Pope resigns

[debih]

I have no interest either MM - in fact I only looked at the thread originally because it kept popping to the top when I looked at new posts.

I don't care one little bit who the next pope is - it will have no impact on my life, or that of my family or friends at all. I think he is only important to quite small number of people - I have many friends who are non practicing Roman Catholics and they couldn't care less about it. I would feel exactly the same if the head of any religion resigned.

Now if the new pope were to come along and make some up to date changes in the catholic church then I would be interested. Maybe agree that people can be gay and can get married in church, that women don't have to keep on having babies because the church see contraception as being wrong and any other outdated ideas that they have that I am completely ignorant of.

My only view on religion (any religion) is that whilst I am sure that it gives comfort to people it is very old fashioned and often does more harm than good.

[Suff]

Suff, you knows I love you but

Thanks...

I know that my view is quite strong on this, however, just like the way many people in the UK view it's position in the world (#7 power in the world in reality, viewed as a some small backwater by many), I tend to view the influence of the pope in a different light. The UK is not a catholic country, living in a large one gives you a VERY different view of the influence of the Pope. But I'm happy for anyone to view this in a different light.

On the whole multicultural society thing, what I was trying to say (badly), is that if you set out to make a society which sets the ethnicity and creed of a person to be sacrosanct, you simply can't just forget the ethnicity and creed of some 35% of the population because they're not "new" and "incomers".

Yes people should have a thicker skin, but thin skinned people abound and in our "precious" society, we have to be careful not to offend.......

Other than that I have no argument with what you say, I happen to believe that someone who has a war chest of some $100bn or so and influences (even in a small part), over 1.2 billion people, makes that person very important in the scheme of things.

You don't and you are entitled to that opinion.

[Oojamaflip]

I
My only view on religion (any religion) is that whilst I am sure that it gives comfort to people it is very old fashioned and often does more harm than good.

Oooh Debs I've got to disagree with 'very old fashioned' bit.

[Oojamaflip]

I know that my view is quite strong on this, however, just like the way many people in the UK view it's position in the world (#7 power in the world in reality, viewed as a some small backwater by many), I tend to view the influence of the pope in a different light. The UK is not a catholic country, living in a large one gives you a VERY different view of the influence of the Pope. But I'm happy for anyone to view this in a different light.

On the whole multicultural society thing, what I was trying to say (badly), is that if you set out to make a society which sets the ethnicity and creed of a person to be sacrosanct, you simply can't just forget the ethnicity and creed of some 35% of the population because they're not "new" and "incomers".

Yes people should have a thicker skin, but thin skinned people abound and in our "precious" society, we have to be careful not to offend.......

Other than that I have no argument with what you say, I happen to believe that someone who has a war chest of some $100bn or so and influences (even in a small part), over 1.2 billion people, makes that person very important in the scheme of things.

You don't and you are entitled to that opinion.

I don't disagree with any of that. Apart from I'd take out one 'very'. *kiss on the face-cheek emoticon* Darn it, I thought we'd be in for a heated debate.

[Suff]

Darn it, I thought we'd be in for a heated debate.

Not in an argumentative mood.... I'm saving that for work....

Having worked in many different countries and living in a predominantly Catholic country (try getting anything, anywhere, on one of the main catholic events....), gives me a different view of the influence of the Pope from people who have lived and worked in the UK all their lives.

I recognise that other people will see it differently and therefore will differ to my views. But I'm entitled to mine too....

We will see what the new Pope brings. We've got a massive asteroid from the Oort cloud doing a "near miss" to Earth in 2014 after swinging round Mars, perhaps something else will come up.....

[cromwell]

Nah, if you want a heated debate you have to get someone to say "Religion is the cause of all the wars and trouble in the world". At which point some clever dicky (ahem) points out that the three greatest mass murderers of the 20th century were Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot. None of whom were religious men, at all. Very much the opposite.

Oh aye, Hitler. The four greatest mass murderers...

I've just given the game away, haven't I?

[Oojamaflip]

We will see what the new Pope brings. We've got a massive asteroid from the Oort cloud doing a "near miss" to Earth in 2014 after swinging round Mars, perhaps something else will come up.....

Aye. Back on page two I posted Prophecy of the Popes

The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with current pope Benedict XVI's successor, a pope described in the prophecy as "Peter the Roman", whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.

So I wonder if the next Pope will be Peter the Roman? And then ... ?

[Oojamaflip]

Nah, if you want a heated debate you have to get someone to say "Religion is the cause of all the wars and trouble in the world". At which point some clever dicky (ahem) points out that the three greatest mass murderers of the 20th century were Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot. None of whom were religious men, at all. Very much the opposite.

Oh aye, Hitler. The four greatest mass murderers...

I've just given the game away, haven't I?

Cromwell that post would fit right in on another board I frequent . . . one of those that if you can't stand the heat then stay out of the kitchen.

And yes, I agree with you.

[miasmum]

Well if you want a recommendation, my friends brother is a Catholic priest. He has met and respects the Ghanian candidate

[Aggers]

I have found this to be a most interesting discussion.

There are so many ways of looking at religion. Personally, I feel that involvement in church activities when I was young
was a good thing, and helped to develop in me strong, positive feelings of what is right and wrong.

I can, however, understand Debih's view that religion is old-fashioned. There is no doubt that, in this country at least,
religion has practically gone out of fashion. That may, or may not be, the reason for the presnt-day decline in morals.

Regarding the likes of Hitler and Stalin, there can be no doubt that the total rejection of religion can produce some real devils.

This is, truly, a complex and profound subject.