news because of all the Papal Coverage. The same thing will happen when the Michael Jackson verdict comes down (although we won't get those lovely bells!).

mike / April 20, 2005 3:10 AM

zee Pope- he so nice!

amyc / April 20, 2005 6:12 AM

robin.., believe me, as a queer woman and an ex-Catholic atheist, I know the pope is important outside the church. I just don't care about which particular man they get to do the job because he's not my spiritual leader, and there's not a damn thing any of us can do about who gets chosen anyway. It's not like a bad pope can get voted out or impeached. No matter who the cardinals picked, we progressives are going to have to spend a lot of time and energy trying to undo the damage (particularly about reproductive rights and AIDS prevention).

And after a solid month of DeathWatch 2005 and NonStop ChimneyCam, I'm completely poped out.

steven / April 20, 2005 7:01 AM

just don't care

Aliota / April 20, 2005 7:08 AM

I'm liberal, so I hate all religions.

Except Islam.

The only way to fight hate is with hate.

Jose / April 20, 2005 8:55 AM

RRAAAaaarrrrr. At least, that's what it looks like he's saying.

otherwise: yawn.

Michael / April 20, 2005 9:03 AM

Wow, am I ever so glad to see this segment converted into a referendum on the faults and merits of Catholicism. Yep, nothing beats watching someone critique another's faith and seeing the latter compelled to serve as an apologist for their religion.

e_five / April 20, 2005 9:28 AM

Nice that the first German pope in 1000 years, the first Hitler Youth pope, and the first Hitler's army pope has his first full day of work ON HITLER'S BIRTHDAY (April 20).

Michael / April 20, 2005 9:53 AM

4/20 is also National Stoners' Day.

joe / April 20, 2005 10:38 AM

i dunno, his robe looks pretty snappy. i like that shade of red.

Tim / April 20, 2005 10:48 AM

All of these negative comments about Catholics here, hmmmm....., I saw in the newsletter this morning that the CWCS (Catholic Weather Control System) has decided on some 'biblical' weather today. wrath of God stuff and all that...remember we control everything.

e_five / April 20, 2005 11:09 AM

My comment had nothing to do with negative comments about Catholics or the faults and merits of Catholicism. My comment was directed at the original question-- thoughts about the new pope.

I went to a Jesuit Catholic school for four years and attend mass about six times a year. Do I have a right to say that it was a horrible choice? I guess not... anymore. This is the kind of choice that will drive liberal Catholics OUT, and distance moderates from the Church in a potentially catistrophic way for Western Europe and North America.

Rosetta / April 20, 2005 12:23 PM

his nickname is "The Enforcer"
..cousin to "The Intimidator" I guess??? (Dale Earnhardt)

CVAL / April 20, 2005 12:24 PM

"Holy Smoke - Ratzman!

Tim / April 20, 2005 1:28 PM

To late e_five, your name is already on a list somewhere. If you really want some crazy, spooky, Catholic trouble say something about Opus Dei. They will put your kiester in a vice (after they take said vice off of unmarried member of Opus Dei). I can't believe all this anit-Catholic bomb throwing about the Pope and nothing about Opus Dei. Open the conspiracy theory floodgates!

The Chad / April 20, 2005 1:58 PM

I celebrated the new pope by getting drunk on Bavarian Beer with my girlfriend last night. Then I came home with her, took her into the bathroom and hit her with 12 whip cream pies. After that, I poured 10 gallons of chocolate and vanilla pudding that I picked up at Sam's Club on her. It was great!

Tommy / April 20, 2005 2:00 PM

He's not my pope....he's not my president.... he's not my lover......she's not my mommy........Wellguess what.... he is my pope...that is my president...yes he is my lover and hi mommy........hugs and kisses

Mark / April 21, 2005 11:10 PM

Yes. I'm very happy that we (Catholics) have another great Pope! I was almost shocked when the news came out because the conclave was so short, but I'm sure glad it was Cardinal Ratzinger! Just what the Catholic Church needs: another great, intelligent spiritual leaders and all-around humble and pious guy....