Yes there was a German elected Pope and I think he will be much like Pope John Paul II.I can imagaine that the liberals aren't very happy, this man is a conservative and he is disgusted with all things evil like abortion,same sex marriage,etc.
Posted on 04/19/2005 10:14:45 AM PDT by Kanardly
With John Paul II’s death, speculation over his successor grows. Could Joseph Ratzinger be a coming German pope?
Pope John Paul recent death has fueled speculation on who will be his successor. Although, officially, the Vatican cannot comment on the matter, insiders and observers are naming the major contenders.
The Trumpet has pointed out many times over recent years that the pope to replace John Paul ii will be an arch-conservative and almost certainly the man to bring to fruition some of the most dreadful of end-time biblical prophecies.
Our June 2002 issue stated of the next pope: Right wing he shall be, doctrinaire will be his mindset. Relating how the present pope has increased the political power and diplomatic influence of the Vatican on the world scene as witnessed by the Vatican hand in the fall of the Communist ussr and more recently the break-up of Yugoslavia the Trumpet declared, The next pope will enforce the spiritual power of the church!
There is one powerful man within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy who has the perfect credentials. It just so happens that he appears to be one of the primary contenders for the job: the ultra-conservative German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The Trumpet has often referred to the powerful position Ratzinger has held for the past 24 years. As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the infamous Inquisition, he holds the most influential position in the Catholic Church under John Paul. The department he controls oversees moral and theological issues and is responsible for enforcing church doctrine or fighting heresy, just like the old Inquisition.
Ratzinger has worked closely with John Paul for over 20 years to actively remove liberal elements from the church and to re-establish Vatican authority. From the very beginning of his pontificate John Paul ii decided to systematically crush dissent by Catholic theologians and to marginalize critics so they would no longer stir up unwanted discussion within the church. With the appointment of Joseph Ratzinger as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in November 1981, it became clear that this was official policy (Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi, His Holiness).
In support of this policy, many cardinals who demonstrated liberal tendencies on doctrine were removed. The leadership of the Catholic Church in Latin America, for example, was basically replaced with men who toed the Vatican party line. Similarly, Australian bishops were carpeted in the 1990s for allowing a church culture that was seen as too egalitarian and open to secular influences (Australian, February 28). A cardinal hand-chosen by Rome was sent down under to pull Sydney into line. The pope also appointed conservatives to run liberal churches in numerous other countries such as India, Austria, Argentina, the Netherlands, Canada and Brazil (ibid.).
The appointment of right-wing traditionalists was not only to ensure conformity to church doctrine and loyalty to Rome, but also to guarantee the election of a similarly minded pope after John Paul has passed from the scene. Of the 119 cardinals who currently have a vote on who his successor will be, John Paul has personally appointed all but three. By stacking the deck with like-minded cardinals, the pope has ensured that his successor will be a right-winger who shares his conservative theology and morality. The Australian reports that, at most, only 30 of the 119 might be considered liberals (ibid.); the number is probably much smaller than this. Regardless, with just a two-thirds majority needed to elect the new pope, he will be a conservative. Not only that, but John Paul instituted a fail-safe plan: He changed the rules so that if there is any disagreement on a candidate, the new pope can be elected by a simple majority.
Eberhard von Gemmingen, director of the German-language arm of Radio Vatican, believes that Ratzinger is one of the most promising candidates. In the conclave [the electoral body of cardinals who will elect the next pope], he said, he could very well receive a majority of votes during the first round of voting (Der Spiegel, February 14). Ratzinger is popular and highly respected among cardinals from various parts of the world.
To his detractors, Ratzinger is rigid and doctrinaire: to his admirers his firm hand guides the church along true conservative lines (United Press International, February 25). Ratzinger candidacy for the papacy is said to have wide support in the church (ibid.).
In recent years he has toned down his hard-line image by being more reserved in public and has even at times issued liberal statements to soften his persona. There was a stigma, said one Vatican insider of Ratzinger. He rises above that now (Time, January 10).
Some church officials have thought that Ratzinger, 78 this April, is too old to be pope material. This however, could actually be one of his biggest advantages, according to Deutsche Welle (February 10). With the uncharacteristically long reign of the current pope, some in the church believe a transitional pope would be a good thing. Thus Ratzinger has the potential of pleasing both the conservatives, by virtue of his uncompromising commitment to hard and fast Catholic dogma, and those who oppose him, by the consolation that he could not remain as long in the post as his predecessor. It seems Ratzinger himself is using this fact to his advantage, saying if he were to become pontiff, he would be prepared to give up the job after a few years (ibid.).
In February, the bbc reported that the destiny of Europe is preoccupying the Vatican. Cardinals have complained of an anti-Catholic inquisition from a liberal element within the EU (February 11). With a mood like this, high-ranking Catholic clergy may see Ratzinger as just the man to solve the problem. Referring to the decline of Catholic practice in Western Europe, the March 5 Spectator pointed out that Ratzinger who has been forthright and fearless in confronting secularism and defending the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church sees clearly what is at stake. As a Vatican official told Time, The Ratzinger solution is definitely on (op. cit.).
Certainly, the coming pope will be one for whom the destiny of Europe will be of prime concern. Seven resurrections of the war-mongering Holy Roman Empire are prophesied to occur in chapters 13 and 17 of Revelation. Six of these resurrections have already occurred. (Read about these in our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, which is free upon request.) The reason the identity of the next pope is of particular interest is that this man is likely to be one of the two most powerful leaders of the seventh resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire an empire that will thrust the world into World War iii! As editor in chief Gerald Flurry has stated, Over the past 1,500 years there have been six resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire. Most of the time this empire revolved around Germany and the Vatican, along with Italy (June 2000). The seventh resurrection, which is now in the making, will once again revolve around Germany and the Vatican. And a German pope may be just the man to bring the two together. Watch Joseph Ratzinger.
Selecting a new pope;
I was imagining that all the cardinals get in this room and each one gets $1000 in chips... then a huge game of Texas Hold'em takes place.
Think about it. God can make sure the right guy gets the hands he needs to win, eh?
Seems like Leno could do something with that.
Thanks for posting this...interesting
Which wacko cult publishes the Trumpet? I forget.
A German Pope...seems like a good idea.
Maybe those 5 million unemployed Germans would be inspired to find God rather than critize U.S. foreign policy for all their ills.
"How many winds of doctrine we have known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking... The small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and so forth. Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (cf Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and "swept along by every wind of teaching", looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."
Did anyone see how thrilled the group of American priests was at the cardinals' choice? That says much, I think.
Benedict - "The Glory of the Olives"
Yes there was a German elected Pope and I think he will be much like Pope John Paul II.I can imagaine that the liberals aren't very happy, this man is a conservative and he is disgusted with all things evil like abortion,same sex marriage,etc.
It's a good idea to ignore cult nonsense.
Joseph Ratzinger, a "German" "Conservative" pope. I wounder how he would influence politics of the US?
Nobody expects the Prefect of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith!!
I really like Ratzinger and know that he will continue to support John Paul II's culture of life. I think he will do an excellent job as Pontiff, as he has in all his other endeavors his entire life.
That being said, I hope that the next Pope is from Latin America. As the new "base" of the world's Catholic community, it would do much good to have a Pope from the region.
Furthermore, with the revival of Castro’s communist drivel in the region by Hugo Chavez, and all the risks that are posed by him and his plans for a “Bolivarian revolution,” we need a Pope who will continue to combat the evils of communism and socialism, having seen the adverse effects and externalities first hand.
For this reason, I feel that Cuba’s Ortega would make an excellent choice for the next Pontiff, as he has been battling Castro for years…
That being said, perhaps a German Pope can help affect a positive change in Europe, where religion (among other things) is utterly failing among native Europeans. This is dangerous, as at the same time the lack of religion and traditional values has contributed to the destruction of nuclear families and atrocious birth rates.
Europeans who have abandoned traditionalist values, the church, and marriage, and who have turned rather towards the culture of death, which is represented by sexual promiscuity, drugs, abortion, and the hedonistic pursuit of instant and self gratification, have managed to sink their birth rates to such an abysmally low level that their cultures (and numerical superiority) is being overtaken by the influx of immigrants, who do not assimilate into German culture.
As these immigrants, mainly Muslims from Turkey, come into Germany and have HUGE birthrates, the entire future of a Christian western Europe swings in the balance, so perhaps a German Pope is just what we need for the time being.
OK, so about those other 15 Glories of Olives that came first?
De Gloria Olivae/From the Glory of the Olives: The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil.
The Commerce Department is probably trying to sell him some F-16's as we speak. ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.