POPE TAKEN TO OPERATING ROOM!!!!! (Tracheotomy was a success)

[Petronski]

So true.

[CitizenM]

PLEASE, please...all, let's not let this thread go sour and become argumentative. None of us wants to fight right now. This is very serious for many of us.

Please hold your tongues (or fingers) if you cannot offer compassion or concern. We just do not need chastizing or flip comments now. I doubt you would do that to any of us face to face in such a situation. We are extremely concerned, let us have that emotion without adding anger. Thanks for your understanding.

[Conservatrix]

I have no gripe. I have honest inquiry about these things.
Man, a little difference of opinion really gets people's intellects to shut off, doesn't it!

[Howlin]

CNN is saying that there is NO confirmation of this yet.

[mike182d]

But for non-Catholics, as I am, the issue of people going nuts over the death of this man is not something that I can understand.

Would you react the same way to your biological father's death as you would some guy in Alaska that you've never known?

Think about it a little bit. This isn't exultation of the Pope as God, but a sincere love for him and period of mourning during his suffering for he is close to Catholic's hearts as a biological father would be.

[Txsleuth]

I agree with you---

I am not Catholic but it is big news for so many, many people in the world and on FR, that I can't imagine why it is such a hardship for some to have this much coverage---

Dang, when Johnny Carson died, it was 24/7 Carson for 3-4 days!!!

[areafiftyone]

(((((SOB)))))

[Constantine XIII]

Love your pictures :P

[Rutles4Ever]

You don't waltz into a room of grieving people and attack the one they love. Were you raised in the wild?

[demlosers]

You got your lightning rods at ready?

[CitizenM]

See my post #122

[MWS]

You'll most likely take more flak for your original comment. Unfortunately, many Catholics are on defensive mode regarding comments like that, as we tend to have to deal with people questioning our relationship with the Lord and the state of our salvation on a constant basis.

Don't take it too personally, though. I think, when understood as a gesture from someone who does not agree with us theologically who is simply expressing hope for the well being of the pope's soul, that the sentiment ought to be appreciated. I appreciate it, at least.

[trisham]

Aw, ain't that special. I happen to know that God loves me so that point is irrelevant. But for non-Catholics, as I am, the issue of people going nuts over the death of this man is not something that I can understand. Much blood has been shed throughout history over popes, inquisitions, the Catholci chruch, and so on. There is a reason why half of those who call themselves Christians do not conside this man ANYTHING and many consider the office of the pontiff to be a false one within a false religious system. That is why I really DO want to know what GOD and GOD ALONE thinks about Popes But I guess we can't have a free, intelligent exchange of ideas here without stupid insults, can we?

****************

Enough.

[Richard Kimball]

You should also remember Pope John Paul I, then, as he died only a couple of weeks into his reign. John Paul II took the name in honor of the first John Paul.

[dha]

Thank you for saying that. God bless.

[Conservatrix]

I have read some of what he has said. I respect his positions on abortion, divorce, and the family greatly. But he is still part of a religious system I question. That is all.

No insults, no gripes, no nuttin! Just a difference of opinions and questions nobody has answered yet!

[spectre]

This is NOT the time, nor the place to debate what God thinks about the Pope.

Please show some class and just be quiet...

sw

[Campion]

There is a reason why half of those who call themselves Christians do not conside this man ANYTHING

Not their neighbor? Not a brother in the Lord?

You'd better get your Bible out and re-read it, because you maybe didn't get the message the first time.

You know, if Billy Graham or D. James Kennedy were on his deathbed, I would not be posting saying, "I wonder what God thinks of Protestant heretics anyway ... after all, so much blood was spilled at the hands of Elizabeth I and in the Thirty Years' War." No, I would salute them in charity and pray for their salvation.

[arbee4bush]

I would pray he is right with the Lord before he dies. I wonder what God Almighty thinks of Popes anyway.

Well, seeing (or believing if you read the Bible) that His best friend was the First Pope

"In Catholic tradition, the foundation for the office of the pope is indeed found primarily in Matthew 16:13-20. Here Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The apostles responded, "Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Our Lord then turned to them and point-blank asked them, "And you, who do you say that I am?"

Peter, still officially known as Simon, replied, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Our Lord recognized that this answer was grace-motivated: "No mere man has revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father."

Because of this response, Our Lord said to Peter first, "You are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The name change itself from Simon to Peter indicates the apostle being called to a special role of leadership; recall how Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, or Jacob’s to Israel, or Saul’s to Paul when each of them was called to assume a special role of leadership among God’s people. Taken fromThis

That is what WE as Catholics believe. You don't have to believe it, but in the very least, respect for a very holy man,and those that love him is deserved , especially at this time.

[NYer]

Women kneel in prayer during a Mass in the Polish St. Stanislaw church in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005. After encouraging signs of a strong rebound, Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II was gripped once again Thursday with the flu and a breathing crisis that sent him to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital for emergency treatment.

Catholic Ping - Come home for Easter and experience God’s merciful love. Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list