gcreptile 10,963 Posted April 16, 2017 Wouldn't it be funny (and complicated) if Benedict survives Francis? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GossipGabe 333 Posted April 16, 2017 2 hours ago, gcreptile said: Wouldn't it be funny (and complicated) if Benedict survives Francis? It would be, although since Francis himself is turning 81 this year (and still obliged to work, unlike most other octagenarians), it would not be that much of a surprise. Relieved of the stress of the papacy, Benedict can enjoy a quiet retirement, while any major paedophila scandal could bring about a fatal stroke/heart attack for Francis. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean 6,309 Posted April 16, 2017 2 hours ago, gcreptile said: Wouldn't it be funny (and complicated) if Benedict survives Francis? Funny in am ironic sense.Not complicated at all though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,421 Posted April 16, 2017 They'd probably mutter about how Benedict is proving the old adage about the good dying young, or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted April 17, 2017 On 16/04/2017 at 16:03, Book said: 90 today Article on his 90th from Deutsche Welle: http://www.dw.com/en/benedicts-birthday/a-2442631 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted April 23, 2017 Having a beer on his 90th birthday: "In a recent interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, [Archbishop Georg] Gänswein said that as he turns 90, Benedict occasionally talks about the prospect of death, but it’s not an “obsession” for him. “I can say that he’s a serene person,” Gänswein said. “He has a soul at peace, and a happy heart.” These days, Gänswein said, Benedict can no longer see out of one eye, although that’s an old problem, and also has difficulties walking, but otherwise is in good health. “Certainly, he’s a man who by now is old,” Gänswein said. “It’s tough on him to walk, and he uses a walker. He can’t work on scientific texts like he used to do, but he still writes, and a lot. He has an enormous amount of correspondence from all over the world. He gets books, essays and letters, and he replies. Naturally that takes time and effort, but he thinks about every response, it’s never something done casually.” Gänswein also said that for Benedict now, his most important activity is prayer. “He’s convinced that prayer is apostolate number one,” he said. “Through prayer, he feels able to be close to the faithful.”" Source: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/04/17/benedict-xvi-shares-90th-birthday-beer-family-friends/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,963 Posted April 23, 2017 I saw that picture last week, with a lot cut out. Right of Benedict (from our point of view) is his older brother. To his left is the president of Bavaria. It looks like Benedict is just an old person, no real health issues. That makes me think that his resignation had other reasons. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted April 23, 2017 41 minutes ago, gcreptile said: I saw that picture last week, with a lot cut out. Right of Benedict (from our point of view) is his older brother. To his left is the president of Bavaria. It looks like Benedict is just an old person, no real health issues. That makes me think that his resignation had other reasons. Very possible. EDIT: Just saw this somewhat related news: if Le Pen is to be believed (yes, I know), the Roman Catholic Church has been up to its old tricks meddling in the French election and telling people who to vote for: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/792061/French-election-Marine-Le-Pen-Catholic-blasts-Church-religious-leaders-voting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drol 11,883 Posted April 23, 2017 Well, the current Pope is the incarnation of a libtard. Care about souls not states, asshole. Ratzinger was a great pope indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted April 23, 2017 Some more info from Gänswein that lends credence to @gcreptile's suspicions and another photo from Ratzi's 90th: "According to Benedict XVI’s closest aide, his advanced age hasn’t yet created any truly serious health challenges aside from a basic problem with walking without assistance. “Pope Benedict is in good shape,” said German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the Prefect of the Papal Household for Pope Francis and also private secretary to Pope Benedict. “What bothers him most are his legs,” Gänswein said in a brief interview with Vatican Radio, “so he uses a walker for help, and he gets along very well.” “Otherwise, he’s quite clear in his head, and quite bright,” he said. “He participates in everything. He reads, he prays, he listens to music, and he has visitors. “Every day he takes a little walk while praying his rosary, so he’s doing the same thing he did at the beginning of his time as the pope emeritus,” Gänswein said." Source: https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/04/15/pope-francis-visits-benedict-xvi-wish-happy-birthday/ Meeting with the current Pope on his 90th: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted May 18, 2017 Found this from the end of last year. Interesting critical look at the last book and his papacy in general, specifically with his failure to critique Germany's Nazi past: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-moral-weakness-of-pope-benedicts-last-testament Also: "When Benedict resigned from the papacy, some wondered about the state of his health. Was he headed for a long, demoralizing physical decline of the sort that made his predecessor what he calls “a martyr to the sufferings of the world”? Obviously not, given his apparent good health for a man of eighty-nine. Benedict now says that he secretly decided to resign in August, 2012, although he did not actually do so until February of the following year. “Were you in a depression?” Seewald asks him in the book. “Not a depression, no, but things weren’t going well for me,” he replies." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainChorizo 1,976 Posted May 18, 2017 Possibly should be dropped from next year lists unless some kind of illness is disclosed. His older brother is still alive,no reason to think Benedict couldn't survive another 5+ years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean 6,309 Posted May 18, 2017 2 minutes ago, Davey Jones' Locker said: Found this from the end of last year. Interesting critical look at the last book and his papacy in general, specifically with his failure to critique Germany's Nazi past: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-moral-weakness-of-pope-benedicts-last-testament Also: "When Benedict resigned from the papacy, some wondered about the state of his health. Was he headed for a long, demoralizing physical decline of the sort that made his predecessor what he calls “a martyr to the sufferings of the world”? Obviously not, given his apparent good health for a man of eighty-nine. Benedict now says that he secretly decided to resign in August, 2012, although he did not actually do so until February of the following year. “Were you in a depression?” Seewald asks him in the book. “Not a depression, no, but things weren’t going well for me,” he replies." He was nicknamed the Nazi pope when I was at school. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,421 Posted May 18, 2017 "When you were at school". < that's how I feel, reading that line. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted May 18, 2017 26 minutes ago, Shaun of the Dead said: He was nicknamed the Nazi pope when I was at school. Yes, here is some old info on it: "Yet, in Traunstein, some of the town's older residents feel that questions about the Pope's early years remain unanswered. Herta Kaiser, an 83-year-old pensioner recalled that several people in the town hid Jews from the Nazis and helped them to escape to neutral Switzerland. "Traunstein was not all Nazi, it was also a Catholic stronghold," she said. There is no evidence that the Ratzinger family felt inclined to help the town's few remaining Jews, or the smattering of anti-Nazi resistance fighters who dared to oppose the regime. Elizabeth Lohner, 84, whose brother-in-law was sent to Dachau concentration camp for being a conscientious objector, recalled: "It was possible to resist and those people set an example for others." She added: "The Ratzingers were young and made different choices."" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-benedict-his-role-in-the-nazi-years-495831.html Also: "... he [The Pope] visited a German military cemetery at La Cambe, where 21,000 German soldiers are buried, among them several hundred former members of the notorious Waffen SS, some of whom participated in the massacre of hundreds of men, women and children in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane. "As Germans we cannot help but be moved to realize that their idealism and their duty to the state was misused by an unjust government," Benedict said of the war dead at La Cambe. He expressed regret that the Germanic virtue of obedience - Pflicht - had been exploited and misused by the Nazis, and said that this did nothing to diminish their honor or service to the Fatherland. As with Auschwitz, there was no talk of personal culpability, not a word about German guilt. " Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/opinion/12iht-edryback.html I know Germans who would very much disagree with the bolded statement, Herr ex-Pope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mad Hatter 1,092 Posted May 19, 2017 On 23/04/2017 at 19:45, drol said: Well what do you want him to say. Nazis were bad. Anything he says about nazis will be redundant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted May 19, 2017 On 24/04/2017 at 04:45, drol said: Ratzinger was a great pop indeed. So you think he has a secret family with grandkids tucked away somewhere. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LilyForrester 81 Posted May 20, 2017 After looking at the pictures he looks fine to me and seems like he's got a few years left in him. He looks like just any other old person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 10,963 Posted July 18, 2017 There was systematic abuse of choir boys of the Regensburger Domspatzen for decades, yet their choirmaster for 30 years, Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict, has no knowledge: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40643253 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ashes Urn 1,353 Posted July 18, 2017 They have no shame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davey Jones' Locker 1,324 Posted July 18, 2017 3 hours ago, gcreptile said: There was systematic abuse of choir boys of the Regensburger Domspatzen for decades, yet their choirmaster for 30 years, Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict, has no knowledge: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40643253 Wow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KappaRodos 1 Posted October 16, 2017 5 October 2017, Gardens of Vatican City 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joey Russ 7,220 Posted October 16, 2017 He does look visibly frail in that photo. Thinking it might be a good idea to keep him on the list next year if he sees the year out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mercarte 145 Posted October 16, 2017 A Coptic Catholic bishop of Egypt says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is now very weak at age 90, but still “aware of everything.” Bishop Kyrillos William Samaan of Assiut gave this report after a meeting with the Pope Emeritus at the beginning of September, according to the Swiss Catholic Information agency cath.ch in an article published today. According to Bishop Samaan, he spent 45 minutes with Benedict XVI, who asked him about the various problems of the Church in Egypt, including dialogue with Muslims and the relationship with Al-Azhar University, the highest Sunni authority. On September 23, the German news website Mittelbayerische reported that Benedict is now too weak to celebrate Mass by himself. Archbishop Georg Gänswein, his private secretary who is also prefect of the Pontifical Household, assists him. The Pope Emeritus will turn 91 on April 16. Source: https://aleteia.org/2017/10/03/benedict-xvi-is-weak-but-still-following-concerns-of-church-says-bishop/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KappaRodos 1 Posted October 16, 2017 Look at priest on the right, he was helping with prayer. Benedict have a problem with standing, move etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites