Dolan tried to screw around with the American election, American health care and American liberties. We are not going to be very friendly toward a Pope who tries to prevent Jewish women, Muslim women, Protestant women, Hindu women, etc. etc. from having appropriate medical care or having their doctors advise them and not their priest. He may garner initial enthusiasm from his bonhommie but he is probably going to eventually widen the gap between the US and the Vatican rather than narrowing it.

If there is to be an American Pope, the candidate I'd vote for is not yet elevated to Cardinal but is the Archbishop of San Antonio,TX, a Mexican born (and therefore carrying strong connections to the Latino community) US citizen, Gustavo Garcia-Siller.

You do realize it's been almost 500 years since a Pope kept his baptismal name? The current pope's birth name was not Benedict, and the previous two popes were not named John Paul at birth. The taking of a papal name is often done to pay homage to a mentor, predecessor, etc. (as in the case of John Paul) or to signal that the new pontiff wishes to imitate the style of a previous pope. So, I doubt we would see a "Pope Kevin" in the near future.

Just another group of rich white men, only in dresses.

Pope Skip I

Pope Josh I

Pope Jack I

Pope Dick I

Pope Andy I

"The power of Americans in the Vatican has grown significantly in the last few years."

Yea, once the kids started winning in court.

WallStFatCat: The Catholic Church is the bigest charitable organization in the whole world, according to an article in the New York Times.

Both sides of the coin are possible. No institution that big is entirely free of sonsofb*tches.

STUPID IDEA to have an American pope ... Pope Kevin I ... Pope Corey I .

So the biggest objection to an American Pope is that the title wouldn't sound right?

I guess an American Pope would be better at hiding pedophile priests, they have so much experience doing it here in the states. The Catholic Catholic Chruch is a den of iniquity, a haven for evil, perverted old men. It should be disbanded and all of it's holdings given away to the poor.

"U.S. clout at the Vatican"? To what end?

Perhaps a change in the eucharist: Get better crackers (maybe sesame seed toppings, or Cheez Nips) and a nice California-made Domaine Chandon to wash it down.

How about having some clout to stop the world's largest pedophile conspiracy, the secret billions hidden in the Vatican, the insane belief that some guy from Europe is an infallible representative of Jesus, the opposition to birth control, etc.? The Catholic Church is corrupt.

To all you idiots talking about names, the Pope never uses their own name. If they did Pope Benedict would be Pope Joseph.

Notre Dame will still lose the NC game. :-)

I thought it was Mary Mother Joseph?

Anyone would be better than this tired old, senile guy. He can barely hold his head. It's pathetic that a church would continue having this guy say some of the dumb things he does. Not many people, other than the catholicks, take him very seriously.

If we learned anything from the sixties it is the fact that the Pope smokes dope. That's why they are always swinging that incense around him.

Hello folks, I'll bet you this guy is the last pope?

Religion is just another method of controlling the masses all the while they steal your money and your children’s innocence. The sexual abuse that has been perpetrated by the Catholic Church on tens of thousands of innocent children is on a scale that lends itself so that even the casual observer has to wonder if it is an accepted ritual within the church. Many people come to the defense of the church stating that it is the celibate role that has lent itself to the wide spread abuse. If so, why are the majority of victims boys?

A study done by The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect found that even though only 25% of citizens in the U.S. are Roman Catholic, 54% of the sexual abuse cases were perpetrated by Catholic priests. The church has paid at least 2.6 billion to settle sexual abuse cases. In 2007 alone the Los Angeles Archdiocese on July 15 announced the largest church settlement of sexual abuse lawsuits to date, agreeing to pay more than 500 alleged victims a total of $660 million. The abuse continues and the wealthy Vatican is easily able to cover these claims. The Vatican even has insurance policies to cover these operating costs.

The minor victims of priest abuse are overwhelmingly boys and teenagers, which is
contrary to the pattern of abuse in the general population.

The problem is not just with the number of priests who molests young children, but in
a Vatican power structure which harbors and conceals pedophiles, hides other
sexual behavior patterns among its clerics and uses the strategies of duplicity
and counterattack against the victims.

Why is it that in most countries the Catholic Church doesn’t have to abide by the same laws that apply to other pedophiles and rapists? And why don’t Catholics see this atrocity as an integral part of their church?

Pedophile priests have molested innocent children in the Roman Catholic Church probably since the beginning of the church. These pedophiles have been protected and their horrendous crimes against children have gone unpunished. It is amazing to me that there are over a billion Catholics. I guess acceptance of pedophilia in the church is the cost of salvation!

Control is right and watch how fast the government tries to get in on it.

An American pope would be just like all other popes;

Rigid, Rule-bound, Right-wing-conservative.

John XXIII and The Second Vatican Council, as liberal as it gets, are both dead and gone.

The Latin Mass, rampant restrictions and regression are back to stay.

Agreed.

That is because you are so sure in your technology that you can not see the daily miracles that happen about you. The sad part is that one day in the future you will feel the loss of being thatnot having a religious belief brings and you will not understand all you have lost. I am a technocrat, but I belief there is a God and I belief he must have a great sense of humor.

Have you read the Bible? God's sense of humor parallels that of a rock.

AG99 - Showing your utter lack of comprehension of world politics I see.

Roger that. Please stop publicizing this dead mule. They are nothing but a bunch of sexual deviants with a medieval display of empty pageantry. There are very sound reasons that the catholic church is losing 100,000 members each year in the US.

joemike: Your reading comprehension could use a little work. I said "modern life," not "world politics." Explain how the Pope helps you balance your checkbook, buy a house, get a job (if you're not a priest), file taxes, and all the other things required for modern living. Never going to church again won't affect your ability to survive in this material world, never mind the near-worship of some old man in Rome.

AG99:

Actually, the Pope is ahead of his time in the so called "modern life." He's dressed in drag, talks in slang, ostentatious demonstration of wealth, wears the finest cut of cloth in haute couture , rides a special set of wheels, has his own entourage, and has a cult-following.

If the Dude could only rap!

Yep, John. We could list for a very long time all the things the Catholic church has brought to people and done for people...much of it inflicted. Seriously, do you really want to go there? I'll be polite and just leave it at that.

I don't want clout with the Vatican. In fact, I want it to be clear to the Pope and all the other clowns associated with the cult he leads that his influence is not welcome here.

Religion, all of it, is a falsehood that functions only on hope and fear - not facts or reason.

The time for all humanity to outgrow this security blanket of the mind has come.

Check your math - 75 million catholics in U.S. out of 1.1 billion worldwide equals 6.8% not 24%

There won't be a US pope in our lifetime. Besides, who gives a rip.

@ John-1111750

Ahh yes, because the church teach us everything for thousands of years like "the Earth is the center of the universe", "the Earth is flat". Oh wait, it took the church 1500 years after people travel so far out to finally say the Earth is not flat and almost 500 years later to tell people that the Earth is not the center of the universe.

Moral guidance? Like the crusade? The Witch Hunt? The heretic? The mere fact that speak against the church warrant the burning of the whole village or an entire country. I guess you missed out history class then.

As for food and other necessaries. I guess you missing all the burning and prosecution for thousands of years. Anything with science before are regard as witch craft or heretic and made example of for thousands of years.

Little history lesson would do you wonder. I guess you still think the church is helping people after they burned out, killed all those others and the only place that allowed the practice learning for thousands of years. One would wonder how far we would progress without the church in the first place.

The earth IS at the center of the universe with the entire universe rotating around the earth daily centered on the sun.

not one of the candidates for future pope have clean hands in the child sexual abuse rampant in the priesthood. they were either active participants or silent witnesses to the shame of the priesthood. no human being should be considered ''gods representative'' or spokesman on earth. it's as laughable as the latter day saints prophet. the pope is considered by the catholic church as infallible in matters of faith and morals. the papal recent past is not much of a record to run on for this accolade.

pope, yawn, who cares it is 2012, they are not relevant, they are flatlanders godspeed to all

Yeah, the Pope has little clout in the world. Catholics are just one sixth of the world's population and one out of every three Christians is a Catholic. It is also the largest single religion in the world (yes, I know Islam is slighlty larger than Catholicism but then again, Islam, like Christianity is split into factions. If "all" Moslems" are lumped together as being "one", then all Christians need to be counted the same way and we know that is not the "right" way to view the numbers. Thus, Catholicism is still the world's single largest religion.

So, like it or not, all you haters, the Church is still a BIG deal and does have lots of clout. No other organization in existence has lasted as long as the Catholic Church: 2000 years.

CuongDNguyen:

You have assumed the Church as been static during its entire existence. Not so. The Modern Catholic Church resembles little of the one founded by fisherman Peter. Under the leadership of Peter, earliest churches followed Christ's teachings of peace and love-your-fellow man, and these modest Church served as a sanctuary against the the constant mini-wars between city-states. As the focal point of the community, the gatherings at the Church provided a respite from the unknown and a helping-hand during difficult times when a bad harvest meant starvation.

In time, some of these earliest Churches began to deviate from the teaching of Christ. The pessimists among them headed toward the hills, to await the His second coming as the world self destructs. The populists among them formed churches that adopted pagan rituals to appease illiterate followers. Still other churches differentiated themselves according to wealth and social status of their congregation.

As the Church organization grew in size, number, and power, the weakness of men corrupted the Church and the power of the Church corrupted men. The elders of the Church, who are charged by Christ to tend and feed the lambs, became hungry wolves disguise as shepards who prey upon the weak. In time the corrupted elders built Churches not to glorify God, but extoll their own ego. The simple directive of Christ, to love one another, became convoluted, distorted, and excepted. Tithes and offerings collected in the name of Christ were diverted not to the feeding of the multitude, but to conspicuous consumption.

As the Church building became more ornate, elaborate, and complex, so grew in parallel the church organizational structure. To sustain, perpetuate, and propagate the massive bureaucratic system of the Church, the Men of the Cloth devolved into organized crime, selling forgiveness and dispensation, the promise of a piece of heaven in return for remuneration, and the waging of wars slaughtering his fellow man in the name of Christ.

As the darkness of the Modern Church cast upon the masses, it is not surprising so many in the flock has lost their ways, unable to differentiate between lies, hate, and immorality, expropriating for themselves self-serving prejudices and propaganda.

It depends on the timing of course, but it seems obvious to me that when President Obama is done being President in 2016 he's going to neeed something to do. If the Pope job is open then he could be the first AMerican Pope and the first black Pope. It's such a perfect solution I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it!

AG99, by your definition the Pope is about as useless as the President of the United States. Can remember when the president last helped me balance my checkbook or buy a house or get a job.

WallStFatCat

Do you want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn?

WallStFatCat,

You certainly have one view of the Catholic Church and it is not without its valid points. Another view is that the Church I attend feeds thousands of poor and homeless people everyday, educates children, cares for the sick and dying and reminds us that belief is something larger than ourselves keeps us grounded in humility. I cannot recall a single sermon in which the priests in my church(es) have preached hatred or intolerance toward any person.

We need to remember that just because people who are Catholics do, say and believe hurtful things; that does not mean that is what the Church believes, teaches or advocates.

Purnell, While it sounds as though you are being sarcastic I would point out that we do require that our popes be a member of the club (that would be Catholic). And while we would welcome the President to our faith, it would be a mandatory first step. Also, he would be a little late, there have already been 3 black popes (Victor I, St. Militiades and St. Gelacius).

Hello folks, I was brought up Roman Catholic until I got educated and could discard the controlling propaganda that is the Vatican and church. The purpose of the church isn't for spiritual salvation, it's for greed, power and lust.

Religion is just another method of controlling the masses all the while they steal your money and your children’s innocence. The sexual abuse that has been perpetrated by the Catholic Church on tens of thousands of innocent children is on a scale that lends itself so that even the casual observer has to wonder if it is an accepted ritual within the church. Many people come to the defense of the church stating that it is the celibate role that has lent itself to the wide spread abuse. If so, why are the majority of victims boys?

A study done by The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect found that even though only 25% of citizens in the U.S. are Roman Catholic, 54% of the sexual abuse cases were perpetrated by Catholic priests. The church has paid at least 2.6 billion to settle sexual abuse cases. In 2007 alone the Los Angeles Archdiocese on July 15 announced the largest church settlement of sexual abuse lawsuits to date, agreeing to pay more than 500 alleged victims a total of $660 million. The abuse continues and the wealthy Vatican is easily able to cover these claims. The Vatican even has insurance policies to cover these operating costs.

The minor victims of priest abuse are overwhelmingly boys and teenagers, which is
contrary to the pattern of abuse in the general population.

The problem is not just with the number of priests who molests young children, but in
a Vatican power structure which harbors and conceals pedophiles, hides other
sexual behavior patterns among its clerics and uses the strategies of duplicity
and counterattack against the victims.

Why is it that in most countries the Catholic Church doesn’t have to abide by the same laws that apply to other pedophiles and rapists? And why don’t Catholics see this atrocity as an integral part of their church?

Pedophile priests have molested innocent children in the Roman Catholic Church probably since the beginning of the church. These pedophiles have been protected and their horrendous crimes against children have gone unpunished. It is amazing to me that there are over a billion Catholics. I guess acceptance of pedophilia in the church is the cost of salvation!

TrustVerify, I couldn't agree with you more. I too was brought up Catholic, went to Catholic schools and abused and beaten by Catholic Nons. I won't fault all Priests, or for that matter, Nons, but there is no way I would ever allow my children to attend a Catholic school.

I have many other issues with the Catholic Church, too many to go into in this post. I'll just say this. I am totally against any and all religions and if you are someone who preaches that nonsense, I have a suggestion for you.... Get down on your knees each and every night and pray that there is no such thing as a God, cause if there is, YOU are definitely going to HELL.

My what a spry youthful group in that picture - Depends Nation.

Defend the faith, even if it means shedding your own blood...haaaaa! Jews and Catholics expect the poor to fight for them (the Catholics expect non Catholics to come play football for them too).

Who left the barn door open that let Catholics into the USA - oh, that's right, they killed their way, I mean migrated their way up from Central America.

One poster wants to lump all Christians into one group to claim they are the largest religion - hell, even the Catholic church is divided. A Catholic in Mexico isn't anything like a Catholic in Minnesota, Mexican Catholics are half Pagan, very superstitious.

I've had the displeasure of having to attend a few Catholic functions lately - what a bunch of snobs.

WallStFatCat

That was a good one!

The Vatican runs a world wide franchise business that comes with a license to beg, tax free and, evidently, more authority than our justice system. The Church is led by an old fart that wears a dress, a pointed hat or a beanie, designer shoes and is about as non-christian as one can get.

It may take centuries but eventually, the trillions of dollars they control in cash and hefty valuables will have to be sold off and then do as Jesus said, give it away to the sick and needy.

I spent two years in a Catholic boarding school and have seen things that would make your skin crawl. Not even my own parents would believe me when I told them and so they left us there. My brother and I finally had to destroy school property so we could get kicked out and live a normal life.

Mr. AG99 -

The Catholic Church is currently very relevant to more than a billion good people.

Mario: How do you know they're good? Or a bettter question, How do you know which ones are good?

Denigrating the church using comments such as a bunch of pedophiles should and does discredit a person's comment. Has the church failed over the centuries at times? Yes. Every human has, every religion has as well.

One thing I enjoy noting is that while the Church has always had its detractors, the detractors have died and the Church has remained. People continuously convert to the Church in every generation. The ideas that many people believe have only sprouted within the last two centuries, and in many cases, recent generations. The media loves to guess the next Pope. In 2004, the media predicted Cardinal Francis Arinze as the likely candidate. Nobody foresaw Pope Benedict XVI's election.

Pope Benedict has done an admirable job following in the footsteps of easily one of the top 5 greatest Popes: Blessed Pope John Paul II the Great. He has stood strong against the Church's attackers using a steady dose of Faith and Reason. The Church has unpopular stances among liberals, yet the Church, outside of Abortion and Gay Marriage, is very, very liberal. I will be quick to note that the Church belongs to no specific political party.

The Church will stay strong in future generations, like it or not...

joemike404:

There's always exceptions.

Under stressful times, preachers will sermonize hate: During WWI, their pulprits pray to God for helping "us kill the Germans/Prussians..."

The next pope should be Latin American. That's probably the only place in the world that the church still has long term relevancy.

But you'd also have to [purportedly] never have had sex.

Not true. You can be married. Included in the Catholic Church, there are 12 different churches. Some of these churches or rites allow priests to marry.

Not only that Rick but the official rule is that any male Catholic in good standing in the Church can become Pope. You do not even have to be a priest, bishop, cardinal, etc to be elected. The actual chances of anyone other than a Cardinal from the Roman Curia being selected howerver are pretty slim.

oh........isn't that exciting.........to a rock!!!

They can have sex, just not with women. A Catholic priest can screw all the little boys he wants.

deprogrammer,

Just as can with every other organization in the world...including churches.

Speaking of pedophiles...I think deprogrammer is referring to our wonderful teachers and professors of the education system, public AND private.

Beth, I'm with your on the progressive issue -- no clergy from America with any interest in bringing the Church into reality will ever reach a position of power. The best chance we have at any change would be for us to split from the Vatican, but I don't see that happening either.

However, a "theocracy?" Not following you there. Never seen an attempt by a Catholic to take over the government or rule the US as a theocracy. Guess we blew that chance with JFK.

Amy .. my "theocracy" comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I was referring to the attempts of various religions (not just Catholics) to legislate morality.

Amy - the Church of England split from the Catholic church - but they are really still just Catholics. Catholics only split when there is a financial reward They were Wall Street before Wall Street was Wall Street.

Imagine what the world would be like if countries hadn't formed bigger and better armies than the Catholics, Muslims, and Jews?

The 'spin' has always been there no matter the religious text and even with other texts such as the Constitution. But then the word of man is always such and the bible is the word of ...

It's been 4 years since I touched Bible, I still remember that it said "there will be fake saint/idol who will try to fool the mass or something like that".

Seem we all know where those will come from, using God's name and try to be fake saint and such.

And you are the realization of the man of paranoia. Spending time in the apocalyptic texts (Daniel and Revelation) has had a bad effect on your mind. Get help.

It's concerning the Pope would try and put his own spin on the words of God. This Pope is probably the precursor to the man of lawlessness

Down through time--every Pope is that Pope, even when there were two or three popes at the same time.

It's called pope-pouri

vx/David Soares,

Or not.

I think that is a lot of Catholic propoganda i.e. the 75 mil figure...........you know how they like to impress the public with numbers....

I think that must include the Catholics who were once baptized and never go to church or pick up one of those rosaries..lol. I was baptized as a child and went to Catholic school for several years, but haven't been Catholic for a very long time. They probably count everyone who went to a church at some point.

And contributors, too. Collection plates are very loud in the US.

75 million is NOT 24% of 1.1 billion Catholics. Doesn't anyone fact check any more?

ram

You mean just like every other church? Like that?

The writer is comparing countries to the worlds catholics...75 million catholics in the USA is 24% of the USA population.

Should have been better written though.

Idiot, NBS would never have a republican writer. The fact is also there are more pedophiles in other religions that are not Catholics. That is another problem in this country, too much believing in the media.

More often than not you will be damned if you do follow them.

Yep. Sort of like Sports Teams. With 192 of them with different logos or Gods ALL spewing they are the best to follow or join. This is the way to the championship only or this is the only way to Heaven or get your 72 Virgins. Since they ALL can not be right and they ALL can be possibly wrong you can see the point. Well maybe not. You as being folks (not personnel). Words written in a book by Humans does not mean it's true. Facts are Golden and fables are Fairy Tales.

Yes, and religion would be much better off without the churches or its leaders.

fawltybean,

Dolan lives in the first century? Just like Jesus? Wow. Good company to be in.

Best reply yet! I'm with you, Bro!

Over 80% of Catholic women use artificial birth control. A friend who is a priest said that he dreaded women confessing birth control to him because, as he put it, it's none of his business as long as their not over 35 and smoking cigarettes.

Leslie, it's 6 of 9 of the Supremes, but your point is still interesting. Other religions are given media attention, but not all of them has a CEO like the Catholics do. There is no Jewish pope, nor Muslim either, though we often hear about the Tibetan Buddhist Dalai Lama. There also was a recent story about the little boy who helped pick the new Coptic pope.

Oops, thanks for the correction. Just shows I can't add 5+4 on a Friday afternoon.