Pope thread.......why so dang elderly?

People get very rigid as they age...they forget whet it's like to be young, they turn hard and get senile. This man had a stroke a few years back even.....why does the pope have to be so old? It can't be for nay type of wisdom.....being elderly does not equate to wisdom....it is more likely to equate with senility.

Politics and Power...plain and simple. A young Pope could build a dynasty. It took the Roman Catholic Church a few "younger" past Popes to figure that one out.

Well do to the fact that the last pope last so long, this one is going to be a transitional pope so that is why he is so old.

Sad but true.

[edit on 20-4-2005 by marg6043]

Normally when they choose a Pope of this age, LadyV, its because the Pope is seen as a "transitional" Pope.



seekerof

I don't trust this new pope. He has a suspicous look about him... I cannot pin anything particularly sinister about him. What was this thing about him being part of the inquisition? Sorry but I know little about faith in general(even though my family is Catholic-lite I never payed attn lol.)

So anyone care to guess as to how much of a peace activist this new pope will be? That is really the only issue I can get behind the Vatican these days all other issues(or most) I disagree with.

[edit on 20-4-2005 by sardion2000]

(posted by Sardion2000)
What was this thing about him being part of the inquisition?

He was the Prefect for the Holy Congregation of the Faith, which used to be the dreaded Holy Office of the Inquisition & is, like its predecessor, the watchdog organization whose task it is to weed out all undesirable ideas that may taint Church doctrine. That's why he's called Torquemada by some people behind his back. Some are even nastier & call him the Panzercardinal, an allusion to the fact that he used to be a member of the Hitler Youths in Munich & was recruited there by the Antiaircraft Auxiliary Services (when there was no choice, of course).
*

Just because a man is "elderly" does not mean that he is senile. Men like the new (nee Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) are scholars, philosophers...thinkers. Their minds are honed much like a chess master. As for rigidity, well keep in mind that the Pope is not free to simply make pronouncements. For example, when a previous pope has made statements that are pronounced as being "infallable", this sort of locks subsequent popes into a line of reasoning that is is...UNCHANGEABLE. It's simply the way things are and the way things MUST be accepted. When the new pope will refuse to change his stance on Abortion or Birth Control, he is not being incalcitrant or rigid. He is simply adhering to the tenants of his faith. The faith that has been established and defined. Keep in mind that, for the most part, the Catholic Church is NOT A DEMOCRACY, if it were, we could simply vote on which of the ten commandments to change, abolish or even amend. If someone doesn't want to agree with a religion's tenants, one does not have to remain in that religion. On the other hand, a pope ....a defender of the faith....certainly must adhere to his chosen fiath. it's as simple as that. And by assuming that Ratzinger is anything like a grand inquisitor or the middle ages is simply ignorant....physical torture has been abolished,j obviously. I don't think Ratzinger drew or quartered a single priest who has been presented for review or excommunication for heretical beliefs or teachings.