Quote:I'll grant what will come of Benedict XVI' s Papacy is speculation. Some of the speculation is more informed than is some other.
I doubt, however, your parish will be free of effect. Of course, that's just speculation too.
Yes some are more informed than others, consider speculation on MHR from someone who:
1) Is not a memebr of the parish
2) Has never visited the curch
3) Is not even a practicing Catholic
4) Lives some 1500 miles away
Yes, some speculation is more informed than others, in this case, the more informed, by far, is me.
I have only been active and in touch what is REALLY going from the inside. I am already finding that the this timberland fellow is way off as to what is going on.
The Archbishop of San Francisco is very conservative. Word is that he is jockeying to get promoted to Cardinal
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SAN FRANCISCO
Roman Catholic prelate meets with pope
S.F. archbishop, pontiff said to be longtime friends
Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Archbishop William Levada had a private audience at the Vatican Tuesday with Pope Benedict XVI -- making the San Francisco prelate one of the first U.S. bishops to have a one-on-one meeting with the new pontiff.
Levada worked for the pope during the pontiff's earlier incarnation as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's chief doctrinal watchdog, and the two maintained close ties during the reign of the late Pope John Paul II.
Levada's name appeared on a list of papal visitors issued on Tuesday by the Vatican press office.
"He has unique personal relationship with the pope,'' said Maurice Healy, director of communications for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. "They are friends.''
Vatican analyst Rocco Palmo said the new pope may be considering Levada for a job at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office where the two first met in 1981.
"Benedict enjoys having people around him with whom he is comfortable, who have long proven their loyalty, and it seems Levada enjoys that confidence and that loyalty,'' Palmo said.
Healy downplayed such speculation, saying "Archbishop Levada does not have his bags packed.''
Levada flew to Rome from San Francisco for Benedict's April 24 inauguration as the 265th Roman Catholic pontiff. He then visited the famous Catholic shrine in Lourdes, France, with a group of San Francisco pilgrims before returning to Rome for Tuesday's meeting with Pope Benedict.
The San Francisco archbishop is expected to return home this week.
John Allen, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, said Levada's time as the archbishop of San Francisco has put him "on the front lines of some of the cultural issues (such as gay rights) that are of great concern to the new pope."
In February 1999, Ratzinger, Levada and a select group of bishops from around the world convened in a private, four-day meeting at a Catholic retreat center in Menlo Park. Homosexuality, feminism and the role of church theologians were among the issues on the table at that session.
From 1976 to 1982, Levada worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office dedicated to maintain doctrinal purity in the Roman Catholic Church.
According to a statement released by the Vatican at the time, the 1999 Menlo Park meeting was a way for Ratzinger and his staff "to know up close the reality of the religious situation" in the United States and other countries.
AIDS-hit Honduras disobeys Vatican
Quote:
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Posted: 11:32 PM EDT (0332 GMT)
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (Reuters) -- With his mother long dead and his father off with a new family, nobody comes to visit Carlos, 27, as he sits blinded by AIDS and awaiting death in a charity hospice.
His father, who left him alone to care for his grandmother until she died, won't let him near his home, mistakenly believing he will infect his family by sharing their toilet, Carlos explains, the hurt spilling out of his sightless eyes.
Typical of the kind of Honduran now catching the virus, the boyish-faced former factory worker is neither sexually promiscuous nor an intravenous drug user. He caught HIV from a steady girlfriend who got it from a former lover.
Faced with one of the fastest-growing AIDS epidemics in the Western Hemisphere, church volunteers in this desperately poor Catholic nation are turning their backs on the Vatican's anti-condom stance, which is being upheld by new conservative Pope Benedict.
"It's a minor sin," says Wendy Guerra, head of "Program Open Door" in the sweaty city of San Pedro Sula. Hers is one of an army of Catholic-run AIDS prevention programs in tiny Honduras, home to some 60 percent of Central America's AIDS cases.
"As a Catholic charity we can't hand out condoms but we give advice about them and make sure people know where to get them," said Catherine O'Leary, a British nurse who runs the San Jose Hospice which took in Carlos when an AIDS-related disease blinded him.
A bustling industrial city that sprung up with the banana industry a century ago, San Pedro Sula crawls with prostitutes after dusk, thanks to a handful of nearby ports, and has so many HIV carriers it is dubbed Central America's AIDS capital.
With its chronic poverty, sprawling sex industry, violent crime gangs and macho culture, Honduras has been an easy breeding ground for the virus. Some 70,000 Hondurans are living with HIV/AIDS, nearly two percent of the adult population.
Continued
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/05/11/honduras.aids.reut/index.html
That Levada and Ratzinger were close associates is no secret. As I said earlier, his pick as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith surprised me - I was aware of the rumors, but didn't really expect it. And as I said, those who think they know Levada may be in for some surprises. We shall see.
Search AP Story Archive May 12, 3:08 PM EDT
AIDS Crisis May Alter Religious Views
By BRIAN MURPHY
AP Religion Writer
AGIOS ANDREAS, Greece (AP) -- A pastor in Lesotho urges his congregation to get tested for HIV infection. A Nigerian activist has counseled Roman Catholic priests with AIDS. An Anglican minister who is HIV positive speaks of how the pandemic in Africa may help reclaim Christianity's spirit of compassion.
Stories emerging at a global conference on Christian mission highlight a critical intersection of faith and crisis: the ravages of AIDS in Africa and how it may reshape religious views and practices on the continent where Christianity is growing fastest.
The relentless spread of AIDS in Africa already has forced many churches to grapple with sensitive subjects of sexuality and death among the young and put Roman Catholics at odds with officials over the Vatican's opposition to condoms. But some pastors and scholars believe the coming decades could push churches in Africa to reorder basic theology - placing social assistance and health care ahead of traditional preaching and evangelism.
Such a shift, some religious leaders say, could promote more cooperation between Catholic and Protestant denominations and stir a new movement in the faith, as the 1970s growth of Catholic "liberation theology" in Latin America focused on social and economic inequalities
continued
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHRISTIANS_AND_AIDS?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
timberlandko wrote:That Levada and Ratzinger were close associates is no secret. As I said earlier, his pick as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith surprised me - I was aware of the rumors, but didn't really expect it. And as I said, those who think they know Levada may be in for some surprises. We shall see.
Really? Tell us exactly what is going to happen. What are the surprises going to be. You sound like a bad imitation of a New Orleans palm reader.
What I anticipate is a reaffirmation of Papal Authority, coupled with a strong stand on morality. I anticipate a dual campaign focused on morality as specifically relates to clergy and on the sanctity of Matrimony. I do not anticipate the GLBT community will be pleased.
In other words, just more of the same. I find it laughable that you wish to speak for the gay community though. If there is something you wan't to tell us about yourself that you have previously kept hidden, go ahead. It is OK.
Oh, I don't think it will be "More of the same", I think it will be considerably more vigorous and visible. But thanks for the chuckle you gave me with your mention of what you find laughable. Its good to keep a sense of humor.
You don't have to be a Gaydite to have an opinion about Gaydom.
I found this jewel on Yahoo.
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Spooky 12th Century Prophecy on the Pope
The first thing we want to say upfront is that what you are about to read has been widely dismissed as a hoax by religious scholars. That said, the world may soon end. Judgment day approaches. The clue? Pope Benedict XVI's rise to the papacy.
According to a 12th century Catholic prophecy by the Irish archbishop St. Malachy, who was recognized for his ability to see into the future, Pope Benedict XVI fits his description of the second-to-the-last pope before the Last Judgment, report Reuters and WorldNetDaily. The Bible says the Last Judgment is when God will separate the wicked from the righteous.
Legend has it that St. Malachy was traveling to Rome in the year 1139 when he had a vision concerning the next 112 popes. Benedict XVI is No. 111 on that list. St. Malachy described pope No. 111 as the "Glory of the Olive."
Here's where you may have to stretch your imagination a bit to connect Benedict to an olive, although the Internet doomsayers seem to have had an easy enough time of doing this.
The-world-is-ending crowd points to this:
The choice of the name "Benedict" is a reference to the Order of Saint Benedict. A branch of this order is known as...are you ready? The Olivetans.
Benedict XVI chose his name in part to honor Pope Benedict XV, whom the new pope described as a "courageous prophet of peace." Get it? Olive branches have long been associated with peace.
During Palm Sunday celebrations in March 2005, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was photographed holding olive branches and not the more traditional palms.
Reuters notes that scholars have long dismissed the wide publication of St. Malachy's prophecy as nothing more than a propaganda attempt to influence a 16th century conclave. But those who believe are not swayed by this. They insist that Pope John Paul II fits Malachy's description of pope No. 110, who was supposed to be "of the labor of the Sun." Turns out that Pope John Paul II was born on the day of a full solar eclipse and died on the same day as a partial eclipse.
And that brings us to the last pope in Malachy's vision, pope No. 112. He is supposed to be Peter the Roman, who will lead the Catholic church before "the formidable judge will judge his people." Since Pope Benedict XVI is 78 years old, it is presumed his reign will not be long. And then we will welcome the last pope and the Last Judgment.
Did that give you goose bumps?
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<cue Twilight Zone music...>
I guess that would take care of all the worries and stress of our pension funds defaulting
They were having a laugh. What malarchy is this?
firts hit i found said
"The prevailing view today is that they are elaborate forgeries, probably perpretrated by a school of Jesuits in the 1600s"
The secret is more subtle. Pope 111 is not the one befor the end. Thats Pope 999. And when inverted edod 666 the number of the Beast.
Fairly convincing, steve, but still - I dunno if its quite time to max out the credit cards just yet.
Is that how the expression "You are full of Malachy" originated.
Steve (as 41oo) wrote: Pope 111 is not the one befor the end. Thats Pope 999.
In that case, we're pretty safe for quite awhile. Unless, of course, they keep selecting 78 year old Popes.
As for the last Pope being Peter the Roman-assuming the same candidates are around when Benedict has to be replaced as are now, a pretty decent bet-there is no Peter, Pedro, or Pietro on the horizon to be selected Pope.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/201729.stm
Steve (as 41oo) wrote:They were having a laugh. What malarchy is this?
firts hit i found said
"The prevailing view today is that they are elaborate forgeries, probably perpretrated by a school of Jesuits in the 1600s"
The secret is more subtle. Pope 111 is not the one befor the end. Thats Pope 999. And when inverted edod 666 the number of the Beast.
Wrong. That would be 616, I think.
