And they aren't obsessed wish everybody's sex lives. Only with the sex lives of the laity. Too bad they weren't as obsessed with the sex lives of their priests.

It's the people. That is why the Church has survived for 2,000 years.

We (or, more precisely, Martin Luther) called that concept "the priesthood of all believers." It took a while for the Catholic Church to catch on.

wrote a book Martin Luther, sa foi, sa réforme, which places Luther firmly within a well-established Catholic theological tradition.

I would love to see a Hungarian Pope. That would be outstanding!

It probably won't happen.

I suspect is will be another one from Europe but you never know. Maybe they'll wake up and pick someone different because they must at this point.

I suppose we'll know soon enough. I'm hoping for the best.

Time to let the healing begin IMO.

Are there any Hungarian cardinals, and, if so, how many?

I just think a Hungarian pope would be *awesome*.

Hungary has quite the history with the Catholic Church and I'm pretty sure they have a few cardinals in the system.

Hungarians are much different (more progressive and a lot more open minded on many issues) than other Europeans. Given their rather tragic history, this should be of no huge surprise.

It is just something I'd like to see, not that it will happen.

Goulash anyone?

All the history, (good and bad), art and ritual fascinating. It was really cool when the mass was in Latin I thought.

But good grief, how you guys hang in there given what we now know in terms of reality is beyond me. I say that with all due respect too. Your hopes for and support of this institution are amazing, I must say.

has not been hard for me, compared to many things in my life. Not hanging in there would have been harder.

The Latin mass is before my time - I'm not sure if I would like it, although I agree it was cool.

So I understand Latin when I read or hear it. However, I am an exception; the majority of American Catholics of my and previous generations were unable to understand the Latin. It often came across in a sort of Cargo Cult fashion -- if the priest did the magic just right, the cargo would come.

At its best, the Latin Mass could be stirring and beautiful. Listening to the "Laudamus Te" from Mozart's Great Mass in C

throughout the last two millenniums, it has and continues to do so much good in this world for the poor and under privileged including fighting for social justice.

But of course much of that is destroyed or under attack and the proponents tossed from the Church.

it's the hierarchy that pisses me off. This past week I visited a cousin who is on her death bed. The image that I will always remember is her clasping the crucifix while surrounded by loving relatives. The power of faith and family is real. I refuse to let anyone wearing a mitre, or not, drive me away from Catholicism.

all of the Church's teachings. If they did there would be a huge drop-off in attendance

As you demonstrate, you can be a part of a Parish and love a Church even if you disagree with some of the positions of the hierarchy and their failure to move fast enough on some issues.

Some people would call me a "cafeteria Catholic." I say, hell yes, I am absolutely a cafeteria Catholic. I am also a cafeteria Democrat, cafeteria American, etc. Some people seem to think you have to be all the way in, or stay out. I find this kind of thinking especially common in America. Once again, I say "to hell with that."

When I hear people tell me to leave the Church due to some of its positions I don't agree with, it is so transparent that they don't care one iota about me or the Church, and it is their personal desire to destroy the Church that drives them to say that.

Keep in mind the many positions of the church hierarchy that I think most in DU would agree with. There are many documents that describe them, but I think this is a good one. It is a little old, but I doubt much has changed (change is not always good )

COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH

It is to me a beautiful and moving document that states "obvious" facts clearly and without hesitation. It is very long but has a table of contents at the top with links to the various sections.

Here are some favorite excepts...