Additions, Quotes and Popes

Hopefully you've noticed the new quote section at the top of the page. Richard Hicks will be contributing to my blog providing some of G.K. Chesterton's pithier quotes. I will continue to work on the presentation of quotes (pretty lame right now I admit) but I hope you enjoy the content. In wrestling with these blog templates perhaps some more changes are imminent in the aesthetics of The Mind of Mike. Hopefully after Richard contributes several quotes I will be able to setup a random quote generator that will display several of Richard's contributions. I am looking forward to hearing more from Richard.

On a separate but related note (in light of the quote of the day for today) I wanted to iterate a converstaion Richard and I had concerning the election of the new Pope yesterday. As you may know, Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope yesterday at the Vatican. He has taken the name Benedict XVI. Ratzinger was a confidant of John Paul II, and is viewed by most as a proper successor to the departed, beloved Pope. It has been widely reported that in the days following the death of John Paul that there was a desire to see someone become Pope who was just like him. However, many, in saying this, also mentioned that perhaps the next Pope could be a little more lenient pertaining to things like abortion, homosexuality, etc. Ironically, it was the strong moral stands made by John Paul II that endeared him to most people. Even if/when they disagreed with him, he was a rock upon which the Church could lean providing a bastion to protect the Church from the evils of society and immorality. Myself, while disagreeing emphatically with the great majority of the doctrinal teachings of the Pope and Catholicism in general, still have/had great respect for the way in which John Paul II stood for morality.

Which brings us to the election of Benedict XVI. It is believed that Benedict will follow in John Paul's footsteps. However, as has been reported, his age is of some concern to many Catholics. Ratzinger is 78 years old. As Richard and I discussed this, we arrived at the following conclusions: The election of Ratzinger serves two purposes. First, it immediately appeases the more conservative leaning Catholic faction. Second, and this is, obviously, the speculative portion of our discussion, the election of an older man instead of a younger, accomplishes at least a couple of things. Electing Ratzinger honors John Paul in that the Church will have a Pope that leads and believes much in the same way John Paul did. However, with Ratzinger being 78, it also stands to reason that he will not be able to serve as long as did John Paul and will not be nearly so beloved by or endeared to the people of the Catholic Church. Thus, the next Pope, in turn being elected in a relatively short time, could be more liberal (not having the "ghost of John Paul" with which to contend) and appease the other faction; those of a more liberal theological stance. We concluded you could almost call Benedict XVI the "Interim Pope." From a polity standpoint (though I disagree with the reasoning) this could turn out to be a shrewd play by the Vatican. It will be interesting to see what happens in the not-so-distant future as these things play out. We're not Catholic, mind you; but we are purdy smart......what are your thoughts?