Joseph Ratzinger

[God Conquers]

Just flat-out schismatic.


Eremite... you're right on the charisma part for sure.

But I think it will be very necessary for the next pope to have similar charisma, but maybe ina different way.

[J.P.]

Go Ratzinger

[crusader1234]

[quote name='Ash Wednesday' date='Apr 8 2005, 06:52 PM'] I like and respect Ratzinger, but my concern would be whether or not he would a too much of a polarizing figure. I think he's good at being the second-hand man being the enforcer and giving the smackdown, and I want him to stay in a high place, but I think the pope himself should be more personable dealing with a large variety of people. [/quote]
I respect Ratzinger, and he's clearly a good Catholic, but I agree that theres a good chance he'd be a polarizing figure. His current job is what he's cut out for, in my opinion. Given the way most people react to him, I highly doubt most people (myself included) would take to calling him Papa.

[God Conquers]

[i]PRO[/i]: The only Cardinal with a fan club.

[url="http://www.cardinalratzingerfanclub.com"]www.cardinalratzingerfanclub.com[/url]

[Guest JeffCR07]

[quote name='crusader1234' date='Apr 10 2005, 12:20 AM'] I respect Ratzinger, and he's clearly a good Catholic, but I agree that theres a good chance he'd be a polarizing figure. His current job is what he's cut out for, in my opinion. Given the way most people react to him, I highly doubt most people (myself included) would take to calling him Papa. [/quote]
While I understand what you mean, it may very well be that the Church needs more of a Pontiff and less of a Papa to follow such a one as Pope John Paul II.

John Paul the Great lit the fire of love and faith in the hearts of many, and it is in many ways up to the next pope to focus that fire in the right direction. I think that is precisely what Ratzinger is capable of.

[argent_paladin]

And it is difficult to tell how Ratzinger would behave as pope. Surely it would be quite different than as prefect of the CDF. The former requires warmth, flexibility, diplomacy and love. The latter reqires firmness, clarity and force. If Wojtyla had been prefect of the CDF, he would have acted very differently. And remember, Ratzinger did everything with the approval of the Pope. So, we don' t really know what a Ratzinger papacy would be like. He would have his own CDF to enforce doctrine, the bad cop to his good cop.

[conservativecatholic]

I think Ratzinger's behavior as Supreme Pontiff would be quite clear- loving, stern, traditional, conservative, humble... the list goes on. Although he is know as the "Panzercardinal" he sounds much like John Paul II. What great men!

Edited April 10, 2005 by conservativecatholic

[God Conquers]

I don't think he sings as well as JPII.....

[conservativecatholic]

[quote name='God Conquers' date='Apr 10 2005, 01:55 PM'] I don't think he sings as well as JPII..... [/quote]
I said they are much alike, not exactly alike. John Paul II could sing really well!

Edited April 10, 2005 by conservativecatholic

[God Conquers]

And the good Cardinal....

.... well you saw the funeral!

[eattheFlesh]

I'm just glad we have so many humble, holy, brilliant men for the Holy Spirit to choose from!

[Antonius]

Speaking of Cardinal Ratzinger and JP2's funeral, I wonder if he was pleased with all the clapping during the funeral mass. At the end, when all the cardinals were processing out into the Basilica, the camera focused on Ratzinger's face and I thought that he looked a little unhappy at the clapping.

But that could just be me seeing things.

Ratzinger is a tough guy, that's for sure. I love him, but I think he's doing well where he is now. My heart's on Arinze as of right now... we'll see.

[toledo_jesus]

I was annoyed by the clapping...but it isn't that bad. Especially when the Italian custom is to celebrate the deceased, as I think the newspeople mentioned. It also served a greater purpose: public acclamation of 'Magnus' and 'Santo Subito' could provide the impetus to propel John Paul II to canonization within a quarter century or so.

[God Conquers]

Clappping in Mediteranean cultures has much deeper meaning than it does in Western/NA culture.

For us it is raucous and energetic.

For them it is a sign of deep respect. It is beautiful that there was so much clapping.





As for Ratzinger at the end:

Notice that as soon as he spoke there was complete silence. THE MOMENT a word came out of his mouth everything stopped.

The Cardinal let it happen. He knew it was a sign to the world.

A news anchor in Canada said:

"This is quite incredible really. I'm pretty sure this isn't normal protocol at a Papal Funeral. For that matter I don't ever recall cheering at ANY funeral."

It was amazing... I nearly cried at that part of the Mass. So many millions cheering for the legacy of the Man who was Pope.

Cardinal Ratzinger could have stopped it at any time.... but he let it go on for over 5 minutes.

[conservativecatholic]

When Cardinal Ratzinger allowed the thousands to clap for a straight 5-minute period, it showed his patience, love, and humility. And when Ratzinger had to interrupt the applause, people dropped dead in silence. People have so much respect for the man! I know I do. One reason why he may have looked stern to some people is that fact that he was holding inside himself an infinite amount of grief and emotion for John Paul II. He maintained great composure throughout the Mass. I sure didn't.

Edited April 11, 2005 by conservativecatholic

[God Conquers]

[quote]One reason why he may have looked stern to some people is that fact that he was holding inside himself an infinite amount of grief and emotion for John Paul II. He maintained great composure throughout the Mass. I sure didn't.[/quote]

Agreed!

[DemonSlayer]

I think he could be a great Pope, but I think his age will be a huge wall.

[conservativecatholic]

[quote name='DemonSlayer' date='Apr 11 2005, 01:57 AM'] I think he could be a great Pope, but I think his age will be a huge wall. [/quote]
John XXIII was elected at 77. Cardinal Ratzinger is 77 right now.

[conservativecatholic]

An interesting Time Magazine article...

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the chief architect of Pope John Paul II's traditionalist moral policy, has long been a bugaboo for liberal Catholics. But they had stopped worrying that the German might one day ascend to St. Peter's throne. His hard-line views and blunt approach had earned him the epithet of panzerkardinal and too many enemies. Well, their worrying may now resume. [b] Sources in Rome tell TIME that Ratzinger has re-emerged as the top papal candidate within the Vatican hierarchy, joining other front runners such as Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan and Claudio Hummes of Sao Paolo. "The Ratzinger solution is definitely on," said a well-placed Vatican insider. [/b] There are no immediate signs that John Paul's health has taken a turn for the worse, and he has publicly ruled out becoming the first Pope in eight centuries to retire voluntarily. But as his long papacy grows ever longer, some feel the next conclave will seek a shorter-term "transitional" figure. Ratzinger, 77, may fill that bill. His doctrinaire ways have been tempered of late by a deft and more pragmatic approach to issues such as rising Western secularism and Islamic fundamentalism. During the recent U.S. controversy about giving Communion to pro-choice candidates, Ratzinger authored a careful letter to American bishops reasserting the Vatican's antiabortion stance without dragging the Holy See into election-year theatrics. "There was a stigma," said the Vatican official of Ratzinger. "He rises above that now."

[God Conquers]

hmmm, interesting, I wonder when that was written.