Sunday, May 19, 2013
Weiner: The Supreme Court Judge and the Curt Flood Case reenactment
(www.examiner.com)
Shades of Hairspray!...“It was a time of tradition, a time of values, and a time…to shake things up.”
Read More...For a journalist, chance encounters at a restaurant or a hair salon can become a major opportunity for advancing a story and in some instances the journalist is in the right place at the right time because he was with his wife. I had a very chance encounter with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Saturday afternoon in lower Manhattan because my wife happened to have an appointment at a ...
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‹ First < 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 > Last ›I am interested in why it's happening now. I wonder if it has something to do with getting the right successor confirmed at the right time. But I have no idea. He is super old, and maybe he just wants to retire. I'd want to retire if I were 85 and working at an incredibly demanding job.
Are people arguing that it is larger or are we simply creating strawmans?
I had the same thought as MCoA, so I wouldn't call it a strawman.
While I (obviously) reject many of the claims and proposals by the "men's rights" side in this debate (particularly wrt denial of responsibility) - I think that there's broad agreement here that family law, in law and in application, is in many ways antiquated. To the extent it starts from a position of 'women are inherently victims' or without agency^ - it shouldn't.
^ and in my specific circumstances / state - it doesn't appear to
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1201 - Who would/could prosecute? The Hague?
How do you feel about pope Benedict retiring? Think he's telling the truth, that it's ill health, or do you think it's a way for him to dodge prosecution for his role in the child rape coverup conspiracy?
As MCOA says, there's no threat of prosecution. Even if there were, being head of a sovereign state is about the best position to be in, so it doesn't make sense.
Personally, I don't like the idea. Anyone who becomes Pope knows going in that the only way out is feet-first. The Church is perfectly capable of functioning with a severely ill Pope, it did for many years with JP II. Leo XIII served until age 93.
I think it will be odd to have a "Pope Emeritus" around. I also don't like the idea that a Pope could resign in order to influence the choice of his successor. That's not his perogative.
It does seem odd to me that as conservative as he has been, he would break with tradition in such a strong way. No idea what it means and I have no judgement regarding it other than that.
Though what happens with the next selection and the Vatican hierarchy is still to be determined.
Though what happens with the next selection and the Vatican hierarchy is still to be determined.
I really don't see how he's "protecting his conservative vision". He will not be in the conclave, and I imagine the Cardinals will go to great lengths to be sure he is not picking his successor.
The longer he served though, the higher the % of Cardinals that he chose would be in the eventual conclave. It would seem like he could do more to influence his successor by hanging on. Unless, there is a specific candidate he favors, and Benedict feels that man will be too old when he eventually passes.
Having a Pope emeritus is weird, but otherwise I think this is wise. On a human level, we all understand why he'd want to sit and read. But more broadly I don't think it does the church any favors to have an obviously incapable person as its head. (Not saying Benedict is incapable now, but that JPII obviously was by the end.) Not an issue of ideology; they can find a vibrant, energetic conservative if they want to.
But I'm the kind of heretic who thinks Queen Elizabeth should retire, too.
I'm not sure JP II was ever mentally incapable, which is all that matters. In the old days, the Pope rarely left the Vatican; there is no need for a globe-trotting Pope.
I do think there is benefit to the world seeing a suffering, aging Pope carrying on despite his suffering, as JP II did.
What benefit is that?
On suffering, I think we all do gain something by watching people endure stoically amid pain, if the pain is unavoidable. I don't see a benefit to having organizations run by people with limited and declining faculties, either in terms of actual management or image.
If retirement became a norm, you could have a chance for a younger pope.
It's a counter-cultural witness to the world that suffering is an inherent part of human life, and has redemptive value. It is not something to be feared or run from.
I agree with that, if there is mental impairment.
If the Pope is simply sickly, and unable to travel, that's no call for resignation.
No, but he's only allowed to use it on his own behalf now, and on behalf of those who personally ask him to intercede on their behalf.
no, never, even Satan could call if he wants
N/A false premise
Western! Schsim!
clap, clap, clap-clap-clap
Western! Schism!
clap, clap, clap-clap-clap
You don't think people experience that in their own life, without having to look to the Pope?
I think the image of a suffering, aging Pope does more to hurt the Catholic Church than it does aid it.
Concur. Someone send emails!
I think the image of a suffering, aging Pope does more to hurt the Catholic Church than it does aid it.
Not younger people no, I don't.
As someone who has suffered through 5 surgeries in the past 5 years, with another one likely coming, I can tell you my perspective on life, death and suffering has completely changed.
I nolonger fear death, except for the impact on my wife, but I fear suffering and disability. I know I personally still need the example of how to accept suffering and gain value from it.
I don't think JP II's public suffering hurt the Church at all. The only thing that can damage the Church in this regard is a Pope mentally incapable of governing.
John Paul II was always a remarkable model of resilience and determination against a wide range of challenges, and seemed to remain so until the very end. To the degree that we can see people age gracefully not just in good health but bad, I think it does help us grapple with our mortality. I know many people have thought a lot about Ali.
The Pope is both a moral exemplar and an organizational/national leader. The second responsibility is where it gets tricky. Would a more-alert pope have kept better control over his subordinates? It's hard to separate the general problem of managing people from the particular problem of managing people while one is in decline. Even a healthy ruler or pope could be isolated by a conniving butler or aide; on the other hand, it's clearly easier to isolate a frail one.
Yes, some people do seem to have it more together at the prospect of impending mortality. Some, in fact, to such a degree that regardless of philosophy, politics, or ideology, they become objects to marvel at even. We are secretly a little jealous and are perhaps drawn to indulge in a little hero worship. A recent death that was especially becoming recently, I think, was Christopher Hitchen's. I can't say that I was a wholehearted admirer of his through the span of career, but in his last few months, by all accounts, he definitely rose to the occasion. He seemed to become more humane, more likeable, all without compromising his integrity.
I think it comes down to a simple question: Is the office of the papacy an important role? If it's just a figurehead position, then by all means, there's no need for him to resign. But if it is an important office, it really shouldn't be filled by an 88-year-old invalid. Can someone really run a church and minister to the millions of faithful if he can't get out of a hospital bed? I doubt it.
For those reasons, I think it's fantastic that Benedict is stepping down now, before he's incapable of fulfiling his duties. I think it sends a message about the importance of his office, and about his own humility.
For those reasons, I think it's fantastic that Benedict is stepping down now, before he's incapable of fulfiling his duties. I think it sends a message about the importance of his office, and about his own humility.
It does say positive things about him, I agree. But the Pope doesn't really "run the Church" like a CEO. He has surprisingly little power over the individual bishops who actually run the Church.
If mentally sharp, I see no reason why an invalid Pope couldn't run the Church. Especially with modern alternatives for communication. Maybe he'd become the "blogger Pope".
Thank you.
He's already the Twitter Pope.
Do we really know what the actual burdens are, on the Pope? The Papacy and the larger Church are hardly the most transparent organizations.
It may be that each Pope defines, to some degree, the burdens and duties he undertakes, and the degree to which he allows them to be delegated with time. If so, Pope Benedict obviously knows better than any of us whether he is capable of fulfilling the role of Pope as he understands it.
We also don't really know enough about his physical and mental condition, or his prognosis in that regard, to judge his decision.
But we do know that other popes have stayed on the job come heaven or high water.
The recent popes weren't exactly prodigies of health.
Possible things that could make Popeing more difficult for the Pope: late stage Parkinson's; any stage Alzheimer's; just getting old.
That was my initial take.
Aside from dying, historically there has also been "selling the office to your godfather." But admittedly, the literature is sparse on this issue. It's actually pretty cool to see something happen that hadn't occurred since the early 1400's. This is like finding a new continent!
No one ever knows why. It's a secret process.
The simple answer is the conclave thought he was the best man for the job.
I seem to recall at the time that he was elected as a direct attempt to re-engage European Catholicism and attempt to 1) carry forward John Paul's legacy while 2) attempting to salvage something of the Church in Western Europe.
The Church's most vital areas of influence are Africa and South America. But I'm not sure the Vatican is ready for a black pope.
snapper can probably answer this better than me, but ratzinger wielded extraordinary power in JPII's papacy -- he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the head of the college of cardinals and so many members of the college were his guys. in JPII's decline phase i imagine he made a lot of the decisions for the pope during his last illness.
campaigning for the job is frowned upon, but as a conservative body, the college probably works a lot like the GOP -- they prob. decided it was his turn, even though he was a bit old.
it will be interesting to see if they start a bit of a regression and go back to an italian or if the 3rd world guys put forward a south american everybody can live with. they've had two straight non-italians, so the trend could be in place. agree on your last point though, no way they'll name a pope of color.
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