A lame-duck pope. A secret dossier. Rumors of a gay cabal. A cardinal accused of "inappropriate" behavior. The Vatican is in an uproar, and church scholars say there hasn't been this much drama surrounding a conclave since 1800, when Pope Pius VI died while being held prisoner by Napoleon. One Vatican watcher says you have to go back to 1730 — when Pope Benedict XIII's right-hand man fled Rome in disguise amid allegations of corruption — to find a conclave buffeted by this much scandal........The pope's historic Feb. 11 announcement has been overshadowed, however, by an extraordinary wave of revelations and accusations. There were calls for cardinals accused of mishandling the sex-abuse crisis to abstain from voting. Then came a report that Britain's top cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien had been accused of bad behavior by priests, followed by his resignation on Monday. Over the weekend, the Vatican had to deny an Italian newspaper report that Pope Benedict abdicated because an internal probe into the so-called Vatileaks mess had uncovered a network of gay priests who were being blackmailed. Now comes the news that the pope will only let two people see the report on the document leaks — himself and his successor — despite calls for the Holy See to become more transparent....
-- from the thread 'Amateur hour': Vatican conclave drama is one for the history books, experts say
All this is irrelevant to Catholic dogma and teaching. St. Peter too sinned but he repented and was given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Getting Protestants as such to ramp up mission is not that easy, since there are so many, often bickering, voices in the mix of Protestantism. Whether we Protestants like to admit it or not, though, there is a single person in Rome who can influence Christians of every stripe to work more heartily in the cause of Christ, sometimes together (even with Catholics) and sometimes faithfully in their own theological tradition. That’s why even non-Catholics are praying fervently for the new pope. Given the monumental challenges of the 21st century, it is more important than ever that Protestants and Catholics figure out how to work together.”
The differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, however, are the same differences between life and death. The Roman doctrines of works-righteousness, prayer to saints, the devotion to Mary, and many other doctrines, are utterly incompatible with the scripture. It is not a mere difference in “traditions,” as the author claimed.
I have no problem with the Catholics doing their own thing and electing their Pope; however, he is certainly not MY Pope, nor do I even consider the Pope’s message to truly be the Gospel.