Posted on 04/01/2005 10:29:57 AM PST by NYer
The person the Pope says gets the power in between Popes is quite powerful and can even possible tilt to nominations for the new Pope in such a way that that one person practically can hand pick the new Pope because of his great influence.
I'm sure the Pope picked wisely.
Conjecture is just that! This article provides great insight into what each Cardinal brings to the Conclave. As indicated, there are many issues facing the Church today, each of which will be placed before those with the right to vote.
Call me naive but I truly believe with all my heart that the Conclave is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit who drives the Church of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We can all speculate and I fully anticipate the MSM will devote many hours to the most 'papabile'. Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who will rule!
Having been through this experience 4 times, I am constantly amazed at the outcome. This is a time for faith and trust. Karol Wotija surprised the MSM, sending them scrambling for information on his life. Just when we think we "know" who would be the best candidate, we must submit to the Holy Spirit who guides and directs the Church of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
There are several Cardinals whom I feel would be ideal candidates. That is a personal opinion. My faith and trust reside in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May His will be done!
There is an established person with power in between. So far they have been good people, but they have great influence between Popes and can influence the successor.
I agree we have a great current Pope and can only pray we get the Pope we NEED next as a blessing from God.
Thanks for the article. This will be a very interesting process. Please add me to the ping list.
Trollin', eh?
Ah, get lost you rude bastard.
As a non Catholic, I appreciate your post and I pray that your church finds someone that can fill Pope John Paul's big shoes. He and Reagan go down as two of the greatest men I've witnessed in my 33 years on this earth.
Bump to that; and you said it nicer than I would have.
It surprises and doesn't surprise me that an American wouldn't be considered (according to the info).
Would we WANT an American Pope?
It doesn't surprise me because of the decrepit state of the American Church. Americans tend to be very self-centered, thinking that the Church cares about American more than say, Nigeria or India.
Sadly, my fellow protestants will come out of the woodwork with all sorts of junk. I would like to apologize in advance for the crass comments, over-reaching generalizations, and overall insensitivity. Thanks.
Hey!! I like the Jesuits -- they generally have a strong sense of mission.
The Pope should ideally not be from the powerful state of the time. Hence, ideally, the next Pope should not be American or evern European. I would favor an African or Asian Pope as I feel that that is where the church needs to grow
When Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, was in Jesuit studies in the 1970s, he experimented with drugs and dabbled in New Age phenomena such as astrology.
Today, after many intervening years of prayer and study and maturation, it's a different story: he's now a staunch defender of traditional Catholicism, and his weekly programs on prayer, Scripture, the Rosary, and Pope John Paul II's encyclicals reach 105 million homes worldwide via the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). When the Catholic cable network's founder, Mother Angelica, suffered a stroke in 2001, he took over her program slots.
"I definitely consider it to be God's grace that I'm still a Jesuit," says Pacwa.
Pacwa, who speaks twelve languages and has a doctorate in Old Testament from Vanderbilt, recounted his journey from spiritual rebel to traditionalist in his semi-autobiographical book Catholics and the New Age. It attacks the idea that such phenomena have any place in Catholic spirituality.
Fr. Mitch is also bi-ritual, Latin and Maronite Rites. Last year, he conducted a very successful retreat for the Eparchy of St. Maron.
I went to a Jesuit University (Creighton) and was extremely disappointed at how liberal they were - completely inopposite to the teachings on sexual mores. Not good role models.
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