Roman Catholic Papacy - History, Past and Present.

[Madonepro]

Announced very early this morning, of the passing of Pope Francis.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to Rome ahead of Pope's funeral on Saturday

The pontiff, who was the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday aged 88.

www.bbc.com

 

[avro707]

I was very surprised he was out in public just yesterday given his recent health issues, and he certainly looked very frail.

I don't follow the church at all and have no involvement in it, but I liked Pope Francis.

 

[decafjava]

I was very surprised he was out in public just yesterday given his recent health issues, and he certainly looked very frail.

I don't follow the church at all and have no involvement in it, but I liked Pope Francis.

Yes, he was always a modest man and shied away from many of the more extravagant trappings of his position.

 

[Madonepro]

I was very surprised he was out in public just yesterday given his recent health issues, and he certainly looked very frail.

I don't follow the church at all and have no involvement in it, but I liked Pope Francis.

I thought that too, but sometimes people hang on for a certain event, and then let go. Whilst I'm not catholic, he was a world leader, hence the number of press releases and statements being made by other world leaders. Considering also, that there are 1.4 Billion catholics in the world, it's probably a large amount of the readership of these forums.

 

[avro707]

he was always a modest man

Obviously I never met him, but he seemed simple and humble. There are so few people these days with that attitude. It seems to be the thing today to be as mean and nasty as possible and to stir and troll as much as possible.

 

[Regulus67]

I borrowed a book at a library in the mid 80s, discussing the Prophecy of St Malachy.
Even if I was born and raised in a protestant culture. I felt a deep respect for the Catholic Church. So I pay attention to news regarding the Popes.

I know the prophecy is disputed, but I will not dismiss it.

So was Pope Francis the last Pope? We are about to find out. And I am very interested how this will develop.

In persecutione extrema S.R.E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis ciuitas septicollis diruetur, & Iudex tremêdus iudicabit populum suum: Finis.
[In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock among many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed, and the dreadful Judge will judge the people: The end.]

Source

 

[Madonepro]

And I am very interested how this will develop.

Most likely, the same way it's happened for centuries. The more conservative section of the conclave will vote for their preferred choice, and the liberal cardinals will put forward their choice. We'll have a few ballots, where no clear candidate emerges, and then a compromise candidate, who's not young, will be offered, and elected, in the knowledge that they won't last too long, and we''l get another go soon to get our 'side' of theology elected.

 

[Gregg2]

One has to wonder how much longer he would have lived if he had stayed in his living quarters for as long as his doctor(s?) said he should. Would he have gotten stronger and regained the ability to tend to public duties in time, or was he too frail to ever recover that much? Sad.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Even though I do not practice any faith, I am sorry to learn of the death of Pope Francis, an engaging and patently decent, thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate man, whom I greatly respected.

Yes, he was always a modest man and shied away from many of the more extravagant trappings of his position.

Agree completely, and that he did this, earned my respect even more.

 

[eyoungren]

So many of the MacRumors family are christians, and it would be nice for them to find a place to remember a unique individual.

I would just like to make a distinction here, that perhaps goes without saying, but is important. You may be quite right that there are many of us here that are Christians. However, while a Christian, I am not Catholic. Being Catholic means you are a Christian, yes. But it does not automatically follow that because you are a Christian, you are Catholic.

I respect the position of the Pope, but as I am not Catholic, I am observing from the outside.

 

[Hamdullah Retarderson]

As a Muslim, I was saddened by the death of the Pope. I wish we still had a caliph like the Pope. May Allah grant long life to the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew

 

[Weaselboy]

Moderator Note:

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We would like to leave this thread open for member discussion, but it must stick to secular, generic discussion of the topic, otherwise the thread will be closed.

 

[VisceralRealist]

I am sad to learn of his passing this morning, even if it was not unexpected. Francis was a compassionate leader of the Church, who focused on the right issues and drew attention to things that many people did not want to focus on, often earning him scorn and criticism (from people who could practice a bit of humility themselves). But I think his legacy will be a positive one and I think the world is ultimately worse off without him. I hope his successor can properly follow in his footsteps. RIP.

 

[xJustxMegx]

Pope Francis is dead. On Easter Monday, no less. The day on which believers celebrate that death does not have the last word. For eleven years, he was the gentle disruptor on the Holy See. Not a saint in marble, but a man of flesh, bones and pneumonia.

He spoke about migrants as if they were people. About homosexuals as if they were welcome. About the planet as if it belonged to all of us. Conservatives were annoyed by his mild tone. Progressives thought he was too cautious. He himself walked around in worn-out shoes, prayed for peace, and called on the Church to judge less and listen more. Not a revolution, but a shift in weight.

He was a pope who — averse to pomp and circumstance — sought out the scent of the sheep, as he himself called it. A man of simplicity, with a heart for the rejected of the earth.

His death on Easter Monday is no coincidence, but divine symbolism. The Risen Lord now receives the man who followed Him in humility — not on the throne of Peter, but on the roads of Galilee, among the sick, seekers and sinners.

Requiescat in pace.

 

[Hamdullah Retarderson]

Who will be new Pope?

 

[xJustxMegx]

Who will be new Pope?

This is not known, there will be a voted about that later.

2/3 out of votes are needed from the people who vote to become the new Pope, this all happens behind closed doors.

White smoke: There is a new Pope.
Black smoke: There is no new Pope.

 

[Mousse]

He made the world a better place.😍

His beliefs and mine aligned in almost every aspect except one: Whiskey isn't the real holy water.😘 The Holy Father has a great sense of humor.🥰🥰 I no longer imbibe, so I've got a negative view on hooch.🫤

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Who will be new Pope?

For now, nobody knows.

In any case, the conclave to elect (behind closed doors) a new Pontiff will not take place until after the decreed mourning period of nine days, and the actual funeral, of Pope Francis.

I would expect the conclave to assemble to begin the process of choosing, or electing, a new Pope, in around a fortnight.

 

[wonderings]

For now, nobody knows.

In any case, the conclave to elect (behind closed doors) a new Pontiff will not take place until after the decreed mourning period of nine days, and the actual funeral, of Pope Francis.

I would expect the conclave to assemble to begin the process of choosing, or electing, a new Pope, in around a fortnight.

I believe they have 20 days from the Popes death to elect a new one, or am I off on that?

 

[EllieCat]

First thing I heard this morning. I’m Catholic, so this is very heartbreaking. I’m going to watch a prayer service tonight for my parish. I hope a good new Pope will be elected soon.

 

[avro707]

One has to wonder how much longer he would have lived if he had stayed in his living quarters for as long as his doctor(s?) said he should

From what I understand of his medical history, that made things more difficult, and then with his recent illness on top of that, I’m not sure he would have been able to keep going for too much longer even with more rest. The end was always going to be near.

He seemed to be determined to go about his duties no matter what.

Whoever the new Pope may be, hopefully they will have the same qualities as Francis did.

 

[Clix Pix]

Very, very sad to learn today's news about Pope Francis. He was a man who cared deeply about his fellow human beings and always strived to help people in the ways that he could throughout his life. I feel that he will be missed by not only the Catholic Church and community, but also by the world in general......

 

[avro707]

So it was a stroke and a heart attack that finally got to him.

Not a lot that could have been done then especially with his age and frail condition.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

So it was a stroke and a heart attack that finally got to him.

Not a lot that could have been done then especially with his age and frail condition.

I would imagine that the very serious bout of double pneumonia that he recently suffered from (and, clearly, had yet to recover from) also contributed to fatally undermining his health. My understanding was that - at the time, when he was hospitalised with breathing difficulties and pneumonia - he had almost died.

From the time he was released from hospital, it was clear that he wasn't well.

 

[Gregg2]

From what I understand of his medical history, … I’m not sure he would have been able to keep going for too much longer even with more rest. The end was always going to be near.

Yes, and now that we know he had a stroke, and it was not a respiratory issue from over-exertion that was the cause of his death, more rest would probably not have been a significant benefit to his failing health. I don't know what kind of emergency care is available to the Pope (and others) at the Vatican. If it was a massive stroke, as seems likely, there might not have been much they could do for him. May he rest in peace.