tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post548444430167742261..comments2023-12-16T16:17:43.886+00:00Comments on Fr Ray Blake's Blog: A Geriatric PopeFr Ray Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-71843743325941871782014-06-06T01:11:29.362+01:002014-06-06T01:11:29.362+01:00I don't feel sad. I'm happy our very dear ...I don't feel sad. I'm happy our very dear Holy Father Emeritus has good people to take care of him (the main defect of our public sector geriatric wards) and that he has airy sunshine to warm him, music to listen to, and congenial company to stimulate his mind. <br />More of us will now meet this same fate of protracted physical and (eventually) mental breakdown - the by-product of medical research abolishing or restricting many of the life-shortening diseases of old age.<br />It seems vital to build up an army of genuinely caring voluntary helpers - perhaps the generation just behind those who are most elderly. The state clearly cannot provide kindhearted and well-motivated carers. There used to be large religious orders dedicated to this edifying work, but these days they seem more interested in attending conferences on New Liturgy and giving seminars on Whither the Deity.John Vaschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00335331585265267754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-23776365422102257402014-06-05T11:04:16.100+01:002014-06-05T11:04:16.100+01:00Celia is right. Being old does have its compensat...Celia is right. Being old does have its compensations! But above all we know that any disabilities are just temporary. Sadness should be reserved for those who do not believe in an after life and see old age as the end - the despair that promotes euthanasia.Nicolas Bellordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08063019108964247676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-37643752589428721462014-06-05T03:02:50.551+01:002014-06-05T03:02:50.551+01:00There is nothing sad about getting old and feeble....There is nothing sad about getting old and feeble. Most people live to that stage, thanks be to God. However, the Pope ought not be photographed outside of a public situation. The function of a pope is primarily to preserve the Deposit of Faith, and strengthen his brothers and the Faithful in the Faith. There should be no need to trade in the pope when he gets old and feeble. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-44573002110340945462014-06-05T02:45:31.173+01:002014-06-05T02:45:31.173+01:00Mobility problems are happening to me too, but, so...Mobility problems are happening to me too, but, so what?! The local convent here has just about every nun requiring one of these zimmer frames and at every Mass there is always a row of these things which have to be put to one side once each nun has actually got to her seat. One nun in particular zips down to the front of the church in her electric machine and I find myself wondering when she is going to hit one hapless individual who wanders across her path!!JARayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138004129894177863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-87376922471374109462014-06-04T23:26:43.932+01:002014-06-04T23:26:43.932+01:00I don't know why all the amazement or sadness ... I don't know why all the amazement or sadness over this picture of the Pope Emeritus this is WHY he resigned last year. He has been having mobility problems for the last few years just recall him being pushed on a moving platform. On top of that he just turned 87 a month and a half ago. My former parish priest is the same age and is in worse shape than Benedict believe me.Katalinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13022632010831557996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-11745686200494750492014-06-04T23:24:33.288+01:002014-06-04T23:24:33.288+01:00indeed, damask Rose, Indeed.indeed, damask Rose, Indeed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11138319899878030040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-24985570566825263692014-06-04T23:22:47.123+01:002014-06-04T23:22:47.123+01:00I blame Pope St. John Paul II and, to a certain ex...I blame Pope St. John Paul II and, to a certain extent, Pope St. John XXIII... John started with surreptitious trips outside the Vatican walls and John Paul II became the ubiquitous globe-trotting Pope. Paul VI resembled Pius XII in more ways than one.<br /><br />I’m sure Pope Benedict would have preferred less travel and the public limelight but expectations had been set and he acquiesced. I think he should have saved his energy and, though I regret his retirement, I don’t blame him for retiring.<br /><br />As to Pope Francis, I think he is beginning to see that there are limitations to his ‘outreach’ and visiting the peripheries. We don’t need a peripatetic Pope, but we do need a stable Papacy. I’m always apprehensive when Popes venture abroad – and relieved when they are back safely in the Vatican.GORhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313101159848740722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-63137961959084039812014-06-04T22:03:32.063+01:002014-06-04T22:03:32.063+01:00'Living is beautiful even at our age, despite ...'Living is beautiful even at our age, despite some aches and pains and a few limitations...the prayers of the elderly can protect the world, helping it perhaps more effectively than collective anxiety'. (Benedict XVI, November 2012- when he had already made up his mind to abdicate).<br />I can't say I found it such a sad picture: we all come to it and unlike many elderly people in the West the pope emeritus is not warehoused in some awful geriatric facility or living alone in squalor waiting for his daily 15-minute visit from a 'carer'.By all accounts his mind remains active which is what really matters.<br />I think his decision to stand down was influenced very much by his experience of John Paul II's reign, both the hyperactivity, which even JPII couldn't keep up as he aged, but which he had made the norm, and the disputes about influence over and access to the ailing Pope which seem to have characterised the last couple of years of his reign.<br />I think that the Church has yet to think through the implications of the abdication- the article Liam mentions has some interesting points.<br />While I would certainly have preferred Benedict to remain Pope I'm happy to think that the prayers of this particular elderly person are offered for the Church daily. <br />Celiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06604937234890307888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-82516686172446101212014-06-04T21:48:58.342+01:002014-06-04T21:48:58.342+01:00We all now will have to come to terms with the ubi...We all now will have to come to terms with the ubiquitous camera, whether US prisoner in Afghanistan (tonight’s news) or the Pope Emeritus out for a stroll.<br /><br />Benedict’s resignation leaves an uneasy feeling. He may be ailing, but so are many “elderlies” who soldier on. Any acute medical condition should have been revealed. <br /><br />What is important is mental ability, not the ease with which aircraft stairs can be handled for the Camera. Procedures can be devised to cope with physical immobility. In this era of universal visual communication, there is less need than ever for physical travel.<br /><br />The Pope is the Successor of Peter, the Keeper of the Keys. Resignation risks reducing him to a manager.<br /><br />Whatever the pressure was on Benedict it was nothing compared to that on say Julius II or Clement VII – and there is always Castel Sant’Angelo as a refuge from the camera.Jacobihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04743062941733814176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-10851317993412250612014-06-04T21:09:48.267+01:002014-06-04T21:09:48.267+01:00"I rather like to think that the old Sedia G..."I rather like to think that the old Sedia Gestatoria was really a disability aid for ancient decrepit geriatric pontiffs and those monsignori surrounding the Pope were really care assistants enabling him to walk with failing limbs and to read with failing eye-sight."<br /><br />I think you're right, Fr Ray. And the 'Black Nobility' would walk alongside the Sedia and protect him. The absence of these things allowed for Benedict to be pulled down by that woman. <br /><br />For a long time now, people have been shoving their elderly into care homes instead of looking after them where this, of course, is possible and it seems as though the Papacy has followed suit. It can't be good. Sometimes it's as though my heart stops when I think what Paul VI did to the Church.<br /><br />I sometimes like to reflect, that if it came to it, Abp Ganswein would have carried Papa Benedict into St Peters or the Vatican Balcony if he had to. God bless them both.Damask Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12903564104733536123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-88514506598283295512014-06-04T20:26:42.326+01:002014-06-04T20:26:42.326+01:00It is an odd situation indeed with the 'old...It is an odd situation indeed with the 'old' Pope Emeritus and the 'Bishop of Rome'. <br />I wished Pope Benedict XVI had 'toughed it out' to the end.<br /><br />There was an interesting article posted on Rorate Caeli just a few days ago outlining the insights of Vittorio Messori and Antonio Socci in respect of the Pope Emeritus and the Bishop of Rome:<br /><br />"Two Popes": Has the Papacy become a Diarchy? Messori enters into the picture, Socci stands his ground and questions" Special double-article post.<br /><br />http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/05/two-popes-has-papacy-become-diarchy.html<br /><br />If I remember my Gospel, the 'Rock' (singular) was Peter though perhaps in these days of show-biz theology it is possible to have 'Rockettes' (apologies to NY City Music Hall).<br /><br />It's all so very confusing.Liam Ronanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01376666519733160167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-46879294182348799612014-06-04T17:08:05.642+01:002014-06-04T17:08:05.642+01:00Very sad to see indeed and am I right in thinking ...Very sad to see indeed and am I right in thinking that it is Pope Benedict's brother, Georg, sitting there also with a zimmer frame? How sad that they have both reached that stage at the same time when it does not seem that long ago when we saw pictures of the two brothers walking together in the Vatican gardens.Pelerinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243859145007696053noreply@blogger.com