The Cardinals obviously were not looking for a transformational figure when they selected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany to be the new pope ... (socially liberal American Catholics strike me as being a bit spoiled, not to mention completely unrealistic, in their shock and disappointment (Andrew Sullivan and company are fuming. The Pavoneys are giddy...) that the church refuses to flip it's entire doctrinal philosophy to meet the lifestyle needs of the modern, "cityfied" Catholic (or to bring that doctrine up for review -- perhaps the Episcopal Church works that way, but the Catholic Church doesn't -- and I emphasize that I am no longer a member...) As I said in an earlier post (which incidentally turned out to be wrong on Ratzinger being too creepy looking to make the cut), you go to church with the doctrine you have... And I'm not sure I buy the conventional wisdom that young Catholics will bemoan and bewail Ratzinger's elevation. Young Catholics are far more conservative than the MSM chooses to believe...)
Back on the subject of the new pope, there's been a bit of scuttle about why Ratzinger chose the name Benedict XVI. It might have something to do with the identity of the "prior Benedict," Benedict XV:
Highlights of "15":
... served a relatively brief term (1914-1922) after the death of the previous pope, Pius X...
...attempted to soothe German-French relations when he canonized Joan of Arc...
... staunchly opposed World War I, entreating all sides to sue for peace, and who called the war "The suicide of Europe"(he even issued a Papal peace proposal, which Woodrow Wilson turned down as "premature" -- he being the only one to respond)...
... emphasized the training of native priests in Third World countries, to quickly replace "outsider" European clerics and missionairies...
... waged an internal fight against "modernist scholars" within the church.
I think that sums it up pretty well. Get the full backgrounder here.
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%>
Tell a friend
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'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
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'put the webmaster address here
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sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
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sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
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%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
