The Pope has died

[lady cop]

It has been reported he has just passed away. John Paul ll was 84 years old.

[mominiowa]

As we sat in the living room my children openly cried...They attend a private Catholic School and were quite shaken by the news..Their school pus great emphases (sp?) on his being....He has been through a lot in his time...wars..and even the biggest - the War with in the Catholic church~ the abuse scandel. HE was loved by many and respected..I am wondering what will happen next and who will proceed him...My prayers to his Holiness...

[anastrophe]

not intending to make light of his passing, here. but for years and years i've always had fun making up sentences with words starting with 'p', regarding the pope. and his passing while sad shoudl also be a celebration of his life and legacy. so,



plucky perapatetic pontif peacefully passes.

[cars]

The Pope being in the state of grace, most likely is already in Heaven right now, watching over us! May his soul rejoyce with all the other faithful departed!

Cars

[anastrophe]

JAB wrote: Life doesn't cease to be funny when someone dies anymore than it ceases to be serious when someone laughs.
attribution! G.B. Shaw wrote that first!

[Suresh Gupta]

May God rest his soul in peace.

[valerie]

Can anyone tell me more about the Pope "fighting" the Nazis? I have

heard it mentioned several times in the media and I am very curious

about it...

[kensloft]

Another one has left us for a better world. A true prince of peace left this one leaving a more human face on his religion. If they can continue his work then things could get better.

[lady cop]

APApril 3: The body of Pope John Paul II lies in state in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican.

[spot]

And another one bites the dust.

Pope Francis, first of that name, expired within hours of audiencing the Vice President of the United States: "JD Vance granted lightning audience with Pope Francis in Vatican" on Easter Sunday. What the conspiracists will make of that is anyone's guess. "Lightning audience" sounds a bit rushed, all things considered.

I have no idea how many recent films have re-run the process whereby the conclave elects a new Pope. "Conclave", presumably, was one. They were all utter rubbish apart from David Jannsen / Anthony Quinn / Laurence Olivier / John Gielgud's astoundingly prescient "Oh look we have a Pope from the other side of the Iron Curtain" plot by Morris West. The real Pope from the other side of the Iron Curtain - the subject of this thread first time round - died twenty years ago to the month, which makes just three (and four) popes in the last 47 years.

Most of the world got on with Pope Francis. Except, possibly, JD Vance. I note the Pope outranked him, being both a Head of State and adequately moral for his appointed office. In all, Vance’s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes after which he went to the tomb of St Paul. The Pope had rather pointedly gifted him a rosary on his way out:

He reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said, "I've got no further use for these
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"

[Bryn Mawr]

And another one bites the dust.

Pope Francis, first of that name, expired within hours of audiencing the Vice President of the United States: "JD Vance granted lightning audience with Pope Francis in Vatican" on Easter Sunday. What the conspiracists will make of that is anyone's guess. "Lightning audience" sounds a bit rushed, all things considered.

I have no idea how many recent films have re-run the process whereby the conclave elects a new Pope. "Conclave", presumably, was one. They were all utter rubbish apart from David Jannsen / Anthony Quinn / Laurence Olivier / John Gielgud's astoundingly prescient "Oh look we have a Pope from the other side of the Iron Curtain" plot by Morris West. The real Pope from the other side of the Iron Curtain - the subject of this thread first time round - died twenty years ago to the month, which makes just three (and four) popes in the last 47 years.

Most of the world got on with Pope Francis. Except, possibly, JD Vance. I note the Pope outranked him, being both a Head of State and adequately moral for his appointed office. In all, Vance’s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes after which he went to the tomb of St Paul. The Pope had rather pointedly gifted him a rosary on his way out:

He reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said, "I've got no further use for these
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"

I love the quote but fear that the song would hardly fit the Pope.

[spot]

I love the quote but fear that the song would hardly fit the Pope.

I cannot discover whether as a young man he rode a motorbike in Buenos Aires. I have it in mind I once knew he had a pushbike but we'd need a thick book to check.

As for the song, I liked the imagery.

[spot]

I have two suggestions for choice of next pope, neither of whom stand a cat's chance in... a conclave.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/ca ... hollerich/ That's quite a refreshing CV.

And Cardinal Mykola Bychok, https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/ca ... ok-c-ss-r/ Come on, he's Ukrainian, he works in Australia, what more do you want.

As a practical offering we could do worse than Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/ca ... kim-tagle/ Who is actually spoken of in shortlists and has a lot to recommend him:

In January 2015, Pope Francis visited Manila and celebrated a massive outdoor Mass arranged by Cardinal Tagle. According to reports, nearly six million Catholics attended the Mass. One of the reasons the Mass was so large was because Cardinal Tagle canceled all of the Sunday Masses in every church in the diocese for that day, forcing every Catholic wishing to fulfill his Sunday obligation to attend the outdoor papal Mass.

-that's a chap who knows how make things happen.

[spot]

Diplomatic minefield, the funeral tomorrow. So the papers say. It's all about Trump.

I reckon he'll spend the day hanging loose with his pals from the Persian Gulf. And Hungary. I'm not sure who else would put up with him without a harsh word or two.

Wait and see, I suppose.

[spot]

It was tipping with rain in Turin yesterday, but the funeral this morning was bright sunshine.

The presidents of Ukraine and America found a couple of isolated seats to have a few minutes together without translators. Perhaps President Trump has picked up a foreign language. President Zelensky was the only chap handed any applause on sight, along with mention of migrants in the homily.

[spot]

Before coming to Rome, Trump had said he intended to have a series of conversations with some of the other leaders at the funeral.

“I have a lot of meetings set up,” Trump said earlier this past week, saying that he had so many meetings he wasn’t sure he could fit them all in. “I’ve got every leader in the world — which tells you that we have a good product. It’s called the United States of America, and it’s great.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... y-melania/

That went well then - off like a scalded cat. President Donald Trump departed Rome on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at approximately 1:30 PM local time. He "had so many meetings he wasn’t sure he could fit them all in"? "I’ve got every leader in the world"? Or gratuitous liar? Take your pick.

For clarity, he arrived in Rome the previous evening at 11pm and went straight to an American diplomatic residence, if I got that right. And between finishing his breakfast and flying out after lunch he had, I think, a substantial funeral to get through. Besides his sitting with Zelensky for a few minutes in a sunny courtyard, he at best bumped fists with Macron and Starmer since - I interpolate at this point - he was sat or stood next to them before or during the event. Maybe. I didn't actually watch any of it but that's the impression of the newspaper accounts.