To Ron: I was stunned when I heard the announcement about the pope. I am a Catholic of sorts, but I have to say my first reaction was good riddance. I remember groaning when he was elected knowing of all the cardinals he was one of the most conservative.

The hierarchy of the church is so out of step with the rest of the church on so many levels. I can't relate to it anymore. Birth control, gay rights, ordination of women, marriage for priests. St. Paul ( if you can give him that prefix) sure made a mess of things in his letters. So much of those dogmas are based on the few things he said in each of these areas. (See note below)

They were saying on the news that since most of the current group of cardinals were appointed by Benedict the chances of a more liberal pope are slim. Not that it makes a lot of difference to me. I don't consider myself a practicing Catholic and don't pay much attention to church edicts. However, for those whose lives are made worse, I hope that things do change.

From Ron: Actually, "the pastoral" letters of Paul of Tarsus in the Bible are no longer accepted by reputable Bible scholars as being written by same Paul who wrote the earlier New Testament Books. They were written maybe a hundred letters after Paul's death (possibly by another man named Paul). Trust me even the Catholic Bible scholars know this. The real Paul would have been appalled at the notion of women keeping silent in church, submitting to her husband, and not serving in clerical positions. In one of his authentic letters, Paul said: "In Christ there is neither male nor female." How can this be the same believer who wrote disparagingly of women in the "pastoral letters?" It is not.

O, the things that Bible scholars know that your preacher/priest/rabbi won't tell you for fear of losing his job!