Cardinal Peter Turkson, one of the favorites to be new pope.

[cleanhippie]

Vatican tries to create distance from row over Muslim Demographics video

The Vatican has distanced itself from a row over Muslim immigrants in Europe triggered by the showing at a synod of a video that claims "Europe as we know it will cease to exist."

Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Vatican's council for justice and peace – and seen as a possible future pope – played the disputed video in a discussion period on Saturday during a synod attended by 262 bishops from across the world.

Entitled Muslim Demographics, and viewed more than 13m times on YouTube since its release in 2009, the seven-minute long video claims Muslim immigration and higher birth rates means France will become "an Islamic republic" within 39 years.

But many of the statistics used have been shown to be false or unproven, including a claim that French Muslim families have 8.1 children on average, and that 25% of Belgians are Muslims – the true figure is 6%. A German government official is falsely quoted as saying Germany will be a Muslim state by 2050.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/16/vatican-distance-muslim-demographics-video

According to PolicyMic, in 2009, Cardinal Turkson reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s social teaching on contraception, in regards to statements made by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms were not a solution to Africa’s AIDS crisis.

Cardinal Turkson did not rule out condoms in all circumstances and suggested they could be useful in the situation of a married, faithful couple where one partner is infected.

Commenting to the US Catholic publication in August 2010, on the attitudes of African church leaders towards homosexuality, Cardinal Turkson appealed for a more nuanced interpretation by western observers. He said: “Just as I hesitate to speak globally about Africa, as if it were one and the same, we also need to be careful about generalising about Western values. In Africa just as in the rest of the world, culture is changing, lifestyles are changing.

--snip--

However, it’s also claimed that Cardinal Turkson has defended Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/11/analysis-could-the-next-pope-be-black-and-gay-friendly/

[ablamj]

1. His name is Peter

that will fit in well with the prophesy for the next Pope...

[trotsky]

2. Let's face it.

There isn't exactly a progressive, forwarding-thinking pool of candidates to pick from. And the guys who make the decision were all selected by the guy who's quitting. Liberal Catholics will get their hopes up, and admonish the rest of us for having doubts about their church's capacity for real, significant change - but in the end, very little will change, and in fact have a real possibility of getting worse. And most of the liberal Catholics will go right on putting their money in the collection plate, hoping the NEXT guy will be better, while supporting the status quo.

[monmouth3]

7. Most liberal Catholics like myself left the Church a long time ago. I see it for what it is and

decided against the "middle man." I may go to hell, may not, but will in no way be a part of the sham that is the Catholic Church. I am not alone in this.

[trotsky]

8. That is awesome to hear.

You are part of the solution.

[monmouth3]

9. I will admit to feeling guilty sometimes but I cannot stand hypocrisy, so I just quit. Thanks.

[cleanhippie]

11. Thats great. I wish more could see how to keep thier faith, yet shed the baggage that is the church

Maybe post an OP about your experiences, with the how and why. I would love to hear about it.

[ButterflyBlood]

19. Agreed. I was DONE with that church well over a decade ago

I am still a Christian bit I simply can't ever be a Catholic. Leaving was the easiest decision I ever made.

[rug]

3. You should wait until after the election.

You're likely shooting your wad on the wrong candidate.

[cleanhippie]

4. Then your wad was shot long ago...

Star Member rug (45,444 posts)
1. The current favorite to replace him.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Turkson


http://www.democraticunderground.com/121868732#post1

[rug]

5. Naturally, favorites always win.

With you, not even a whistle is necessary.

[cleanhippie]

6. That must-have-last-word compulsion really makes you get creative.

Good one.

Got control over it yet?

[Starboard Tack]

22. Very incisive!

[cleanhippie]

23. Hey rug, you left that thing you scrapped off the bottom of your shoe.

Please pick it up and throw it away.

[rug]

25. Oh, I hadn't noticed. We must have had another argument.

[cleanhippie]

31. Hadn't noticed? You walked away with a limp!

Whatever that shit was, it was a big piece. I think it even tried to talk to me!

[pinto]

10. Would be a poor choice, imo. (nt)

[cleanhippie]

12. Who WOULDN'T be a poor choice.

Every man high up enough to be a candidate is so wrapped up and complicit in all of the crimes and scandals the church is involved in that they are all poor choices.

It's going to be interesting to watch, nonetheless.



And no, I will not be quiet during the movie!

[pinto]

13. Yeah, it'll be interesting to watch.

fwiw

[cleanhippie]

14. Considering just how much baggage ratzinger brought with him and was chosen anyway...

shows how political this really is. I wish more of the laity could recognize that fact.

[pinto]

15. Yeah, it's very political. I think Benedict was a "fall back" option by a divided conclave.

They couldn't make the jump to a non-European and he had entrenched supporters for the status quo, in the bureaucracy's context.

[Phillip McCleod]

24. interesting to watch.

yep. slow motion cardassian warship crashing headlong into kardashian train interesting. reality 't.v.' at its best minus the tv part.

where's that popcorn smiley?..



ah.

[struggle4progress]

16. Who's in the running? 12 names to watch to become the next pope

Who's in the running? 12 names to watch to become the next pope
Monday February 11, 2013, 4:27 PM
BY DAVID GIBSON AND ALESSANDRO SPECIALE
Associated Press

... New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 63, has serious Roman experience — he speaks passable Italian, which is key — and connections ...

The Italians view the papal throne as their birthright, and having lent it to a Pole and now a German for 35 years, many say it's time for an Italian Restoration. The favorite among the Italians would be Cardinal Angelo Scola, 70, the Archbishop of Milan ...

Then there is Cardinal Leonardo Sandri. If the cardinals want to turn to a Latin American without leaving Rome, they could pick Sandri. He's an Argentine, yes, but since 2000 he has been in the Roman curia, the papal bureaucracy, and is considered the ultimate Roman insider. He would be seen as a "safe pair of hands" to steer the church in difficult times and restore order to the Curia ...

Asia is a small but potent source of growth and strength for the Catholic Church. Of all the bishops in this diverse continent, one stands out: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila in the Philippines. At 55, he is something of a "baby bishop," and he would be the youngest pope in centuries. But Tagle is very appealing: smiling, humble and perceptive, Tagle impressed many of his fellow bishops during the 2012 Synod on New Evangelization in Rome. He called for a more humble church that puts more effort in listening to its flock; just a few days later, Benedict made him a cardinal. Tagle — who studied at Catholic University of America in Washington — has also taken a strong approach to the sexual abuse crisis, warning his fellow bishops from Asia that they must not dismiss it as a Western phenomenon ...


http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/190740921_Who_s_in_the_running__12_names_to_watch_to_become_the_next_pope.html?page=all

[rug]

20. If it's Dolan, I'll become a Shaker.

[struggle4progress]

17. The next pope? Meet some candidates

... There are several "papabile" in Latin America, though the most well-known, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, is considered far too liberal to be elected by such a conservative College of Cardinals ...

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet ... head of the Congregation for Bishops, essentially the Vatican’s top staff director. He once said being the pope “would be a nightmare” ...

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi Italian head of the Vatican's culture office who has long been on the list of "papabile." Benedict selected him to preside over the Vatican's spiritual exercises during Lent ...

http://globegazette.com/lifestyles/the-next-pope-meet-some-candidates/collection_c9d55800-2f59-5253-9a61-e2b02ebdc4ec.html

[struggle4progress]

18. Pope Benedict XVI resigns: who are the contenders for the top job?

CHARLES MIRANDA in LONDON, wires
News Limited Network
February 12, 2013 8:13AM

... Experts say it is highly likely that the next Pope will be the first non-European leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Turkson has spoken about the prospect of being the first black pope saying: "If God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God."

He is not the only black African cardinal who could be elected to the job of pope with good odds being offered for Nigeria's Cardinal Francis Arinze ..

Other contenders include Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Canadian head of the Vatican's office for bishops ...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/whos-the-next-pope-ask-the-bookies/story-fnd134gw-1226575785040

[onager]

21. And another favorite...

[rug]

26. No, he's a sedevacantist.

[Adsos Letter]

32. OK, I had to look that up.

I didn't realize there was such a thing. I had read that Gibson is a very conservative Catholic, but I didn't realize he rejected the legitimacy of the latest string of popes.

[rug]

33. Yeah, there's a fair amount of them out there.

[Swede Atlanta]

27. I believe Ratz-inger has already pre-selected his candidate and signaled this to the

playground of the mitres (aka the College of Cardinals).....

I sincerely doubt the church establishment is going to allow anyone
(a) of color
(b) that doesn't hate women
(c) that doesn't openly hate gays and lesbians
(d) doesn't openly advocate pro-creation when we can't feed or clothe the ones we have now
(d) doesn't prefer AIDS over condoms
(e) doesn't tow the church line on covering up child abuse

into the ruby slippers. That will not happen.

[skepticscott]

30. Agreed....

The election is likely just a formality at this point. An authoritarian like Ratzi wouldn't just walk away from power unless he had someone completely in line with his goals and values waiting in the wings. And I'd be very surprised if it's anybody but a white Western European.

[hrmjustin]

28. I think it will be an Italian.

Probably the Archbishop of Milan.

[xilify]

29. They would never do that. This is just the media hyping up an unlikely scenario.

He'll be European for sure which is fine by me. The entire thing is a joke and a waste of time.