THe New Pope has been elected!

[kazekami]

The new Pope has been elected. Don't know who it is yet. Soon he will come out to be introduced. I'm watching it on the news. St Peters Square is so full of cheering people. I wish I was there too!

[Mithrandir]

Just the friendly note. Keep it nice people.

[Nate]

Joseph Ratzinger. He will be Pope Benedict XVI.

From someone who is Catholic, could you inform me how the name of the Pope is chosen? I'm kind of curious.

[kazekami]

I'm not entirely sure either and I am Catholic. But they wwere saying that what name is choosen has some significance. They said taht Benedict meant blessed. I'm not really knowledgeable on this. Since John Paul II was elected Pope when I was a baby. And i've never studied the subject. Its pretty intresting though.

[Nate]

*waits for AnimeHeretic to show up* XD

[termyt]

I believe the pope picks his own name. Not many people will remember the name Joeseph Ratzinger for very long, I surmize.

Word is, he's a "hardliner," I'm not sure I know what that means, but it's interesting.

[livewire]

I am not entirely sure if this is correct or not, but I think that the pope gets to choose his own name just like we catholics get to choose a Saint's name at confirmation....

I don't know if that helps....

...and,I agree sis!
I wish I could have been there too. I heard it all on my CD player because it has AM/FM capabilities!
TOTALLY COOL!!!

[Nate]

I am not entirely sure if this is correct or not, but I think that the pope gets to choose his own name just like we catholics get to choose a Saint's name at confirmation....

Oh, I didn't know Catholics got to choose a saint's name at confirmation. Neat. ^^

I think you're right in that they get to pick their own name, but I just wondered how they decided. I guess they just give you a list of names and you pick one. Or invent your own.

Pope Groovy. Heh heh...that'd be awesome.

[kazekami]

From what they are saying he's a traditionalist.

[Roy Mustang]

Oh, I didn't know Catholics got to choose a saint's name at confirmation. Neat. ^^

When? Does that mean anyone that is catholic gets to choose a Saint's name, when you have confirmation?

If so, they never told me when I did confirmation.


Wingzero22

[CDLviking]

Yes, the pope chooses his own name. It is usually the name of a saint who has influenced the pope in some way. Confirmation names are chosen when one is confirmed too, but it's not a universal practice, so don't worry that you didn't get one. Benedict means blessed, and St. Benedict is one of the heaviest influences on western monasticism in the Church (hence I live at a Benedictine Abbey). By hardliner they mean that he is very conservative. As a Cardinal, he was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which means that he was in charge of laying the smack down on heresy within the Church.

[Slater]

I heard on CNN that he might have chosen it because the Ben before him did not live long and he doesn't believe that he'll live as long as his predecessor. *shrug*
Kinda kewl to watch the leader of 1.1 billion people come into business.

[Kawaiikneko]

wow that's interesting... I never really knew how the pope was chosen until this year because I'm not Catholic and I wasn't alive for the last one.

[Jasdero]

Oh neat.... ^o^/ Here he is~ http://www.comcast.net/data/2005/04/19/bin38405.jpg

[kazekami]

I think they said he turned 78 or 79 on sturday. he's up there in years.

[uc pseudonym]

I've actually learned a few things I didn't know in this thread; thank you to those familiar with this topic. Meanwhile, I'll merely say that I'm glad the process went by fairly quickly and hope him the best.

[CDLviking]

I heard on CNN that he might have chosen it because the Ben before him did not live long and he doesn't believe that he'll live as long as his predecessor. *shrug*

I heard that too and disregarded it as baloney. That correspondent was just trying to fill airspace. I find it highly doubtful that a pope would predict his own death with his name.

It was a rather fast process, wasn't it. It only took 4 ballots. I was prepared for it to last all week.

[kazekami]

They were saying that it was the quickest election. They also said he is the oldest elected Pope in the last 100 years.

[Arnobius]

After 26 years of saying "Pope John Paul II", it feels strange to be saying "Pope Benedict XVI". I've read many of his books (about everything I could find that was translated into English) and think the Catholic Church is in good hands.

Much of his theology is grounded in the ideas of St Augustine. He was a key advisor to the German bishops during Vatican II (back then he was considered a radical).

For people interested in what he has to say, here are some of his more accessible books (not too heavy with technical theological terms):

Milestones (his autobiography up to 1977)
Salt of the Earth (Interviewed by a German reporter)
The Ratzinger Report (This is probably the easiest read, though it is a bit outdated by now).

I look forward to his encyclicals.

Oh, I didn't know Catholics got to choose a saint's name at confirmation. Neat. ^^

I think you're right in that they get to pick their own name, but I just wondered how they decided. I guess they just give you a list of names and you pick one. Or invent your own.

Pope Groovy. Heh heh...that'd be awesome.

Actually, the process got started during the Roman empire when the man elected Pope had the name of a pagan god, so he changed it to the name of a saint. Sometimes the name is of a saint the person admires, other times it can be symbolic. "John Paul" was one of these as there was dispute in the church over which path to take over Vatican II: that of Pope John XXIII or Pope Paul VI. The choosing of John Paul symbolized that there was no "either or", they were on the same path.

[mitsuki lover]

They had a article in Time last week about how the Pontiff is elected and in it they also had a list of all the Popes from St.Peter to John Paul II.The Pope
who started the tradition of using Saints' names was originally named Mercurius.
I don't know what name Mercurius took though.
I think Benedict XVI will make a great Pope from what little I have read
or heard about him.
Then again I'm Protestant and so it doesn't effect me as much as it would
our Catholic members.
My sister in Alaska,who's Baptist,thinks that the more liberal Catholics especially here in the States aren't exactly going to be too happy though.

[VioletEyedCat]

I'm very happy with the new pope that they have elected. It only took about four ballotings- it took six ballots for Pope John Paul II. I read up on Pope Benedict XVI on the CNN website, and even though I'm not Catholic, his stances on things really make me proud to call him a fellow Christian. The media is worried that he won't let up on the rules about homosexuality and such, but I think it's great that he's standing by the Catholic church's beliefs and not changing just cause it may be unpopular. Yay for Pope Benedict XVI!

[zelda]

I wish the old pope didn't die.
Even though I'm not Catholic.

[Mave]

When? Does that mean anyone that is catholic gets to choose a Saint's name, when you have confirmation?

If so, they never told me when I did confirmation.
Wingzero22

I'm not sure whether it's mandatory. I knew I could pick one but I never did since my name was long enough and I was happy with my first name.

Anyway, speaking about the newly elected Pope, I'm glad to hear the election went well and so far, it looks pretty good to me. I want to see how traditional or conservative he is ~ If liberal Christians aren't too happy about it, I think this will be very interesting, indeed

[CDLviking]

My sister in Alaska,who's Baptist,thinks that the more liberal Catholics especially here in the States aren't exactly going to be too happy though.

Oh yes, Ratzinger was the scourge of liberal american Catholics. The motto of the Cardinal Ratzinger fan club (yes, he was the only cardinal to actually have a fan club) was "Putting the smack down on heresy since 1981."

[Nate]

The media is worried that he won't let up on the rules about homosexuality and such, but I think it's great that he's standing by the Catholic church's beliefs and not changing just cause it may be unpopular. Yay for Pope Benedict XVI!

Ooh, I think I like this pope already.

[Joshua Christopher]

Okay, good.

[Mr_Anderson]

a lot of people got excited when they first saw white smoke, but then it turned black. this time it stayed white, but the church bells didn't ring till about 10 min later.

[Slater]

yeah. While the theology behind it all is kinda off the mark, this pope looks to be a pretty good guy according to reports, as was his predecessor. The moral issues that he (and it looks like the new pope too) followed and promoted put some protestants to shame, it must be admitted. As long as he follows what the media has been reported, I'm kinda happy. Better to have a guy like that lead 1.1 billion people than compared to some of the criminals who held the seat of pope in the past so that they could manipulate the government (one king even stood outside the pope's window for a day or two in the harsh cold so that he could be ex-excommunicated). So yay; while I don't have a new pope, I'm happy for the one who the Catholics now have.

[inkhana]

yeah. While the theology behind it all is kinda off the mark, this pope looks to be a pretty good guy according to reports, as was his predecessor.

OK...let's be careful about our wording here. You might not agree with the Catholic theology, but statements like that can turn this into a battleground.

[Slater]

ja, I was trying to be careful ^^;