The Vatican Website:
The pope’s twitter profile:
Benedict XVI decided he is to be known as “emeritus pope” or “emeritus Roman pontiff” in his retirement. He continues to be called “Your Holiness”, and continues to wear the white cassock/soutane. [On his last day as pope, he seemed to be wearing a white, double-breasted long coat.] He will live in the Vatican and share staff (Archbishop Georg Gänswein) with the next pope. [There had been some expectation he would return to black. There is no mention of Bishop of Rome in his retired title].
Headline: Benedict XVI and extreme traditionalist Roman Catholics now agree – the seat is vacant. Sedevacantists are Traditionalist Catholics who believe that the seat is vacant (and has been essentially since the death of Pope Pius X).
But not everyone agrees…
Liturgical ps. During the sede vacante, Eucharistic Prayers are altered – there is no mention of the pope. Eg.
Eucharistic Prayer II
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world,
and bring her to the fullness of charity,
together with N. our Bishop
and all the clergy.
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You can always chant this as part of the liturgy:
Sic, habemus nullus papa,
habemus nullus papa haec die. Amen.
You would chant this to the tune, “Yes, we have no bananas.”
The Introit, perhaps, Bob? Blessings.
Maybe? 🙂
On a more serious note, would it be within the realm of (remote) possibility to choose the Eastern Patriarch as Pope?
Or, choose someone from one of the Eastern rites that acknowledge the Bishop of Rome to be Vicar of Christ?
One would be a way of healing the rift. The other would be a way of interjecting some different thought patterns into the Roman Rite (like married priests–why not?)
I am not the right person to ask, Bob 🙂
My suspicion is “no” to the first
and “extremely unlikely” to the second,
the Bishop of Rome’s dropping, in 2006, of the title “Patriarch of the West” notwithstanding.
Blessings.
The shoes, Bosco. What color shoes did the pope wear on his last day? I hear the pope will no longer wear red shoes.
The College of Cardinals is also called The Clan of the Red Beanie. I thought you’d like to know. 😉
June Butler
It was the white coat that intrigued me, June. To me it looked like he was wearing a long white double-breasted coat – not the usual soutane. Blessings.
I’ve seen pictures of the pope wearing the long, double-breasted, white coat before. So far as I know the garment is unique. Apparently, the red shoes are traditional papal apparel.
June Butler
This situation could be almost embarrassing to our Roman Catholic friends as the situation where there were two other Popes reigning at the same time – one of them at Avignon! But then, that seems not to be referred to nowadays.
The Pope Emeritus has resorted to wearing a pair of handmade brown leather shoes that were given to him during his trip to Mexico, which are reported now his favorite shoes.
Father Smith your comment is interesting to me, two things come to mind:
Truth will always bubble up to the surface no matter what, and embarrassment is no excuse for concealing truth.
Biblical references? ‘What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops.’ ( Luke 12 )
‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ ( Matthew 11 )
What are good values? is a question all people of determined faith must ask themselves, however painful or going against the practical concerns of the world or human (animalistic? ) ‘natural’ urges.
Someone said to me yesterday ‘we are all sinners in the eyes of God’ but frankly- there IS a hierarchy of sins, and Jesus said there is only one unforgiveable sin: to go against the holy spirit.
That has been pondered for centuries, what does it mean…in order to know what is profane we also need to know- to feel- what is sacred.
It’s not about papal slippers, I am pretty certain.
Tracy, I can’t, for the life of me, see any connection between my remarks above and your question about “What are good values”. This subject is so debatable in all branches of the Church at this time that I’m afraid we would need longer than is permitted on a single thread to answer your – out of the blue – question. Agape.
I was thinking about embarrassment to the Catholic Church sir…I recently sat through last year’s movie ‘Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God’ ( about abuse in the Catholic Church and how people deliberately covered it up ) then the latest resignation in Scotland…I just wonder what the values are of people who can be such callous hypocrites and those who look the other way. All the pomp and ceremony in the world is no substitute for knowing right from wrong. Sorry, didn’t mean to be obtuse!