What a lovely response Theresa...very well said!

I am elated. I am overjoyed at the name he chose, St. Francis of Assisi, lover of animals, charitable and humble in nature. I love that he asked for a blessing from his sheep... and to see the people's faces on CNN last night, as collages of pictures were aired. It was an anointed and I feel he is going to be a special Pope who will be known throughout the coming ages. I wish him God's wisdom, strength, tolerance and Grace, as he enters his Papacy. I love that so many people Catholic or not, were at the very least intrigued by the whole process. Loved President's message to the new Pope. Very blessed day.

Maybe the College of Cardinals doesn't want a new Pope with lengthy tenure.

With his generosity of spirit, & simple faith even a short time will benefit the church. I hope our new Pope will be given to us for as long as possible, but I will be grateful to God for whatever time we are given with him. May the Holy Spirit strengthen Pope Francis, & grant him God's grace.

MTBottle - thanks for the chuckle. LOL!!!! Pope Pool!!!! LMAO!

Hey peter!!! WOMEN CLERGY AND PERHAPS EVEN POPESSS, GAY RIGHTS AND MARRIAGE, BIRTH CONTROL, ETC.???? Really??? Just wondering if that is really you speaking or another part of your anatomy>>>>

This Pope has the viewpoint that gay people are to be treated with love & respect. That would include the right to insurance, inheritance, joint burial, & medicine like any other pair.
However; a marriage in the Catholic church involves to people who join their souls & bodies to create a new life without breaking their marriage bond.
Sadly; even science cannot provide issue to a gay couple without going outside their biological union. The church sympathizes with the biological error they live with, but they cannot call such a union marriage.
A Catholic marriage is a sacred bond characterized by either biological offspring, or the possibility of biological offspring INSIDE the marriage. Infertile heterosexual couples qualify because there is a reasonable possibility that the Holy Spirit will intercede & a child could be born. Yes, The Holy Spirit still does miracles( I have the X-rays to prove that one).
Answer me this...Just where would a gay male gestate a baby in his body??? Where will the gay woman manufacture sperm???
Biology.

Sorry, I have spell check, not grammar check. That should read "two", not "to", just before the word 'people'.

Since the decision to stop priests from getting married in the 11th century was really a political & temporal power grab instigated by William the 1st of England & his brother (a Catholic bishop) to weaken the church... It may be deemed a restoration. The apostles, for the most part, were married.
The best way to handle it would be for Pope Francis to make the future vow one of chastity. Being married is not an unchaste state, nor is producing offspring within that marriage.
I feel this pope is highly educated, & humble enough to correct it as a historical misstep.

One of the main reasons for the celibacy ruling was that many clerics and in particular those that became bishops, cardinals and popes were from wealthy families.
If they had wives and children they would leave their wealth to them rather than to the Church.
Many early popes had wives and children, including St Peter, the first pope.
Pope Saint Hormisdas was married and his son became Pope Saint Silverius.

carlwilton-how wise you are... as a Cathoiic, devoted to the Blessed Trinity and lover of my faith... I can appreciate your insight and feel the same way. I believe a majority of Catholics feel that the church has lost touch a bit with the Divine message. I pray diligently that this Pope can turn it around and bring us back to Christ's teachings, His message to Love and Honor God above ALL things and Love Your Neighbor As You Love Yourself. We need to return to simplicity-in sharing the Gospel, Evangelization and helping others.

Dame Bridgid, well said! When I heard that he chastised priests for not accepting and baptizing babies born out of wedlock I cheered and cried... my family has been affected twice by the same judgmental decision to tell parents (who chose life) they are not welcomed into the church community. Jesus said, Let the children come to me." He did not say, "Only the ones with married parents!"
I was estranged from the Catholic Church for a long time until God's will brought me back "home". Now I am devoted, as I have been taught (by God, Holy Spirit) that the people in church are human, likely to fail, likely to sin...but if you can find the Blessed Trinity in the midst of the human frailty, you will find your "church". We worship in spirit and in truth.
God bless us all, as we look forward to whatever GOD brings thru His newly-elected representative.

Trish, you do alot of "WE" in that statement....I don't know what issues are important to you but I know what issues are important to me.....You stick with your "WE" and until I know what they are I'll stick with mine.

Trish, a gay union is biologically sterile.
In the Catholic church a marriage produces the fruit of offspring, or the possibility of them between the couple(without violation of their marriage vows of chastity towards each other). A miracle is still possible to infertile heterosexuals(like Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist).
It is sad for gays, but I feel civil unions can provide all the legal protection. I want them to have equal legal protection I, like my church, & do sincerely care for the distress their affliction brings them, but do not presume to speak for me.
Less than a third of Americans in general approve of abortion on demand now, & the numbers have been steadily dropping for over a decade. My childless sister regrets she never got another chance to bear another child after rejecting the first healthy one for convenience. As for me, I turned down emergency lung surgery for a collapsed lung to preserve my 20 week pregnancy. She has dimples & a college degree, please do not speak for me.
You must not attend the Catholic church much. Are you an 'Ashes & Holly' type of girl, or a 'cafeteria' catholic attending your "LENTIL" services.
What I feel is important in my church, you cannot speak for.
Your 'we' does not include me.

Sorry, I forgot to delete the ampersand(&) in my 6th sentence.

I probably should have put a smiley face after the 'lentil' pun, but can you fairly say she represents the entire body of the Catholic church with her "we"?

The mystery of faith I guess.

Face it, Ray;
(1) the 5th commandment in the Catholic bible says do not kill. There is an exception to for self defense or in the defense of others.
Now talk about aborting your own offspring, a helpless innocent who has committed no crime against you.
(2) Catholic Marriage includes offspring or the hope of offspring for infertile couples who can conceive like Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mother) through divine intervention. Catholic marriage has a vow of chastity( cleaving only unto the spouse) to live as one body, one spirit, united to create a new life.
Two men are sterile when they join their bodies. Two women are sterile when they join their bodies. Argue with a biologist to change that law of nature, it makes as much sense.
(3) Celibacy might change. If he has time while dealing with all the other problems. There is Apostolic precedent to support it, & Jesuits are very well educated, as well as being devoted to justice.
(4) How many Catholics there are now is not related to his ability.
(5) Just what do you think he & that 10% of Catholics in church could have done, other than speak out(he did).
I guess you have everyone's mind made up, right? Sorry, I am not leaving.
Cleaning up the messes that really drove people away might bring people back. I will wait to see what will happen with hope. For now; I simply thank The Holy Spirit for Pope Francis who kept his own vows to God by taking the bus, & living a simple life as a Cardinal.

Sorry, my sentence should have said "There is an Exception for self defense or in the defense of others." Delete the word 'to' from it.

Actually Dame B, in both Exodus and Deuteronomy the commandant was originally "You shall not murder". There is a difference between murder and other forms of killing.
A short time after they received the 10 Commandments, the Israelites fought the Battle of Jericho. That was the first of many battles the Israelites fought on their way into Canaan.
Deuteronomy repeats the original 10 Commandmends and list over 500 others, including several which assign stoning as punishment.

Hey Ray, where did you get that statistic?

I agree priests should marry, Ray. Removing that sacrament was a political move in the 11th century to weaken the body of the church. I think it did.
The apostles Jesus chose were mostly married men. Paul of Tarsus did not know Christ during his ministry (before or after the resurrection) so I view what he has to say as his own self appointed opinion.
I favor changing the vow to chastity rather than celibacy. Marriage is not an unchaste state. My husband of 30 years has sired 6 children with me, whilst keeping himself chaste by abiding by our marriage vows, as I have. Allowing priests to have families will lead to an increase in faith. Children learn what they live ;)
Just remember we have been rooting out abusers now by teaching church members how to spot them, responding to victims, & reporting them to police. They exist in all groups. Continued effort will always be needed to deny evil an opportunity to grow. Religions with married clergy have the same abuse problems that require action. We need to continue our current vigilance to catch abusers who try to sneak into our church in the future.

Who Cares John? Every parent cares John, every parent and every adult who sees the beauty and innocence of a child, that's who cares.....Perhaps you yourself have a pent up problem with children that you might like to discuss with perhaps a doctor or the authorities for that matter. I have a really bad feeling for people like you John, a real bad feeling.

What historic document are you refering to?