Catholics only, what do you think of the new Pope?

Question

I'm sorry but he is scaring me...i dont think he is to the point that John Paul was...he worries me...i dont know how to word this but he doesnt give me a correct feeling...especially his last statement...waht do you guys think?

Amber I am like you.. I will defend my church to the core and to my end if I have to, but something doesnt feel right you know, JP2 was so good and just wanted unity, i just dont feel right.

Answer 1

Benedict is very complex.

His own writings have actually been quite tender, such as his encyclical "God is love", or his book "Jesus of Nazareth." These portray a man of great depth in his soul, someone far less rigid than we had previously imagined Cardinal Ratzinger to be.

I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little concerned by the last weekend... the full restoration of the Tridentine Rite is something that I hope will not eventually lead to rolling back the last council. But those are just my fears, and not something that has actually happened.

The reiteration of Dominus Iesus, on the other hand, is nothing. First of all, it didn't even come from the Pope... that came from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, and secondly, it was not new material, but a condensed version of a document from the year 2000, when JPII was still Pope.

It might help you to learn what motivates this Pope... you'll understand him better. What motivates him... surprisingly... is LOVE. That was his point in his first encyclical, and the one he makes in "Jesus of Nazareth."

http://ncregister.com/site/article/3148/

Answer 2

Well, all he did was reaffirm a teaching of the Church that's been in effect for decades. But yeah it does seem that he's a little too bent on the traditional stuff. He's bringing back the Latin Mass because he feels older generation Catholics are being alienated. Doesn't he realize that by doing that he may alienate a whole new generation of Catholics?

I think JP2 was just such a great Pope, anyone would have a hard time filling those shoes...

Answer 3

I like him. I think the problem is that we wanted another John Paul 2, and he's not John Paul 2. How long was John Paul 2 Pope? I bet he had his rocky moments.

Humans are very unforgiving. We want what we want and we want it now. Pope Benedict isn't doing so bad. Like anyone else in the media eye, I take what is said about him with a grain of salt. I've seen his words twisted by media, so I wait until I can read his letters and speeches for myself. A lot of times it's not the hate-spouting that the media portrays.

He won't ever be John Paul 2, but he is our Pope. Instead of wanting someone we don't have, we should give him a chance and stop listening to the media reports. Go to the Vatican homepage and read his letters. Stop compairing him to John Paul 2. I think he'll turn out to be all right.

Answer 4

I think he's awesome.

Thank goodness we have a Pope who tells it like it is. He does not mince words, he is not out to win a popularity contest...he speaks the truth.

The truth is not what you read in the media's interpretation of the Pope's reaffirmation that the Catholic Church is the true Church. Please read what the Church really believes and what the Pope really said: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlsxG6RHyaN9DdZ00jSgx6Psy6IX?qid=20070711093441AAWbHIS&show=7#profile-info-Yv9uGtw7aa

This will help you not feel so unsure of him.

Also, please remember that Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was the Defender of the Faith. This is what he did. He is a great and well respected Catholic theologian...has been since the 1950s. He knows Catholicism and he knows other religions better then we can ever hope to know or understand. If you have ever read anything that he has written you would know that he is extremely intelligent and has great insight.

He is the right man for the job of Pope. He knows what he is supposed to do and he does it. Thanks be to God.

Answer 5

In regards to his "last statement", did he say something you didn't already know to be true as a Catholic? If so, then it's a good thing he spoke up. If not, then what is there to worry you?

For many of us who post here, JP II is the only Pope we really remember. So it only makes sense that we compare Benedict to JP. But this isn't fair in my opinion. He was a Pope like no other before him, or after him.

Benedict and JP II truly have similar hopes and desires for the Church, but they have different papal styles. There's nothing wrong with that. It will just take time to adjust.

What gives me great comfort is that I truly believe that Benedict is the man that God wanted for His Church.

In addition, I believe that JP II would have approved of Benedict 110%. That's good enough for me.

Answer 6

Just listen to yourselves....."too bent on tradition." People, the Catholic Church is a TRADITIONAL Church (well, the TRUE Church is, not the "psuedo-Catholicism" that is being pulled over the eyes of the world after V2). When someone says that he or she is not a traditional Catholic, that is like saying that they are not Catholic at all. Think about it, the "tripod" of the Church --- Scripture, Magesterium and TRADITION. Modernism has infiltrated the Church to the point that it has infected the human element so much that the people of the Church don't even know tradition and how the Church really works or what it even stands for anymore! Pope John Paul II did some good things, and I do respect him becasue he was pope and I respect the office, but he did a great amount of damage with his false ecumenical ideals as well. He made men bishops and cardinals that wouldn't even be allowed to step foot into a seminary in the first part of the last century. He refused to embrace tradition and layed over on many important facets of his duties. He didn't call the Jews or Muslims to conversion, in fact he kissed the Koran and embraced Islam. He buttered things up, just as Vatican II did, by making the new Catholic Church seem less "potent" than before by not speaking about the reality and the assurance of hell and that the Church is the only means of salvation.

Folks, we are living in an era of total moral degredation and to the point of apostosy. At least Pope Benedict XVI is starting to remember what the Church really is, by embracing our tradition and what we are really about. The Catholic Church is God's Church, and we should be the light of the world and should lead others to our Church always, and not butter things up and water them down. We need a staunch, traditional pope, and I hope and pray that our current pope will step up to the plate and lead the Church out of these times by bringing back tradition - i.e. the Latin Mass for starters. Don't allow the errors of modernism to persuade you in your beliefs. This is the tool of Satan, perhaps his biggest weapon against the people of God. Just study and see for yourself, see how the Communists and the Freemasons were and still are trying to infiltrate the Church - by persuading laity and clergy alike to their false ideals and attempting to crumble the Church from within. It has already been proven that Vatican II was infiltrated by Freemasons and Protestants, the new Mass (the Novus Ordo) was written by them - they watered down the Mass so that it would be "more acceptable" to the rest of the world's religions and seem less staunch and "potent." They destroyed the liturgy be removing prayers of conversion for the world's false religions, removing content about hell and the reality of it and by leaving out material that has to do with the Church being the only means of salvation, among many other things. The writings in the documents were written in such a way as to be easily misinterpreted, that is why the Church is in the state that it is in today.

It is a great time to be a Catholic, but a true Catholic. Gird yourselves with the truth so that you can resist the wiles of the devil, just as Ephesians 6:10-20 speaks of.

Answer 7

Pope Benedict XVl is just reasserting Catholic dogma. The Popes of old and the saints have always confirmed the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is the one and only true Church and there is no salvation outside the RC Church. He speaks the truth whether people think that is popular or not.

The Catholic Church has solemnly defined three times by infallible declarations that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation.
The most explicit and forceful of the three came from Pope Eugene IV, in the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441, who proclaimed ex cathedra: "The Most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, also Jews, heretics, and schismatics can ever be partakers of eternal life, but that they are to go into the eternal fire 'which was prepared for the devil and his angels' (Mt. 25:41) unless before death they are joined with Her... No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ can be saved unless they abide within the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church."
The other two infallible declarations are as follows: 'There is one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved.' Pope Innocent III, ex cathedra, (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215).
'We declare, say , define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.' Pope Boniface VIII, (Unam Sanctam, 1302).
This means, and has always meant, that salvation and unity exist only within the Catholic Church, and that members of heretical groups cannot be considered as "part" of the Church of Christ. This doctrine has been the consistent teaching of the Popes throughout the centuries.

St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop and Doctor of the Church: "No man can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One can have honor, one can have sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer amen, one can have faith in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic Church."

St. Fulgentius (468-533), Bishop: "Most firmly hold and never doubt that not only pagans, but also Jews, all heretics, and all schismatics who finish this life outside of the Catholic Church, will go into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604): "The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in Her and asserts that all who are outside of Her will not be saved."

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226): "All who have not believed that Jesus Christ was really the Son of God are doomed. Also, all who see the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and do not believe it is really the most holy Body and Blood of the Lord . . . these also are doomed!"

St. Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274), the Angelic Doctor: There is no entering into salvation outside the Catholic Church, just as in the time of the Flood there was not salvation outside the Ark, which denotes the Church."

St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716): "There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Anyone who resists this truth perishes."

Answer 8

Once again, the media distorts what he says. This is the same pope who also said that Christ's saving power can also be found in Protestant churches. What he was really getting at was the fact that Protestant churches do not have apostlic succession nor perform the Eucharist.

Answer 9

I think that Ben16 is exactly the Pope we need right now.

Have you read the text of the statement that was actually not his? Most of those condemning it have not read it but got misinformation from others.

Answer 10

I have the same gut feeling as you...have you seen his eyes? Do they tell a story of compassion and love? I don't think so.
I'm catholic to the bone, but i really don't know what to think about him. Anyways, he's the leader of the church here, not the temple we have in us, so i'll continue following what my conscience dictates and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.