I've heard some pretty good things about this guy. Like not living in the fancy cardinal's house, just a regular place, and catching the bus. Jesuits can be pretty intense about living the religion. Walking the walk. He has a particular thing about poverty.

I think a good dose of righteous wrath is exactly what the Upper levels of the Church really need. Some old-fashioned casting out of hypocrites and political self-servers. That's the advantage of absolute power for life - you can do that kind of thing. I wonder if he'll have the steel to do it.

This guy could do some good. He probably won't do anything that addresses the media's agenda for the Church but if he can make the right wing nuts live by the rules they want everyone else to they can cut back on hypocrisy.

Listening to NPR this morning, there are a lot of happy and excited people out there. I hope this guy does good. We'll see.

.

Is that Andrew Dice Clay?

No, them's for real.

Unfortunately, he appears to be or will become more like one of them.

First the Italians consider him one of them. He speaks Italian without a foreign accent being that his family immigrated from Italy. Second, he is extremely old. Already has some health problems. A younger Pope might change and start instituting reforms. Third, at 76, he would not have energy, enthusiasm, or time to attack an entrenched and corrupt institution. Change is hard. Fourth, his beliefs coincide with the most conservatives. He is typically too old to want change. Fifth, he is mostly an outsider. Would not know where the ropes are to implement change.

Too few votes happened for a reformist movement to take hold. I have little reason to believe this pope is what the church desperately needed. The conclave chose what was safe. Powers that be saw nothing to cause them to rethink their entrenched positions. Reformers had too little time to unite in opposition.

New pope? Are you sure they didn't say Jew pope?

Attachment 43216

Yeah, that's a stretch.

More facts from the conclave. 115 Cardinals voted. 75 of them live full time in Rome. How much say do outsiders (Reformists) have?

None, insofar as Church doctrine is concerned. Probably quite a bit regarding Church policy. Doctrine is somewhat analogous to the Constitution of this country versus public policy. For analogy, there's nothing in the Constitution prohibiting military women from serving in combat positions. That's just been public policy. Likewise, there's no doctrine saying priests have to be celibate. That's just Church policy. One need only separate that which is Church doctrine from what is just Church policy to realize what can be changed and what cannot. Adults can tell the difference, children cannot.

You dick. :lol2:

Of course you are talking to Woody Allen. Our second Jewish pope.

Everybody's getting into the spirit.

Of course if this Pope turns out to be stubborn, he'll be called Francis the talking mule.