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What the heck is a cardinal, anyway?
Southern Fried Catholicism ^ | 12/12/2012 | Brad Noel

Posted on 01/12/2012 6:54:51 AM PST by DogwoodSouth

Apart from the newly-crowned national football champions (Go SEC!), there's been another tide of crimson on the horizon in the news:

Earlier this week, Pope Benedict announced a consistory in which he will raise 22 prelates to the Sacred College of Cardinals. Among the newly named cardinals are two Americans: Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop of New York and Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, the former archbishop of Baltimore and the current Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

I was gonna post that news and leave it at that. But it occurred to me that for most of us, that one paragraph is packed with lots of terms that could use unraveling and defining. In fact this one news item is replete with enough high technical Catholic speak to make a layperson’s head spin… not to mention what it must do to our gracious non-Catholic readers. So let’s play an educational game that I like to call, “What the heck does all of that mean?!?”

(Excerpt) Read more at southernfriedcatholicism.com ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Evangelical Christian; Orthodox Christian; Other Christian
KEYWORDS: cardinal; catholic; consistory; pope

1 posted on 01/12/2012 6:54:55 AM PST by DogwoodSouth
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To: DogwoodSouth

Good article. Thanks for posting.


2 posted on 01/12/2012 6:59:21 AM PST by paterfamilias
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To: DogwoodSouth

The state bird of Virginia and, I think, Kentucky?


3 posted on 01/12/2012 7:07:03 AM PST by WayneS (Comments now include 25% MORE sarcasm for no additional charge...)
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To: WayneS

Football team from Arizona.


4 posted on 01/12/2012 7:19:53 AM PST by SkyDancer ("If You Want To Learn To Love Better, You Should Start With A Friend Who You Hate")
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To: WayneS

Cardinal - Illinois
Cardinal - Indiana
Cardinal - Kentucky
Cardinal - North Carolina
Cardinal - Ohio
Cardinal - Virginia
Cardinal - West Virginia


5 posted on 01/12/2012 7:19:57 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: SkyDancer
Football team from Arizona.

Baseball team from St Louis, or Stanford's football team.

6 posted on 01/12/2012 7:21:35 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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To: Dr. Bogus Pachysandra

Popular bird, the cardinal.


7 posted on 01/12/2012 7:24:10 AM PST by WayneS (Comments now include 25% MORE sarcasm for no additional charge...)
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To: dfwgator

I should have seen these responses coming - the title of the post virtually begs for it, ha ha.


8 posted on 01/12/2012 7:24:24 AM PST by DogwoodSouth
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To: dfwgator

...and let’s not forget Louisville.


9 posted on 01/12/2012 7:24:58 AM PST by WayneS (Comments now include 25% MORE sarcasm for no additional charge...)
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To: DogwoodSouth; verga; thesaleboat; Sick of Lefties; Chainmail; StrongandPround; lilyramone; ...
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Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.


10 posted on 01/12/2012 7:28:33 AM PST by narses
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To: WayneS

The bird cardinal derives its name from its red plumage, which reminded some folks of the red vestments worn by certain Catholic clergy.


11 posted on 01/12/2012 7:29:40 AM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: ArrogantBustard

Title should have specified: “not the sports or feathered ones”.

Seriously, though, I think a lot of people simply don’t know what role Cardinals play in the Church. Even many Catholics try to fit them into the hierarchy of Sacred Orders (”deacon, priest, bishop...cardinal?”).

As the article points out, their role is really more bureaucratic and advisory than anything else. It’s a shame that they aren’t given their symbolic “galleros” any longer - just a red biretta. Always hate to see long-standing traditions tossed aside for seemingly no reason.


12 posted on 01/12/2012 7:34:39 AM PST by DogwoodSouth
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To: WayneS

Cardinal-7 states
Western Meadowlark-6 states
Cardinal most popular. But here in Ohio, we really should change our state bird to the lovely Turkey Buzzard! Google a pic, but not after eating!


13 posted on 01/12/2012 7:53:22 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: Dr. Bogus Pachysandra
Ah, yes, the turkey buzzard. I am quite familiar with these vile and rancid beasts. We have more than enough of them here in Virginia, and I sincerely wish there was a hunting season on them.

As it happens, I have a (possibly) interesting, but definitely disgusting, first-hand account of a close encounter with one of the creatures, which I am willing to share with you (whether you want me to or not):

About five years ago while I was riding a dual-sport motorcycle on one of my favorite dirt County roads, one member of a group of turkey buzzards which were perched on an overhanging tree branch dropped towards the ground to feed on a road-kill possum. As luck would have it, he did this just as I was drawing near the deceased animal at a speed of approximately 60 mph.

I pretty much 'center-punched' the buzzard with the headlight assembly on my DR650. It slid over the top of the headlight assembly and came over the handlebars, simultaneously breaking off the right-side mirror and splitting open the bird. It then hit me in the upper body hard enough that it dislocated my right shoulder. I came VERY close to crashing the bike, but was able to bring it to a safe stop.

Fortunately, the buzzard was killed - but it made an awful mess all over my bike, my helmet, my gloves and my riding jacket. After spending a few minutes jumping around beside the road yelling ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, I managed to 'reassemble' my shoulder, and was even able to clean things up a bit using some dried leaves retrieved from the roadside ditch.

As I pulled away from the scene to begin my slow(er) and painful ride towards home, I could not help noticing, in my one remaining mirror, that the buzzard's former compatriots were already eying his carcass with a certain eagerness of purpose.

14 posted on 01/12/2012 8:44:34 AM PST by WayneS (Comments now include 25% MORE sarcasm for no additional charge...)
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To: WayneS

Your story clearly shows why the Turkey Buzzard simply must become the Ohio State Bird! Perfect match up! Don’t know why they remind me of Dennis the Menace Kookcinich?????


15 posted on 01/12/2012 8:51:05 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: DogwoodSouth

Someone said that the “ Floor of hell is covered with the bones of Cardinals”.


16 posted on 01/13/2012 3:41:57 AM PST by Yorlik803 (better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
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To: DogwoodSouth

The cardinals elect the pope.


17 posted on 01/13/2012 4:03:55 AM PST by kearnyirish2
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