After examining his conscience “before God,” he said on Monday, “I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of his position as head of the world’s Roman Catholics.
I wonder what this will mean, and who a good choice for the next pope will be. It's really weird that he's stepping down - it hasn't been done since the Middle Ages and frankly if you're trying to leave a good papal legacy, anything that draws comparisons to the church of the Middle Ages isn't favorable. On the other hand, if you're going to by cynical about it (and goodness knows I will) it could also be a play by an aging pope to exert greater influence over his successor than he could if he died. But who knows, really. As for the next choice, I think if they wanted to be really clever they may want to pick one who is closely connected to the developing world. Cardinal Turkson of Ghana would definitely be an interesting pick, for example. Considering that Catholicism's greatest spread has been across the developing world thanks to their organized missionary work, it seems sensible to represent the people who they are converting in the largest quantities. Thus, someone attuned to the struggles of those areas in particular would probably win a lot of trust and goodwill. My vote is, look to Africa or South America for a serious contender. That or they'll shock the world and pick an old European guy.
My understanding is that there is political infighting going on in the upper echelons of the church. This particular story is about two LA Church leaders, but I think you can take this fight writ large in the church: http://news.yahoo.com/mahony-defends-legacy-church-abuse-blo... The way Ratzinger handled the abuse scandal, the leak of his butler, the tug-of-war between reformers and fundamentalists are revealing serious cracks inside the leadership. I've heard cardinals say they are comfortable with a much smaller religious body if it means being true to doctrine. Even if that means giving up that 1 billion number they seem to harp on. I'm not for sure saying that's why he resigned, but his general weakness as an administrator probably contributed to it as well.
Colbert for Pope? Edit: Spent the morning learning how to install wordpress so I could make: http://www.colbertforpope.com And sadly I can't edit photos at work, nor am I graphically inclined.
geneusutwerk, flagamuffin is right. If this is done right it could definitely get picked up. Let me know how I can help, it's a fun idea.
Right now I need a banner image that actually works.
Yeah, I'm not that guy… I'm more the let me know if you need me to write a catchy song, or something like that kind of guy.
If you have time for a catch song....I can definitely use more content on this.