I'm not a religious man at all. Pope John has been an inspiration to so many people all over the world. We are on the verge of losing this great man. Whoever you are and whatever you believe, this man stands for good. Those of you who fail to show respect, merely display your ignorance. I'm sure he forgives you as well.

What's that supposed to mean? Respect grants knowledge and insight? Or are you not familiar with the term "There are two sides to every story?"

No one here, truly, is completely disparaging the pope as a man. As a figurehead for the institution that is the Vatican, however, different and more intense scrutiny should apply.

{rant mode}
As a catholic, I have to say that I am offended by the lack of respect for the pope (bat-phone?). Yes I can't say that I agree with all his policies, most namely his stand on birth control. But at the same time you have to give some respect to the religious leader of 1/6th of the worlds population, and a leader who has advocated for human rights in all it's forms, even when he was in the places that were the worst offenders.

He has lived a life of nonsecularism that has been an inspiration to millions and here at the end of his long life, is the time that he should receive the respect and reverence that 27 years of papal work should bring.

{/rant mode}

Anyone up for a pool on when they're going to start playing white smoke/black smoke? I give him to the end of next week. Better yet, how about a pool on his sucessor? I only personally know a single cardinal (Roger Mahoney) so I'm ill equipped to lay out the odds.

Funny how people will demand respect for the pope, yet dis Muslim religious leaders as raghead wackos.

I am an athee but there are 2 religious leaders that I respect for their peaceful view of the world, the Pope and the Dalai Lama.

Sadly we are about to lose one of them.

Comparing "raghead whackos" to the pope? Smells the same as comparing Bush to Hitler. I think the pope defenders were appalled at the demeaning statements "bat phone". I do not think any of them are demanding anyone to "respect" the pope, just don't make light of him (especially while he is on his death bed!).

I still don't get why some posters have such obvious pure hatred for anything Christian. They wage a perpetual attack (via their posts), but no one had better mention any of Islam's problems. The hypocrisy puzzles me.

And, I find making fun of anyone on their death bed to be sickening.

- Skip

Thom, Thom, Thom...you're such a silly! :)

Don't you know anything, you crazy kid? The only Muslim leaders considered "raghead whackos" are the same ones who support killing. Surely you knew that and are just here to stir the pot, right???? ;)

I'm not a catholic, nor do I play one on TV, but I really don't recall the Pope calling for the death of anyone. Not even Mehmet Ali Agca, who I believe may have BEEN a muslim.

Randy

dd, I like you and you know that so don't take this personally. Folks who think the Pope should endorse birth control just don't get it. His job is not to save peoples' lives, but rather their souls. This is a really complex subject and I'll not dive deeply into the theological implications, but just tell you guys that if youy're looking to the Pope to condone birth control, then you're looking at the wrong guy. This is not his job. And whoever's job it is, is going to fail anyway. It's not a question of whether we're going to die, it's a question of when. And neither of those two questions are relevant to the Pope. His question is what happens AT death. Here's another clue: If abortions are legal, the libs are happy. If they are illegal the cons are happy. If they become unnecessary then God and the Pope will be happy. Hope you guys can begin to grok this.

I'm not personally offended or angry with the bat phone remarks and other ignorant remarks and unkind, hate-centered remarks. But there is no doubt this man has earned a GREAT deal more respect than that, and it is satisfying to see even non-Christian posters here who do understand that. This has been one of the finest Popes of all time.

I don't know any of the potential candidates but I'm sure the list of frontrunners was kept updated and I'd guess the key questions the popemakers asked themselves when picking their current candidates was a short reign or a long one, a conservative or radical, a theologian or a diplomat. My guess, because of the time JPll has been pope, would be a conservative caretaker who is on in years for a short reign with no change.

The italian press is reporting his death.

Italian TV reports he is fading. Electroencephalogram (ecg?) not flat. Cardinals already flying in from all over the world.

NO NO NO ....I'm a Demigod...the Pope is just a man...a servant of God....

What people here in America don't realize is how instrumental Pope Paul was in bringing down Communism....far more than the American Icon Ronald Reagan...

1. If you recall it was the Solidarity Movement in POLAND that was the breech in the dike of the Soviet Union....and where is the Pope from?????HUH! The shadow government in Poland has always been the Catholic church...Poland was the only Soviet Bloc country that didn't have collectivization of farms...

2. The Bulgarian Secret Service at the behest of the KGB tried to assinate him in 1981....what other Pope had the KGB ever tried to get rid of....

Nop Pope paul did a lot of GOOD in the world...even if he was conservative in nature and didn't do well with the churchs dirty laundry...

Just to show my ignorance :), what is the hierarchy? Priest, Archbishop, Cardinal? Which would be next in line?

In theory any male catholic could be elected, in practice the conclave of eligible cardinals (some cardinals are ineligible to vote because of their age) will propose and ballot to elect from amongst their number. However, the real popemakers/powerbrokers maintain a shortlist of potential candidates - the "Papabili" (potential candidates for the post).

Cardinals are highest. They're the ones wearing the cardinal red robes. There are very few of them, very very few in America. Popes are nearly always chosen from European cardinals. Actually, they are almost always Italian. A Polish Pope is a very different thing. See how the Church is loosening up? (joke)