Pope proves himself to be a showman ... and a cat man

[emad]

From Richard Owen in Rome




POPE Benedict XVI made his first appearance at the papal window above St Peter’s Square yesterday and set the tone for the new pontificate, calling for Christian unity, an end to conflict and jobs for the young.

The first new Pope to appear there for nearly 27 years, he struck an immediate rapport with an enthusiastic crowd of 50,000. Given his reputation as a bookish theologian, he displayed a surprising degree of the showmanship of his precedessor, who had made the midday Angelus prayers on Sunday a much-loved ritual.

The Pope’s voice trembled uncertainly at the start, but gradually became more confident. He was repeatedly applauded when he referred to John Paul II.

“I address you, my very dear brothers and sisters, for the first time from this window that the beloved figure of my predecessor made familiar to countless people in the entire world,” he said from the third-floor window of the papal apartment, He moved there at the weekend, nearly two weeks after his election.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20709-1594048,00.html

Yep, underneath that ex-Nazi youth background, he's just a pussycat....

[brainshrub]

1. Drop the ex-Nazi part. It's getting old.

He was a kid in WWII Germany and he didn't kill anyone.

[carnie_sf]

2. How about the opus dei part then?

[LittleClarkie]

6. That would be more along the lines of legit criticism

While the Hitler Youth thing has been explained by folks here who have more of a background in WWII history. It is pretty obvious that Ratzinger wasn't an enthusiastic participant.

I'm more concerned with what he's going to do with the church now. I'll give him a chance to see what he will do and what his real personality is.

Reminds me to take what I read here with a grain of salt, even when we're talking about Bush. Folks are too quick to go for the sensational as opposed to what can be legitimately criticized.

I don't much care who Laura might have nailed with her car in her youth either. Beside the point, really.

[emad]

7. Another Nazi Pope: Giovanni Pacelli, before his elevation:

[LittleClarkie]

11. Is that the pope that was in during WWII?

There have been a couple of Jewish authors debunking that claim if it is. Damn, I can't think of his name, Pope Pius X was it?

[emad]

15. Pius XII, elected just before Hitler invaded Poland:

2 Mar 1876 Born Roma
2 Apr 1899 23.1 Ordained Priest Priest of Roma {Rome}, Italy
20 Apr 1917 41.1 Appointed Titular Archbishop of Sardes
20 Apr 1917 41.1 Appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Germany
13 May 1917 41.2 Ordained Bishop Titular Archbishop of Sardes
22 Jun 1920 44.3 Appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Germany
16 Dec 1929 53.8 Elevated to Cardinal
16 Dec 1929 53.8 Appointed Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo
9 Feb 1930 53.9 Appointed Secretary of State, Roman Curia
2 Mar 1939 63.0 Elected Pope (Roma {Rome}, Italy)
12 Mar 1939 63.0 Installed Pope (Roma {Rome}, Italy)
9 Oct 1958 82.6 Died Pope (Roma {Rome}, Italy)

http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bpacelli.html

[AndyTiedye]

9. and the part about how Child Molesting by Priests is No Big Deal

He said it was all the fault of the "liberal media" for publicizing it.

People are supposed to just shut up and bend over, and say "thank you"
when they're done -- and teach their kids to do the same.

OK, if he likes cats he can't be ALL bad.

[thebigidea]

3. see, there's the problem in making an ex-Hitler Jugend Pope...

... you'll be hearing it for years to come, so might as well get used to it. I'm sure he has.

If they didn't want constant references to Nazi Germany, they shouldn't have elected a former Nazi. Apparently, Nazi Germany has negative connotations with some people.

[emad]

10. Italians Seek to Close Website Showing Pope as Nazi

ROME (Reuters) - Rome judicial authorities sought a temporary injunction Friday against an Internet site which carried doctored photographs of Pope Benedict dressed in a Nazi uniform.

The crude photomontages of the head of former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on the body of a man wearing a swastika armband and standing in front of a Nazi flag were posted 10 days ago on the Italian branch of the international news and opinion site, Independent Media Center (www.indymedia.org).

Rome investigating magistrate Salavtore Vitello said in a statement the pictures violated a national law prohibiting defamation of the Catholic Church. Vitello said he was also considering taking action against the owners of the site for insulting the authority and honor of the Pope himself.

Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth, a Nazi paramilitary organization, in World War II when membership was compulsory for young Germans.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=8347984

[LittleClarkie]

12. Elect a German of that age group to the papalcy

and you're nine times out of ten probably electing a former Hitler Youth, whether they wanted to be or not.

[emad]

4. Nazi part just the good bit. It's what's after that makes Papa Ratzi

the gobsmackin' TheoCon of choice.

[Moochy]

5. Cardinal Whiskers

Lets make this a cat thread, not a bash the hitler youth pope thread ok?

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,196450,00.jpg

See ? can't some cat fancier post a picture of Paul IX's cat in a cardinal outfit?

:rofl:

[Cleita]

8. Well, being a cat person does make him more likable.

Hitler hated cats as did many dictators, historically. Maybe there is hope he might turn out to be okay once he realizes his responsibility is to unite Catholics, not divide them.

[LittleClarkie]

13. Like when you see a picture of Bush getting mauled by one

It says something if the puddy tat doesn't like you back either.

[DanCa]

14. Ah

But wasn't Hitler kind to dogs? Or was that a myth?

[Cleita]

18. Yes, particularly German Shepherds.

His favorite was Blondi, whom he euthanized before he killed Eva Braun and himself. Dictators like dogs because they are obedient and can be made to follow orders. Cats don't. That's why I think they don't like cats.

[emad]

16. Here's a little problem the cat-fancier might like to tackle:

Catholic hero now faces Vatican inquiry

Mexican founder of secret order at centre of child abuse allegations

Jo Tuckman in Mexico City
Sunday February 6, 2005
The Observer

It was nearly 50 years ago, but Jos¨¦ Barba winces as he remembers Father Marcial Maciel, founder and icon of the Legion of Christ, the secretive Roman Catholic order said to be second only in papal influence to Opus Dei.

'Oh, I felt so very unhappy,' he said, after describing one incident just before the priest said Mass one Easter Sunday. 'I wanted to run, but he was everything to us. He was Our Father and we thought he was a saint. I went to my room and I cried and cried, and then I went to Mass.'

The fear, pain, humiliation and resentment that Barba says once tormented him have faded over the years, but for the Catholic church the abuse he and others claim to have suffered threatens to erupt into a child abuse scandal that reaches the highest Vatican ranks.

Barba wants the church to recognise publicly the crimes he and many others claim Maciel committed. 'We want people to know that the founder of an institution so close to the Pope and who has written so much about chastity is in fact a pederast.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,69...

[emad]

17. And another weensy tricky matter to solve:

Swiss to open murder inquiry into triple Vatican deaths

Cover-up allegations surrounding three killings involving the Pope's Swiss Guards are finally to be heard in court

Alex Duval Smith in Paris
Sunday January 9, 2005
The Observer

Seven years after a controversial triple killing within the Pope's Swiss Guards, a Swiss court is to open a murder inquiry.
The move - aimed at clearing the name of the officer held responsible, Cédric Tornay - follows years of resistance by the Vatican to shed light on the shooting, on 4 May, 1998, of Swiss Guards commander Alois Estermann and his wife.

The Holy See has always insisted that the couple were killed by Tornay, who then turned the gun on himself, because he was bitter at having been passed over for a medal.

High-profile French lawyer Jacques Vergès and his colleague, Luc Brossollet, acting for Tornay's mother, say that they will file the murder claim because 'we have faced years of stubborn deafness from the Vatican. Cédric Tornay was Swiss, so it is proper to bring the case before a court in Switzerland'.

The move comes amid a flurry of books on the killing, including Victor Guitard's L'Agent Secret du Vatican (published by Albin Michel), an extensive interview with Giovanni Saluzzo, a friend and former colleague of Tornay. He claims that Estermann was murdered after Vatican officials discovered that he had been a spy for the East German Stasi secret police in the 1980s.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,69...

[patrice]

19. He is in a position to do some good in the world. I wish him blessings

of the Goddess.

The Catholic Church is pretty important in many people's lives. How many African cardinals are there, 13-14? It'll be a problem to allow more leadership from women, with all of those conservative males.