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- Manlobbi
Stocks A to Z / Stocks D / The Walt Disney Company (DIS)
No. of Recommendations: 3
IMO, Francis was probably the best pope the church has had in a long time (perhaps ever?). I'm hardly an authority, but he appeared to be adamant about inclusivity (even LGBTQ), and charity, and all that good stuff. I found it somewhat amusing, when he first assumed the role of pope, that his underlings would try to say that he didn't mean the things he was saying. They were often hard-line conservative bigots. From what little I've read, Francis replaced a lot of them. So this conclave may have a lot more liberal cardinals than in the past.
That said, I'm sort of hoping that we get another Hitler-youth pope (like whatshisname...[typing] Benedict XVI). Someone who will rigidly adhere to the doctrines that were obsolete centuries ago, will put the Church's interests above all else (e.g. hiding pedophile priests), and pretty much ignore its people. This will, I think, drive more people away from religion, and continue to erode the foundations of the Church.
I was reading recently that there has been an alarming uptick in reliousness in society. After so many years of reading about churches closing (and being converted to some useful space), being squeezed financially, and the rise of the "nones", we've seen a recent backpedal. A good Nazi pope, like Benedict, may cure a lot of people of that. Of course, it will also appeal to the intolerant religious people (of which there are many), but we're unlikely to affect their thinking either way**. It can only benefit society if the Church itself drives people away.
**The ones who complain that the teachings of Yeshu (Jesus) are too liberal...I read about that a few months ago.
No. of Recommendations: 9
I'm sort of hoping that we get another Hitler-youth pope... . Someone who will rigidly adhere to the doctrines that were obsolete centuries ago, will put the Church's interests above all else (e.g. hiding pedophile priests), and pretty much ignore its people. This will, I think, drive more people away from religion, and continue to erode the foundations of the Church.
While I forswore all proclivity to the Roman Church about sixty years ago, despite having been raised by devout Catholic parents and went to a high school seminary before graduating from Jesuit-run Marquette University with a major in philosophy. I departed from the religious mentality while a junior USAF officer in early adulthood.
However, my interest in philosophy and science has remained dominant throughout my life; particularly in the realms of human functioning, evolution, quantum physics and cosmology.
Along the way I’ve also explored with considerable appreciation the deep mystical traditions of Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sufism, among others.
FWIW, these collective pursuits have led me to regard the experience of existence as presently emergent quantum to cosmic entanglement. That descriptive distillation of lifelong contemplation reflects considerable abstraction, and is a long way from native infantile insights.
As is true of the original teachings of Jesus, contemporary "religious" practices in many of these traditions are, to my mind, gross distortions of rich foundational understandings. Indeed, beliefs are essential to human functioning. History demonstrates that even carefully confirmed scientific observations can lead to bogus conclusions and beliefs.
All that being said, I would most certainly NOT hope for the nazification of the papacy. To my mind the best thing that could happen is that the Church gets its act together with respect to the full and equal participation of all humankind – male and female. This would go a long way toward reducing the incidence of pedophilia. It also needs to find its way out of centuries of accumulating foolishness, beginning with awakening from long-standing idolization of its original source of inspiration.
Tom
No. of Recommendations: 3
But that would result in the furtherance of magical thinking. We -human society- need churches to repel people, as much as possible. In Europe, many nations don't seem to need that (e.g. Denmark). The people already figured out that magical thinking leads to faulty decisions. In the USA, we were making progress on that front. The "nones" were over 30% of the population before Francis. Now it's retreating.
That is bad. Magical thinking is not a foundation for making good decisions, primarily because people start their reasoning from a fallacious base. "God wants this..." leads to bad things. Very bad things, often.
So, I'm hoping for more of a Benedict than a Francis this time around. Someone who will drive a wedge between the Church and the people. Especially in this country (as I said, other nations have already figured it out).
