4.02.2005
Papal Potpourri
update: Pope John Paul ll has died
I find it interesting that people are praying for John Paul ll to live; given the man's medical condition and age shuffling off this mortal coil seems sensible, dignified and timely.
I have been told the Pontiff spends six hours a day in prayer. The transition from embodied elderly man to Oneness with the Ground of our Being ought to be a snap for Pope John Paul ll.
At 84 years of age it seems to me that the Pope has had a full life in which he has done good. I was proud when he stood against the attack on Iraq. Bet Mr Bush doesn't mention that in any Whitehouse message concerning his passing. I hope his death is comfortable. All the crying confuses me a bit; as people of faith we are taught that our death is the gateway to Heaven, to fellowship with our God. Why is that sad? I understand about the hole left by the departed's lack of physical presence in our lives, I know that pain. But for believers he is approaching the reward for a life well lived.
I wish him a smooth journey.
I fear for the Church, for a further shift to the right, a shift fostered by John Paul ll...
A few quick links; a sort of Papal Potpourri.
So, who will the next pope be—a black, a Hispanic, an American, or a Jew?
No, it's not a joke. All four are real possibilities.
The biggest differences between the papal selection process now and the last time are demographic ones. Of the five countries with the biggest Catholic populations, only one (Italy) is European. Forty-six percent of the world's Catholics are in Latin America; there are more Catholics in the Philippines than in Italy. In 1955 there were 16 million Catholics in all of Africa; today there are 120 million.
Quoted from an interesting article touching on some possible successors to John Paul ll.
Brush up on "Papal Transition" using an article from the Jesuit weekly "America".
The Pope Blog will keep you up to date. (Link found at miss-information.net)
The Washington Post has a live stream from St. Peter's square.
"It Takes a Pope" Originally from “The Death of Pope Alexander VI,” Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 73, no. 433, pp. 120-125, June 1886. By Professor T.F. Crane.
4/02/2005
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