A New Pope

I don't think that Pope Frankie is going to last very long - I see him on TV and he already looks past it... Suspect this discussion will resurface in a couple of years

Look, he is real old and had only one lung. I doubt he will last very long. But remember, the pope is just the head of the 5 families. They could have picked a younger, maybe more corrupt guy to be the pope.

I was interested to read that Francis is the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years! Apparently he has a reputation for frugality. What I don't understand is why they are elected at such an old age? He's 76, of course he could live till he's 100 but unless he retains his health he could step down in a matter of years? I am not catholic, but is there a reason why younger Popes are not put into that position?

Really wish everything would be okay and would be great for the church. =) I was once a catholic and though i no longer am one, i sometimes cannot stay away from wanting to know updates about it still...

I don't really know the reason for the previous pope's decision for stepping down. But there's a lot of articles around the web that says it's because of some scandal. I could care less for those since I know that in the history of the church it's not uncommon to find corrupted people in the religion. Hell, in any organization, there is always a corrupt person. As for the new pope, it remains to be seen. I just hope he'll be a good one for such a big family because this is a huge responsibility.

I am very excited about this choice by the conclave of bishops for a number of reasons. The first reason that I'm excited about our new pope is because of the fact that he is the first pope that came from the Americas so he really is a trailblazer just in that way. In addition to that, I think that having a pope from the "new world" could well be something that will bring the entire Catholic church back together. However, this is a brand new election so I guess the only thing that can really be said at this point in time is that we shall see what he is going to do.

I don't care if he's "green" or not. What is encouraging is that they say he is a humble man who takes his vows seriously--cooks for himself, rides public transportation, lives simply and doesn't hold himself up in pride. He wants the church, apparently, to return to the teachings of Jesus and the hierarchy to take their vows seriously--hopefully that will mean he will come down hard on perverts in the church, both past and present and encourage simple, humble living for everyone. I think he is, so far as I've heard, an inspiring person who is deeply committed to goodness and exactly what the church needs. If I was Catholic, I'd be overjoyed at the choice. Since I'm not, I'm still very pleased.

I am hoping that he will be the best Pope ever and will pray for him to succeed in his new position. May he be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do well and bring forth change that is needed

I am not Catholic. I hope that the Catholic church moves in a positive direction during his tenure as Pope. I wish him the very best. I am glad that this announcement was made before Easter.

I'm not Christian, but I do think it's important to have a good pope. He really seemed humble and smart... and it was high time they chose someone out of Europe (I'm Hungarian, so I'm clearly not saying that out of some patriotism, especially as there was a candidate from my country, too). He seems the right choice. I just wonder how long he's going to live. I'm not trying to imply that he looks bad or that he's too old, but he's not that young, either. Although, for his age, he seems relatively fine.