2013-02-11, 10:26 | Link #26341 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hamburg
Age: 54
|
My reading comprehension is perfectly fine, thank you very much. I'm just pointing out that your assertion that establishing a stepping-down-in-time "tradition" is "against church law" is in my most humble opinion simply flat-out wrong. Sorry.
The decision whether or not a pope resigns due to old age is his and his alone, and should (and will) stay this way. With the same justification you could argue the opposite, namely that being forced to stay pope even though your old age precludes you of many of your duties is a "tradition" too, which impacts the free will of the pope, too. In this way, I think that Ratzinger did the office a big favor, since he _broke_ a tradition. A taboo. And I hope that he won't be the last. I had enough pictures of an elderly man forced to do services which would be considered a terrible coercion simply because he HAD to, but couldn't really do it anymore. |
2013-02-11, 10:30 | Link #26342 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
|
He didn't, since every pope since Celestine V had that option, with some of the recent popes actually having prepared resignation documents to be used in certain circumstances. There was no tradition that one had to stay as pope, and every resignation should and must be based on the will of the pope himself. To make that into a tradition is contrary to the expectation of the pope: His will to carry out his duties. Should he wish to resign, he may do so, but to have a tradition is a form of pressure which is artificial.
|
2013-02-11, 12:47 | Link #26345 | |
The Voice of Reason
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Netherlands
Age: 47
|
Quote:
__________________
|
|
2013-02-11, 12:54 | Link #26346 | |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
|
Quote:
|
|
2013-02-11, 13:41 | Link #26347 | |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
|
Quote:
With people living longer today, and infirmity, senility and dementia being increasingly common, it may be necessary for more popes in the future to resign, as they will lack the physical or mental capacity to carry out their duties (in fact, it's possible that the Catholic church stagnated somewhat during the later years of John Paul II due to his infirmity). Having an age limit on the Papacy is not without precedent. Every other ecclesiastical office has a mandatory retirement age, namely priests at 70, Bishops and Arch-Bishops at 75, and Cardinals lose their voting privileges at the age of 80 (though otherwise the position is for life). It might be beneficial to the vitality of the Church if they introduced a tradition of resignation for the Pope, when he feels he is no longer fit for it's duties. As it is, the Church has many difficult problems to overcome if it is to keep people within the Catholic Church. I can't speak for other countries, but the slide into irrelevance in Ireland has been very swift, used to be the Church pretty much ran the country. |
|
2013-02-11, 13:58 | Link #26348 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Miami, FL
Age: 37
|
Nancy Pelosi: Video Games Are Not The Reason For Violence In America:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...?utm_hp_ref=tw |
2013-02-11, 14:01 | Link #26350 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
|
DHS Watchdog OKs ‘Suspicionless’ Seizure of Electronic Devices Along Border:
"The Department of Homeland Security’s civil rights watchdog has concluded that travelers along the nation’s borders may have their electronics seized and the contents of those devices examined for any reason whatsoever — all in the name of national security." "According to legal precedent, the Fourth Amendment — the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures — does not apply along the border. By the way, the government contends the Fourth-Amendment-Free Zone stretches 100 miles inland from the nation’s actual border." See: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...?cid=co5746764 |
2013-02-11, 14:17 | Link #26351 | |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
|
Quote:
But the Church was also incompetent in responding to it. However, I don't think the scandals alone explain the slide of the church, as there hasn't been a mass exodus from the Catholic church to other denominations. The bigger issue is that people just aren't going to church anymore. Society is changing, but the Catholic church hasn't changed with the times. That said, the Church is right to be cautious. If we look at the US, the Episcopalian church(the protestant church closest to Catholicism) liberalized but it did nothing to halt their declining church numbers, and if anything it only accelerated it as more people left it for more conservative Evangelical churches. There's a similar story going on in England, but there the Church of England could end up in a schism between it's conservative and liberal wings. Moving to ordaine women or loosen it's attitudes to Homosexuality probably wouldn't improve it's lot. However, they probably should at least lift the celibacy policy (at least on parish priests). |
|
2013-02-11, 17:49 | Link #26352 |
=^^=
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: 42° 10' N (Latitude) 87° 33' W (Longitude)
Age: 45
|
On the Pope... oh lordy...
Spoiler:
Somehow, when this Pope was instated some 7-8 years ago... it felt as if he wasn't going to be a great Pope... not like his predecessor. But hey, if he chooses to resign, he has the very right to do so -- in order to make room for someone who can do the job better. Often enough, resignation can be the more difficult choice. In this case, it is.
__________________
|
2013-02-11, 19:03 | Link #26353 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
|
Report: Ex-Cop Christopher Dorner Is Now a Target for Drones:
"Christopher Dorner, the ex-LAPD cop who allegedly killed three people has been on the run, successfully evading police, for over a week. To finally track him down, it seems that law enforcement is pulling out all the stops. According to the Express, Dorner is now a target for drones, among the first ever on U.S. soil." See: http://gizmodo.com/5983175/report-ex...get-for-drones |
2013-02-11, 20:16 | Link #26354 | |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Quote:
__________________
|
|
2013-02-11, 23:17 | Link #26357 | |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
|
Seismic activity may indicate North Korea nuclear test
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91B04820130212 Quote:
__________________
|
|
2013-02-12, 00:44 | Link #26358 | |
勇者
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Tesla Leicht Institute
Age: 34
|
Quote:
http://live.reuters.com/Event/North_Korea
__________________
|
|
Tags |
current affairs, discussion, international |
|
|