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Last updated on June 15th, 2017 at 01:01 pm
Pope Big George I (Bernie Slattery’s suggested title) says he doesn’t want the job:
The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, emphatically asserted he had no interest in the Catholic Church’s top job in a previously unpublished interview last September.
Asked if he would like to be the next pope, he replied: “No way.”
Cardinal Pell said he had “no ambitions at all” to be the Pope.
I don’t think the LBJ option is available in this situation. Meanwhile …
Earlier today, a gay Australian Catholic priest said that if Cardinal Pell were to be elected the new Pope it would cause a damaging split within the church.
Well, Ratzinger it is then.
UPDATE. Reader CJ writes:
Wonder whether you noticed Mike Carlton in Saturday’s Herald having a dig at Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for his membership of the Hitler Youth at age 12. I remember a few years back a certain Jeffrey Kennett criticising Australian Democrat Sid Spindler for the same alleged crime. Spindler pointed out that during WWII in Germany, every youth was *automatically* a member of the Hitler Youth—he hence had no say in the matter. Kennett realised his mistake and was man enough to admit it and apologise.
Carlton isn’t, and won’t.
- Is that a threat or a promise.Posted by crash on 04/19 at 07:48 AM • permalink
- Julian Ahern is SMH’s go-to guy on world Catholicism?
How utterly pathetic.
More evidence that SMH and Fairfax in general are on the nose. See Marketwatch in the print edition of Tuesday’s Australian.
Not that News Ltd’s Bruce Wilson is much better with his ‘observers’ or ‘was reported’s. Name them, Bruce. Or it’s just gossip.
Asked if he would like to be the next pope, he replied: “No way.”
Cardinal Pell said he had “no ambitions at all�? to be the Pope.
This reminds me of a joke (?) my Mom tells, about the pope’s annunciator, a little cardinal with a big voice. Have you heard it?
The annunciator’s job was to make sure the crowd got what the Pope was saying. So the pope would say, for instance, “In Nomine….”
And the annunciator would scream to the crowd, “THE POPE SAYS, ‘IN NOMINE…’!”
Then the Pope would finish: “Domine…”
“THE POPE SAYS, ‘DOMINE….’!”
Anyway, one day the Pope decided to lighten things up with a little anecdote from his youth and he began, “You know, I didn’t always want to be Pope…”
And the annunciator bellows, “THE POPE SAYS HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE POPE!”
Guess you have to hear my Mom tell it. Sigh. Hey, maybe someday I’ll tell you my Dad’s joke about $50 worth of ham & eggs!
- It won’t be Ratzinger, it won’t be Danneels, it won’t be anybody whose name we recognize. When the new Pope is announced all the bookies will cry, “Who? We never heard of him!’’ and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth among the bettors.Posted by Sonetka’s Mom on 04/19 at 11:02 AM • permalink
- How does Carlton keep the gig?
He still keeps up that smarmy ‘satirist’ tone (eg Lord Downer of Baghdad’) as if he is still running those stupid Friday night puppets from the Willesee show in the 80s – they were unfunny even then, more dire even now.
He was over here in the UK a few years ago on the radio. He had the most pompous English accent that would even make Her Maj cringe. I wish someone could get hold of some tapes of him…
BTW, ‘Pope Big George I’ is the funniest thing I have heard today – well done Bernie. It has got quite a few laughs around the office here in Sheffield (UK), where they would have all loved to see an Aussie Pope.
Posted by Flying Giraffe on 04/19 at 06:22 PM • permalink