Habemus Papam!

[USER777]

whatcha think of the new pope (aka benedict the sixteenth)?
all I can say is:
http://www.francesco.biz/papa.jpg

i heard he is supposed to be verrry conservative and non-liberal. a sad thing in my opinion.

[Carnifex]

LOL that first analogy is fabulous!:D
but i'm gonna wait how he does.better not judge too fast.

[nil]

why do they keep picking old people!? he's just gonna die in like 4 years, and then they'll have to go throught the whole process all over again!

tongue firmly in cheek

[Helium Macaroni]

Ugh, it certainly would have been nice to have a pope who is from Africa or South America, places where the Catholic Church plays a larger societal role. A Chinese pope would have been quite exciting. This fellow doesn't look like he's going to last terribly long healthwise himself.

[OLSEN]

Perhaps the next one will be a young black beautiful lesbian from China?

[Carnifex]

nah i think them lesbians aren't allowed in church...although....it COULD get quite lonely in a monastery i imagine...
edit: it's so damned amazing how lookalike them two in the first post are!

[Tully]

I was kinda hoping for that Nigerian fellow to win. Being from Africa, he'd probably have had a more accomodating stance on condoms and other birth control which could mean saving a lot of lives and curbing overpopulation. Or maybe he would've been just as conservative as the others. Ah well. Maybe next time.

[OLSEN]

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4445279.stm

"Cardinal Ratzinger has been head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition - since 1981."

That's great. The pope may not be a chinese lesbian, but atleast he looks like the emperor and used to (almost) be the head of the Holy Inquisition. :teeth:

[nil]

Nobody expects the Inquisition!

[fukifino]

Force Lightning!

http://aerzteblatt.lnsdata.de/bilder/2004/08/img111874.jpg

[N D Hill]

I couldn't resist.

http://ndhill.astahost.com/img/emperorpopetine.jpg

[fukifino]

Rockin', Exo! I was at work and couldn't do it justice. :D

[obid619]

I couldn't resist.

http://ndhill.astahost.com/img/emperorpopetine.jpg
LOLOLOOILOOLOLOLOOLO LMAONADE!!!!! :tihi:

[Lauren Short]

i :heart: you guys haha

[Prometheus|ANJ]

http://web.telia.com/~u48508900/pooplatrine.jpg

Aww, I made one too. Senator Popelatin? Pooplatrine?

[|NTeRN]

I was kinda hoping for that Nigerian fellow to win. Being from Africa, he'd probably have had a more accomodating stance on condoms and other birth control which could mean saving a lot of lives and curbing overpopulation. Or maybe he would've been just as conservative as the others. Ah well. Maybe next time.

or people could just stop having premarital sex. saying that is just as good as saying to use condoms. which is safer? which is the more catholic way


and why is having a conservative pope a bad thing in some peoples eyes. a liberal one is not gonna have simular view to a typical liberal in the US. naming him conservative or liberal is pointless. its not as big of a gab in the church as it is here in the US.

i just hope he brings peace and good deeds.

[Helium Macaroni]

...so just constraining sex to marriage is how we should be combating the huge AIDS epidemic there?

And saying he's conservative is simply describing how he adheres to doctrine. He has said some fantastically regressive things such as subscribing to absolutist reasoning and denying relativist thinking. He has also mentioned how homosexuality is an intrinsic evil, and how feminism promotes it. Regardless of if you agree with these sentiments, they lie on the conservative side of interpretation, that?s just where they lie on the map.

[jetpack42]

what i don't understand...

what difference does it make? If the pope says "don't have sex if you don't want babies", and people don't listen...why would they listen if the pope said "wear a condom"....? People are either going to listen to the man or not...or is there other implications I'm missing somehow?

[aesir]

Ah, its not the church's stance on contraception that is the cause of the AIDs epidemic in Africa and I seriously doubt that passing out condoms would help. First of all you need to understand that Africa is largely Muslim, and because of that, it is extremely taboo to even discuss sex in public, much less pass out condoms. How can you explain to people what a condom is and why you should use it, when you would be shunned for even attempting to discuss it.

Anyways, sorry about the derailment, Long Live Emperor Benedict!

Im surprised no one has mentioned he was a member of the Hitler Youth. (although it does seem that he was pretty anti-nazi. he even deserted his army unit.)

[|NTeRN]

...so just constraining sex to marriage is how we should be combating the huge AIDS epidemic there?

well saying its ok to have sex if use condoms doesnt combat aids either. the church has ALWAYS said no to premarital sex. condoms dont neccesarilly mean you wont get a STD. they can break and dont always work. . why should they change due to a disease (which if you look into africas epidemic is mainly spread by sex workers, not married couple sleeping with only each other)

i do think they should do something to help with the epidemic tho. tho sayng condoms is a cure all answere is not the answere


also Pop Benedict XVI was a liberal cardinal for a while untill fomr student riot or protest that made him change his mind i think in the vetnam time.


edit** sorry just to clarify

i do belive that condoms should be used. they do prevent the spread of many diseases to a degree. but they are not failproof. having the chruch change its policy on premarital sex and use of condoms would not change the epidemic.

a bigger problem would be that the president of S. Africa doesnt believe aids to be transfered through sex, but by poor living conditions. this means that instead of promoting safe sex, he promotes better living conditions for the poor. also drug companies see this as a way to get $ by uping the price (basic supply and demand) and wont let cheaper products into africa. i dont know what has changed tho if if it has gotten past this please let me know. im just saying what was taught in a class last semester in a GE class.

[Helium Macaroni]

I'm not saying the Church's stance on condoms is at all the reason for the AIDS epidemic, or is even any hindrance to combating it. I'm simply saying that it's stance on contraception doesn't really sync with the success of contraceptives or the need to implement all possible measures to prevent infection. People are going to have sex, there's really no way to ensure they don't. However it is wise to provide as much protection as possible and that measures are taken to offer methods that help in reducing infection. That includes condom distribution, family planning institutions, widespread healthcare facilities, clean needle distribution, etc. Condoms are in no way a cure-all; however they are a primary part of a larger net meant to lessen the chances of exacerbating the epidemic.

The causes are of course mixed, along with the sex trade, also contributing is the large migrant worker population, drug use, and a very patriarchal society adding to a greater denial of the epidemic. Don't forget the crushing poverty as another contributing factor.

Also.. poor living conditions don't cause AIDS, but they add to the further susceptibility of poor populations to heightened exposure due to the lack of healthcare, education about the disease, and other economic and environmental factors.

[NoUseFrAName]

contraceptions are just a bandaid where the cutting hasn't stopped yet.
The church is about upholding the ideal(and admittedly they aren't always successful at that)...I don't think it's necessary to take a stance either way...but at least when people do take a stance as the pope/church does, it inclines us to examine the context of the issue which is more or less where the error begins.
What are the conditions that are causing the spread of AIDS and how can that be fixed? if we can get to the root of the issue, obstacles/blockades/symptom treatments are no longer of concern.

-Rob

[madster]

why do they keep picking old people!? he's just gonna die in like 4 years, and then they'll have to go throught the whole process all over again!
tongue firmly in cheekActually, you're closer to the truth than you might think...John Paul II reigned for 20-some odd years, and the Catholic church does NOT want to have a leader for that long, because the world is a quickly changing place, and one man running the show for that long can provide a very large hurdle to ANY change, not just necessarily the standard cannons regarding birth control, abortion, and other life issues.

Before JPII died, the talk had already started, and the number one criteria was age. Benedict XVI will be good for 10-15 years max. There was some article floating around a week or so ago, that a previous Pope had been "clairvoyant," and had predicted all of the remaining Popes, and Benedict XVI is the next-to-last Pope ever...

May his reign be peaceful, long, and good for the believers.

[Tully]

If abstinence worked, the human race would've gone extinct long ago. I highly doubt the Catholic Church would change their stance on premarital sex. Though I personally think the notion is a bit antiquated, I don't think they necessarily should either. What they believe is what they believe and that's all good, but the wide ranging quality of Christian beliefs show that leeway is more than possible.

Bottom line though, people aren't going to stop having sex. From what I understand, there is a powerful catholic population in many areas of Africa that has hampered availability of and eductation about condoms and AIDS. Bit of an article here. (http://www.terradaily.com/2005/050405012402.4jl5y63y.html) and here. (http://www.newstatesman.com/Politics/200504110002) I'm not 100% sure about the bias of these articles, but they'll give an idea of it.

Condoms aren't going to stop the problem, but at least they could help. With a life expectancy of under 40 in some countries, it seems like they can use all the help they can get.

[bRyaN]

They say sex and orgasms brings you closer to God... :blahblah:

[Carnifex]

Force Lightning!

http://aerzteblatt.lnsdata.de/bilder/2004/08/img111874.jpg
0_0 wtf his thumb looks like a penis?

prom-that rocks.
the poperator!