The Poor Pope

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From The Sunday Times
February 22, 2009
Cardinals turn on Pope Invisible

Benedict offended Muslims with a 2006 speech quoting a Byzantine emperor who described the prophet Muhammad’s teachings as “evil and inhuman”. He upset Israel and Jews by saying he wanted to make a saint of Pope Pius XII, despite criticism that Pius had failed to speak out against the Holocaust during the second world war. Then he offended homosexuals by saying that their behaviour was a “destruction of God’s work”.
I’m not quite sure I trust this paper. It seems to be putting the worst possible light on it.

I’m curious about sources for the Jews and Israel being upset about the Pope Pius XII part? It has been well-documented that Pope Pius XII has been subjected to a hatchet job in the book “Hitler’s Pope” and that he actually did plenty during the war.

Also, the part about offending the Muslims in 2006…oh well. It was the truth. He isn’t running for President. Maybe everything he says is not driven by “political correctness” Good for him.
 
Indeed JPUSC, but the Holy Father depends on those Cardinals to implement his reforms. That is exactly what I am saying - the Holy Father is not bringing the Cardinals and Bishops along with him. I’m not saying that the Holy Father is wrong (far from it) - but there is no use being right unless you have the skills to get people (and your generals first of all) to follow you. We all know the Holy Father is a very shy man, but he needs to find a way to somehow engage the episcopate (or find someone who can). Schönborn is a popular and powerful man, and the Pope has uncessarily lost his support over the Fr Wagner debacle.
Oh my gosh…you obviously did not look at the links JPUSC provided. Why would the Pope WANT the support of this “popular and powerful” man?
 
Interestingly, The Times does not mention how many previous Popes have lived just the same way, as described. Relatively isolated - living in Papal Chambers and somewhat removed from a priest’s more gregarious parish lifestyle. It was only with Pope John Paul II that we began seeing a “travelling Pope” - one who chose not to remain within Vatican Chamber confines - but to visit the people of the world. It was an amazing time for those of us who remember previous Popes’ more private lifestyles.

What the Times further fails to mention is that the then “Cardinal Ratzinger” was one of Pope John Paul II’s close advisors. Pope John Paul II’s reign was considerably long - so, Cardinal Ratzinger had much time to witness first-hand the life of a Pope - although unawares that he would be elected to succeed. We don’t know Pope Benedict’s motives for his choice of Papal lifestyle but it sounds comparable to so many earlier Pontiffs. He is Pope - no longer an advisory cleric. We also don’t know what his health considerations are. These are things we learn about - once and if a Pope becomes ill. We do know that the Pope is pulled constantly in every direction - by so many (Catholic or not) - wanting him to lend an ear, his time, etc. While the Pope exercises final decisions, they have advisors, secretaries, assistants who network for them. His decisions are criticized, examined, turned away from. And somehow, I don’t think the Pope prays and then sits waiting for his next gold-trimmed plate meal. It is a weighty job.

And we’ve heard the ages-old arguments about Popes living amidst Vatican “wealth” (for lack of a better term). I won’t go there.

But we do know that he is the Vicar of Christ on earth. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Times had reported that? It’s amazing how they report on a Pope’s dishware or complain about his decisions - but leave out the most important fact. I challenge any Times reporter to live the difficult life of a Pope. All they see are the trimmings - not the substance.
 
The pontiff is facing dissent over his distant, regal style…Benedict XVI starts the day with a 7am mass in his private chapel, followed by a lone breakfast. No press summary is brought to him.
A return to tradition, and the point is?
The Pope’s daily routine…is being blamed for a series of blunders that…show of dissent from exasperated cardinals. Critics claim he is leading the church and its 1.2 billion faithful like a monarch cut off from the world outside his palace windows…Who are these critics, and why does their opinion matter?

“People feel disoriented,” a senior Vatican official confided last week. “It’s a feeling common to both traditionalists and reformers. Our impression is that there isn’t anyone at the wheel.”

So this guy is saying CATHOLICS feel this way? Isn’t our biggest “sin” blindly trusting the authority of the Pope?

Hailed by his peers as “the most intelligent” candidate when he was elected Pope in 2005, the 81-year-old German pontiff has provoked outrage and a rebuke from Angela Merkel…,
Benedict then named Father Gerhard Maria Wagner as the Bishop of Linz, in Austria. Wagner had preached that Hurricane Katrina was retribution for the activities of abortionists, prostitutes and homosexuals in New Orleans.
Then I guess no one on TBN had better convert and expect to be selected for a high office within the clergy, because those guys come up with all SORTS of hair-brained stuff!

Simmering discontent within the church
**According to our very critical non-Catholics, wouldn’t this be an oxymoron, or just a moron that wrote this article?:rolleyes: **

German Cardinal Walter Kasper, in charge of Jewish relations, denounced “misunderstandings and management errors in the curia” (the Pope’s civil service) – an implicit attack on the Pope himself.
**I fail to see how insubordination, imagined or real, makes the Pope a “blundering” [fool]. **

Upset by the Williamson and Wagner decisions, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn met the Pope in Rome earlier this month…They in turn urged the Vatican to learn from past mistakes and respect the rules for appointing bishops. They demanded “scrupulousness” and “sensitivity” in future.

Violating the custom that cardinals do not criticise one another, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the congregation of bishops, launched a loud denunciation of his Colombian colleague, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who was in charge of relations with the Society of Pius X.
More naughty cardinals…OK, so?

For many inside the Vatican,
Who? The Protestant tour guide? An atheist janitor? Who are these “Vatican insiders” and why are their statements accepted as truth? “People feel that the Pope is governing in a very monarchical way. He fails to consult bishops and he has isolated himself by ignoring advice which could stop him making mistakes,”
Or stop him from making the mistakes of our blundering, largely immoral and depraved world population? Way to go, Pope! It is NOT a democracy! We need a steadfast leader!
“The Pope believes he doesn’t need to take account of public opinion. He studies the files that are brought to him and decides very much on his own. The atmosphere around him is that he mustn’t be disturbed by criticism or visitors.”
**GO POPE!!!:dancing: **

Benedict is ruling the church “from the top of the mainmast, he doesn’t have experience of holding the rudder”, said Zizola, a writer on Vatican affairs.
This Zizola guy is obviously ignorant. God is his rudder, copilot, and BOSS. Yeah, he’s only been in office for a few years,but where do you get prior experience being a Pope anyway?

“Father Georg is very strict, he selects who does and doesn’t see the Pope and keeps everyone punctual,”
Gee, we have to be ON TIME?!?! [insert whiny tone]

Benedict’s choice of advisers, most of whom he has known for years. “The Pope has surrounded himself with collaborators who act more like obsequious subjects than real advisers,” said Zizola.
Yes, Presidents, Kings, Popes, and I’m sure even Mr. Zizola, have a tendency to do select like-minded people as company. What’s he supposed to do, select a member from each denomination so he can sit and hear them argue and debate all day?

His main adviser, secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has the Pope’s ear but little political or diplomatic experience.
**Again, where is this college that gives out degrees for this stuff? The rest of this article is more whining and complaining because other denominations, and more importantly, Mr Zizola, do not get to run the Catholic Church. **

Zizola said. “I expect the blunders will continue unless he decides to launch real reform of the way the church is run. In other words, let the Protestants run it Even in the Vatican you can’t just rely on the Holy Spirit.” **Wait, so he’s saying the Holy Spirit doesn’t matter? Purportedly, it trumps the Pope’s authority, if you ask leaders and followers of the schisms. 🤷 What a bunch of boloney. **
 
Interestingly, The Times does not mention how many previous Popes have lived just the same way, as described. Relatively isolated - living in Papal Chambers and somewhat removed from a priest’s more gregarious parish lifestyle. **It was only with Pope John Paul II that we began seeing a “travelling Pope” - one who chose not to remain within Vatican Chamber confines - but to visit the people of the world. ** It was an amazing time for those of us who remember previous Popes’ more private lifestyles.

.
I don’t mean to divert from the topic, but the bolded statement is not true. It was Pope PaulVI who was the first pope to leave the confines of the Vatican and travel the world. He visited, the Holy land, India, The U.S. where he addressed the U.N., Turkey, South America, Africa, and the Phillipines where a priest tried to assassinate him. Plus shorter visits to countries in Europe. He was given the name “The Pilgrim Pope” because of his travels.
 
he addressed the U.N., Turkey, South America, Africa, and the Phillipines where a priest tried to assassinate him.
Wrong. A Bolivian surrealist painter **dressed as a priest **tried to assassinate him.
Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores
Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores (born 1935) was a Bolivian surrealist painter who unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Pope Paul VI in Manila in 1970.
Mendoza left La Paz, Bolivia, in 1962. From 1962 until 1970, Mendoza lived in Argentina, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
On November 27, 1970, at approximately 9:30 in the morning, Mendoza, dressed as a priest, lunged at Pope Paul VI with a dagger shortly after the Pope disembarked from his chartered DC-8 jet at the airport in Manila. However, the Pope escaped with his life and Mendoza was subdued and arrested.Mendoza later went on to say, “I acted alone to save humanity from superstition.”
On April 21, 1971, Mendoza was sentenced to an indefinite prison sentence. He was eventually released from Manila’s Bilibid Prison and deported to Bolivia.
 
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