Y’know, there’s a lot one can find to criticize over the direction and/or theology of the Catholic Church. And, certainly, there are aspects to the record of Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) that I disagree with and find disturbing.
But, c’mon, folks — you do nothing to advance actual discussion by calling him “Pope Ratzi.” Not only is it a cheap shot that distorts the historic record (and comes close to violating Godwin’s Law), but it’s kind of disrespectful to those folks among the sizeable Catholic population (among others) who hold, at least, the office of Pope with some reverence, even if they disagree at times with the person who holds that office.
Of course, some people seem to be into cheap shots and disrespect, but, to my mind, if you want to criticize the ideas and actions of Benedict XVI, or, in the past, Cardinal Ratzinger, that’s fine (and I may well be right there beside you). If you want to just call people names, don’t make noises as if you’re either morally or intellectually superior to the person you’re mocking, because you’re abandoning the high ground in both aspects.
I’m just saying.
Mainly I think that under Bennie Sixteen Latin America will continue to switch over to Evangelical brands of Christianity and he will further alienate a lot of the Church’s purse — North America.
They did select him at least partially for advanced age, so maybe the next guy will do something different.
At least it wasn’t Cardinal Law.
I agree that Benedict is unlikely to do anything to slow either trend in the Church — though, to what degree he accelerates them remains to be seen. He’s actually made some noises to the extent that parishes may have to lose members in order to get the church back to the true path.
Of course, religious isn’t necessarily about numbers, and isn’t (nor should it be) a popularity contest.
As to Cardinal Law — a very devout Catholic of my acquaintance opined that it was “disgraceful” and “a real embarrassment for the Church” that the fellow was so prominently on display over the last few weeks.
Wasn’t Ratzinger the guy (or one of the guys) who should have been putting the boot in on Law? Playing musical parrishes with pederasts must violate some sort of doctrine. If not, it should.
Tsk, that’s a management issue, not a doctrinal issue.
Good and ethical management is sound doctrine.
ABC’s Brian Ross reported that in December, Ratzinger’s office started investigating Marcial Maciel. His office previously had been putting things off for seven years. December was the time when it became clear that it was possible that Ratzinger might be Pope. Hopefully, this is a sign that Pope Benedict will take the sexual abuse scandal more seriously than Cardinal Ratzinger.
As a member of “sect” as Pope Benedict would call it, I am interested to see whether the Ratzinger who headed up the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith — what used to be called the Inquisition — or the Ratzinger student of the ecclesiology of Vatican II will emerge. (Somehow, the Monty Python sketch doesn’t play right as no one expects the German Inquisition. 🙂 It is really too early to tell right now.