I put Middle Earth Journal in hiatus in May of 2008 and moved to Newshoggers. I temporarily reopened Middle Earth Journal when Newshoggers shut it's doors but I was invited to Participate at The Moderate Voice so Middle Earth Journal is once again in hiatus.
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Pope
Anyone else sick and tired of hearing about the Pope?
— Ron Beasley (@ronbeas) February 11, 2013
Nah, this is interesting even to a non-Catholic, because it may set a precedent for future aging pontiffs. There have been very old Popes before, but old was kind of a relative term. We're in a situation now where modern medicine can keep someone alive for quite some time even if their physical state is very low, and that's a new situation. Benedict's provided a solution, in an "early" retirement, and I suspect there will be a lot of moral pressure on future Popes to retire when they feel their strength waning.
The next great question is what happens if a group of Cardinals feel a Pope is too old or too incapable of filling his office, and the incumbent disagrees. That could make some history too.
Well... He's got more followers than Obama and Elvis combined so I'd say it's justified.
ReplyDeleteNah, this is interesting even to a non-Catholic, because it may set a precedent for future aging pontiffs. There have been very old Popes before, but old was kind of a relative term. We're in a situation now where modern medicine can keep someone alive for quite some time even if their physical state is very low, and that's a new situation. Benedict's provided a solution, in an "early" retirement, and I suspect there will be a lot of moral pressure on future Popes to retire when they feel their strength waning.
ReplyDeleteThe next great question is what happens if a group of Cardinals feel a Pope is too old or too incapable of filling his office, and the incumbent disagrees. That could make some history too.