The thing I like most so far about this Pope is is his genuine compassion for the poor, sick, and elderly.

I agree. They said he has gone to hospitals and washed the feet of people with aids. Sounds so..... biblical.




TIS

While Benedict wasn't terrible, I just didn't see a whole lot of compassion in the man, it's a shame that a lot of the scandals happened in his tenure. But Pope Francis strikes me similar to JPII- a man among the people, humble, gracious, actually believes in very deeply in using Christ to help others, which I have to admire even if I'm not religious.

I think it's a given that any Pope (and Pizzaboy said this before me) is going to be conservative on social issues, but I have a feeling Pope Francis isn't really focused on that. He's more about those who are less fortunate than politics.

I thought it was kiss the feet of people with AIDS, regardless it was very compassionate.

Completely agree about Benedict. I personally lost interest (and some respect) for the Catholic Church as an institution during his tenure. Never stopped praying or believing in Jesus Christ, just didnt need or cared for the Church. I am hoping that as I get older (and settle down with a wife/kids) I can make the church a bigger part of my life.

According to some news report, Pope Francis was almost elected 8 years ago. Supposedly, it was pretty close between him and Pope Benedict, which may be why the vote was so quick this time.

Thank you fathersson. I don't know why when anybody disagrees with me on political/social issues, they come up with Hitler and that kind of stuff.
I'm not really sure why this little joke caused that kind of outcry. I didn't mean to insult anybody. Just wanted to express that I believe it's pretty irrelevant who becomes the next pope, even for the Catholic church.
Oh, and I don't know why you, pizzaboy, believe that I'm "anti-western world" in general.
One more thing, I've always thought that these are open boards. Whenever I start a thread - in the "general discussion" or elsewhere, I know that people will disagree; after all that's what makes it a "discussion". And pluralism of ideas is part of these boards and our Western societies.

I quite liked the name Boniface for a Pope.

Yeah, its always good for the pope to put on a good face.... or should I say a bella figura?

That and the fact that they had a few weeks notice that they need to pick a new Pope.

I like his telling everyone to stop wearing all that fru fru clothing, and that he told the bishops all over the world NOT to come to Rome for his investiture, but to give the money to charity.

I like his choice of name as well, and surprised he is the first one choosing Francis. Like it or not, he has the power to make a difference, and I hope he does it to make things better.

Pope provides insight into selecting St Francis of Assisi:

http://news.yahoo.com/francis-turns-charm-first-meeting-press-111911747.html

Francis then described how he was comforted by his friend, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, as it appeared the voting was going his way and it seemed "a bit dangerous" that he would reach the two-thirds necessary to be elected.
When the threshold was reached, applause erupted in the frescoed Sistine Chapel.
"He (Hummes) hugged me. He kissed me. He said don't forget about the poor," Francis recalled. "And that's how in my heart came the name Francis of Assisi," who devoted his life to the poor, missionary outreach and caring for God's creation.

Definitely!

For obvious reasons I don't want to expand on that issue. But if you are confused, let me ask you, why do you think it does make a difference?

Having a new Pope is pretty relevant to Catholic's. That's like saying that a new President being elected is irrelevant to Americans.

Nice.

Just wanted to express that I believe it's pretty irrelevant who becomes the next pope, even for the Catholic church.
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For obvious reasons I don't want to expand on that issue. But if you are confused, let me ask you, why do you think it does make a difference?[/quote]
Having a new Pope is pretty relevant to Catholic's. That's like saying that a new President being elected is irrelevant to Americans. [/quote]

I'm Catholic but i personally couldn't care less who the Church appoints as pope mainly because i think organized religion is a shambles nowadays.

We should all hope for this; Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddist, et al. The world is in a big hurt. Regardless of your religious or non-religious leaning, the human condition in most of the world is suffering. Cynicism won't improve it. Positive compassion can only help. Rock on Pope Francis.

I guess I'll burn on hell for this, but I couldn't just hold myself.

Are you sure? What can or will the new Pope change? What did the last Pope change? Remember the last election thread here. It was full of controversies, because it did make a difference who became the next US president.
As far as I understand, the Vatican won't give up any view on any social issue in the next 10 or 20 years. They know they are losing members in Europe, they'll struggle to keep their members in Latin America, they might win a few more in Africa. About Asia - I don't know.
The new Pope might renew the relationship with other religions or confessions, but does that have any immediate consequence for any Catholic?

Good eye Polakvet.

You guys criticize other conservatives and Christians for being against gays, lesbians and abortions yet wish the new Pope the best....


Hmmmmm......

Well, haven't you heard, Stern? It's okay to hate the Catholic Church as long as it's in the name of liberal idealism .

It's okay to say that ALL priests are pedophiles, but for some reason that's not profiling. But if you say that ALL Italians are mobsters, or ALL Irish are drunks, or ALL Jews are cheap, or All Blacks are lazy, or All Germans are Nazis, or ALL Muslims are terrorists, then it's an ugly stereotype. And don't get me wrong, it's dead wrong. But for some reason a lot of the far left crowd think that it's okay to stereotype the Church.

Typical far left hypocrisy. Hate reserved for the Catholic Church is okay because it's "progressive" hate.

if the shoe fits...

Very true, Pizza Boy. Yeah, I love the Pope, and really liked John Paul II. I appreciate them more now that I'm away from past episodes. Mother Teresa was a wonderful woman, and although atheists don't believe and hate us Christians, they still can't say anything bad about her or even find one thing bad she did.

It just amazes me a few far left people from this forum said they like the Pope and wish him the best when they hate others like him.

Typical hate of religion on the part of the secular left. We see it here on the forum quite frequently.

I'm not a religious man, nor am I the biggest fan of the Catholic Church, but I certainly wish nothing but the very best for Pope Francis.

I think you won't find hate speech here against the Catholic Church. Criticism yes. But hate?
And: There's a difference between people (priests, Italians, Jews, etc.) and an institution. To use one of your examples: I think that most people (including Catholics) would agree that the way that the Catholic Church dealt with the pedophile scandals in the last years was not very elegant. But if somebody points out this problem doesn't mean he says that every priest is a pedophile.