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Post by Chicago Jake on Apr 18, 2005 22:59:21 GMT -6
Okay, sports fans.... I know you are following this "April Madness" with all the rabid eagerness of a World Series fan on a sugar high. So who do you favor? If your front-runner isn't listed above, feel free to add a write-in below......Jake
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Post by Hazelita on Apr 19, 2005 5:21:09 GMT -6
Hee Hee Hee Guess who I voted for! <MWAH!>
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Post by Bluejay on Apr 19, 2005 6:50:28 GMT -6
I vote for Harrybutt ;D
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Post by Chicago Jake on Apr 19, 2005 8:32:25 GMT -6
You don't have to be a Cardinal, or even a priest, you know, to become Pope. Just have to be male (sorry about that, Hillary) and baptised as a Catholic. Having never met Harrybutt, I don't know if he qualifies or not.....Jake
P.S. - "pontiff" means "bridge", as the Pope is the bridge between God and man. Fun facts to know and share!
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Post by DT on Apr 19, 2005 8:36:16 GMT -6
HB gets my write in vote
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Post by That English Guy on Apr 19, 2005 9:11:57 GMT -6
You don't have to be a Cardinal, or even a priest, you know, to become Pope. Just have to be male (sorry about that, Hillary) and baptised as a Catholic. Having never met Harrybutt, I don't know if he qualifies or not..... He'd also have to take a vow of celebacy Simon
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Post by Tex on Apr 19, 2005 10:27:39 GMT -6
He'd also have to take a vow of celebacy Simon That might thin out the list a little.
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Post by Bluejay on Apr 19, 2005 11:59:59 GMT -6
Well, it is Ratzinger, who will be known as Benedict XVI. At 78 years old, I guess he is really just a transitional, temporary pope in order to give John Paul's real successor some breathing space between himself and John Paul.
About as conservative as they come, expect to see further declines in church attendance, priest and nun recruitment, and further overall alienation. Also expect to see little ch-ch-change in the spread of AIDS in Africa. Anything that drives people away from religion to a more sensible outlook on life is a good thing in my books, so maybe a conservative pope is not that bad a thing. But the church's strict rules against contraception, abortion, homosexuality, etc. represent a grossly warped and damaging world view.
bluejay
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Post by Merlot Joe on Apr 19, 2005 12:13:39 GMT -6
Well, it is Ratzinger, who will be known as Benedict XVI. At 78 years old, I guess he is really just a transitional, temporary pope in order to give John Paul's real successor some breathing space between himself and John Paul. and further overall alienation. bluejay Boy you hit that square on the head Bluejay. This guy might last 2 to 4 years and the church is just going to dig a deeper hole than it's already in. It will be like rats jumping off a sinking ship. This is just another sign that the Catholic Church has no idea of what end is up. Instead of going forward and modernizing the church, they take 5 step backwards. I don't think they will ever learn. Joe.
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Post by Tex on Apr 19, 2005 13:29:38 GMT -6
Well, it is Ratzinger, who will be known as Benedict XVI. At 78 years old, I guess he is really just a transitional, temporary pope in order to give John Paul's real successor some breathing space between himself and John Paul. About as conservative as they come, expect to see further declines in church attendance, priest and nun recruitment, and further overall alienation. Also expect to see little ch-ch-change in the spread of AIDS in Africa. Anything that drives people away from religion to a more sensible outlook on life is a good thing in my books, so maybe a conservative pope is not that bad a thing. But the church's strict rules against contraception, abortion, homosexuality, etc. represent a grossly warped and damaging world view. bluejay Inquiring minds want to know what blame the Roman Catholics have for spreading AIDS in Africa. It is well known what behaviors put one at high risk for AIDS and the Catholic Church does not condone most of them. My good friend is an American doctor doing volunteer work with AIDS patients in Ethiopia. His opinion is that cultural patterns and behaviors and lack of good medical facilities and personnel are the primary drivers of the AIDS problem in Africa. Everyone has an opinion I suppose.
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Post by That English Guy on Apr 19, 2005 13:58:17 GMT -6
This guy might last 2 to 4 years I didn't realise you're such an optimist Joe ;D Simon
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Post by Bluejay on Apr 19, 2005 14:08:48 GMT -6
Inquiring minds want to know what blame the Roman Catholics have for spreading AIDS in Africa. It is well known what behaviors put one at high risk for AIDS and the Catholic Church does not condone most of them. My good friend is an American doctor doing volunteer work with AIDS patients in Ethiopia. His opinion is that cultural patterns and behaviors and lack of good medical facilities and personnel are the primary drivers of the AIDS problem in Africa. Everyone has an opinion I suppose. Note that I don't blame Catholics for spreading AIDS in Africa. (That would be like blaming Jews for the death of Jesus). I strongly criticize the institution of the Catholic Church for preaching against condom use and spreading false rumours about the effectiveness of condoms. The Catholic Church holds enormous sway in great swaths of Africa. It has consistently preached against condom use, and has even started a rumour that condoms are ineffective against AIDS transfer. The greatest cause for the spread of AIDS in Africa is lack of knowledge about the risks of unprotected sex. The Church has done nothing to solve this. The church preaches against 1) condom use, 2) premarital sex, and 3) homosexuality. It strongly favours 4) sexual abstinence and 5) fidelity in marriage. I am certainly in favour of 5), but who are they kidding with respect to the other items? Their approach obviously has not worked. Here are some on-line sources: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3176982.stma little snippet: ...Health experts around the world urge people to use condoms to protect themselves from HIV and a host of sexually transmitted infections. However, the Catholic Church has consistently refused to back such calls. The Vatican is opposed to contraception and has advocated that people ch-ch-change their behaviour instead. But according to Panorama, the Church is now telling people that condoms do not work. In an interview, one of the Vatican's most senior cardinals Alfonso Lopez Trujillo suggested HIV could even pass through condoms. "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom," he says. Some priests have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/Aids Gordon Wambi, Aids activist The cardinal, who is president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, suggests that governments should urge people not to use condoms. "These margins of uncertainty...should represent an obligation on the part of the health ministries and all these campaigns to act in the same way as they do with regard to cigarettes, which they state to be a danger." The programme includes a Catholic nun advising her HIV-infected choir master not to use condoms with his wife because "the virus can pass through". The Archbishop of Nairobi Raphael Ndingi Nzeki told Panaroma that condoms were helping to spread the virus. "Aids...has grown so fast because of the availability of condoms," he said. In Kenya, one in five people are HIV positive. Gordon Wambi, director of an Aids testing programme in Lwak, near Lake Victoria, told the programme that he could not distribute condoms because of opposition from the Catholic Church. "Some priests have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/Aids," he said. According to Panaroma, the claims about condoms are repeated by Catholics as far apart as Asia and Latin America.... www.guardian.co.uk/pope/story/0,12272,1065041,00.html
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Apr 19, 2005 15:39:31 GMT -6
Well, it is Ratzinger, who will be known as Benedict XVI. Damn shame, that. I was hoping he'd want to be known as His Holiness Pope Ratzo Ratzinger I. That's got a swingin' ring-a-ding-ding to it that I could support.
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Post by Merlot Joe on Apr 19, 2005 17:14:08 GMT -6
I didn't realise you're such an optimist Joe ;D Simon Should I have said months? Joe.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Apr 19, 2005 17:41:10 GMT -6
Well, it is Ratzinger, who will be known as Benedict XVI. He's sure come a long way from when he played Cliffy on "Cheers" back in the 80s!......Jake
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Post by Chicago Jake on Apr 19, 2005 17:47:12 GMT -6
.....This is just another sign that the Catholic Church has no idea of what end is up. Instead of going forward and modernizing the church, they take 5 step backwards...... I'm glad the church doesn't just swing on the breeze of fashion and try to stay current with whatever relativistic morality people find easy to follow from one generation to the next. I'd rather they stick to their guns and keep teaching the universal and unchanging truth, as they see it. That's the nice thing about Ratzinger. Not that I follow all the church's teachings, mind you, but it's nice to know there are some constants out there......Jake
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Post by Exildo Wonsetler Briggs III on Apr 19, 2005 17:52:05 GMT -6
The greatest cause for the spread of AIDS in Africa is lack of knowledge about the risks of unprotected sex. The Church has done nothing to solve this. The church preaches against 1) condom use, 2) premarital sex, and 3) homosexuality. It strongly favours 4) sexual abstinence and 5) fidelity in marriage. I am certainly in favour of 5), but who are they kidding with respect to the other items? Their approach obviously has not worked. It's times like these that I have to question my conservative buddies and wonder why they refuse to acknowledge their hand in front of their face. The Catholic Church ain't exactly a bastian of truth. They have their agenda, and boy OH BOY! The Conservatives are jerking off right and left over the new Pope! Then again, they fucked Galileo and it took them a few hundred years to say, "Whoops! We are SO SORRY!" Not to mention their view on sex is perverted and unnatural. OTOH, we can wonder how long it will take them to realize priests having sex with children ain't sanctioned by Jesus, and maybe selecting folks to lead the church who are abstinent automatically makes you select from a rather bizzare group of people. Maybe Michael Jackson has something to say about this? "BEAT IT!" don't seem to bad, after all! The Church made the choice they had to make. How sad they have no clue how to move into the PRESENT! .................Bob
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Post by Merlot Joe on Apr 19, 2005 18:31:06 GMT -6
I'd rather they stick to their guns and keep teaching the universal and unchanging truth, as they see it. That's the nice thing about Ratzinger. Jake Unchanging bullshit as they see it is more like it. Not the kind of constants that the church needs right now. Joe.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Apr 20, 2005 5:25:53 GMT -6
I am sitting here reading this and chuckling... You sound like a bunch of liberals after Bush was reelected Speaking from experience of course ;D
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Post by Merlot Joe on Apr 20, 2005 12:16:35 GMT -6
. You sound like a bunch of liberals after Bush was reelected Speaking from experience of course ;D Simple explanation Gordon. My politics and my thoughts on religion differ. I take a liberal look at what religion should do, especially the Catholics. It's called removing their head from their ass. Joe.
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Post by Bluejay on Apr 20, 2005 13:40:56 GMT -6
...removing their head from their ass. Joe. speaking of which: edition.cnn.com/2005/US/04/20/mary.underpass.ap/index.htmlWhat the hell is wrong with people? edited to add: here is a better photo: www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-419mary,0,7930000.story a funny quote: "It's amazing it's the same day they're picking a pope," said Juan Soria, who rushed to the site with his family. He saw the image as "a message from above. It's a cry for peace and hope to get rid of tyranny in the world." Yes, God sent a message to rid ourselves of tyranny by staining the wall of an obscure bridge underpass in Chicago. You don't want to be too direct with these things, I guess...
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Apr 20, 2005 13:51:51 GMT -6
What the hell is wrong with people? In reading that CNN headline quickly, I thought it said, "Some see Virgin Mary in underpants stain". Boy, do I ever feel silly!
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