The new Pope.

[Suff]

The guiding principles of the Jesuit's seem good. But also they are more of a "Back to Basics" as regards morality and contraception.

So whilst I would expect him to root out as much corruption as possible (something the Jesuits have been trying to do since the 14th century), I would also expect the church to go backwards in terms of progressive reforms...

Good luck to him. He'll need it.

[TheOstrich]

Good luck with it, he sounds a sensible man.

eta - Unless he leads an invasion of the Falklands, obviously.

I do think the appointment unfortunate in that it'll just add grist to Kirchener's mill. I'll give him the benefit of doubt for now, see how he shapes up, but one wrong word about the Falklands and I'll knock his pointy hat off ....

[Kaz]

The new Pope is very traditional on the issues of birth control and priest celibacy so I don't foresee any of the much-needed changes happening any time soon

Re the Falklands, I thought of that straight away when he was announced.................

[Lozzles]

My first thought was, I wonder if he can tango

[Rodo]

I like your style!

[victor]

watched some news on local tv today about the Pope

all i could see was a large bunch of old men .well fed and meeting in a glorious palace in the lap of luxury

while millions of R.C. believers live in squalor

[Oojamaflip]

It doesn't seem right, does it?

[cromwell]

I do think the appointment unfortunate in that it'll just add grist to Kirchener's mill.

Ah, El Presidente Kirchner!
I have written this elsewhere, but her habitual expression is one of belligerent dissatisfaction, like a woman off a rough estate who has just walked to the Co-op only to find out they've run out of Lambert and Butler...

[Aggers]

I understand that the new Pope is firmly of the view that the Falklands
really belongs to Argentina.

Now what lies ahead?

[Weka]

I heard today that the church should serve the poor, and therefore he believes the church should be poor.

I can't see the present establishment agreeing to any sort of shift in funds. I wonder how long he will last if he tries such a thing.