So God's Rottweiler made some sort of pronouncement about world affairs.
I completely missed it. He is irrelevant anyway because if we do come up with ways of solving the numerous problems that exist in the world the solutions won't come from that source.
Benedict also laments the “immense military expenditure” which diverts resources from development efforts. Do I see the Vatican opening its purse?
A good reason why religions are of no use in solving world problems is that religions are partisan in nature, and cannot be trusted to work for the common good.
Solving problems will take putting personal agendas aside and working together. The Pope and the Catholic Church as an organization have too much baggage to be of any use. Maybe we could use their money, but we won't get any. Not even the Tax Man sees any Catholic money

Following on from the other comments and particularly those of jpw2040 one of the distinguishing features of the right wing sect now being brought back into the fold of the "mother church" is that they promote the idea that only their "traditionalist" "religion" is true, and that ALL other religions, including liberal catholics and ALL protestants are entirely false.

Thus implying that these "traditionalists" have a "moral" duty, even a "god"-given mandate to work toward a theocratic state, using whatever means they can to achieve this outcome.

This righteous mind-set,and intention,is shared by all of the right wing "traditionalists" within the "catholic" church. They were smiled upon and their activities were encouraged by the previous pope and his rottweiler.

Such people now hold many influential positions in the church. The Sydney branch of the franchise being a case in point---it is infested with opus dei clones.

Another aspect of this mind-set is that it considers ALL attempts at ecumenical dialogue and attempts at mutual understanding to be undesirable.

ONLY WE possess the "truth" therefore what is there to enter into dialogue about.

All of you sinners, heretics and "relativists" should submit to the authority of the "magisterium" under the leadership of "christs vicar".

Such an attitude precludes even the possibility of peace and both implicitly and explicitly encourages the continuation of conflict.

Come on, lets get real here, the old papa is past it and should
be out tending the roses in his last days. This bunch of old men
in Rome, wielded far too much power for far too long. The world
is moving on.

Now they might be able to convince some third world and even first
world politicians, that they won't get their ticket to heaven,
unless they play by Catholic rules. All this seems to be achieving
is denying third world women the right to good family planning and
contraception. I note that the Vatican does not use up its own
resources to feed the masses, for the costly pomp and ceremony of
Rome continue onwards.

If anything, the pope should be charged with environmental degradation
and sent to jail, for his stance on family planning is simply not
sustainable.

He might want more little Catholics to increase his powers, but I
note that its only in the third world, where people are less educated
and more gullible, that they still believe his nonsense. Everywhere
else it seems, those church pews are emptying out, as the old
fogies who still believe his dogma, are dying off.

It's quite interesting that people are quick to dismiss the Pope and his words as irrelevant, except when it is useful to blame the Catholic Church for overpopulation and the spread of AIDS. I am sure his words are irrelevant to many, and that's fine with me. Certainly I can't recall any Popes endorsing promiscuity to accompany their anti-contraception stance. In fact, I can't think of any Pope who has actively encouraged large families OR sex with multiple partners. I come from a two-child Catholic family. My parents managed to maintain a sustainable family without angering the Pope, so I'm not sure why others can't. Of course, if you look to sociological evidence, third world families tend to have lots of kids to ensure that some survive to continue the family and to look after the parents in old age. This happens in Catholic and non-Catholic communities.

I'm also rather puzzled about how Opus Dei came to play a part in this debate. I get the feeling, Ho Hum - and correct me if I'm wrong - that Opus Dei is a much misunderstood organisation. It is not a sneaky, insidious political lobby. It is an organisation within the Catholic Church whose members commit themselves to living productive lives as members of the broader community while maintaining the fullest possible communion with God. They may be out of touch, but their existence is no threat to anyone. Dan Brown has a lot to answer for when it comes to public fear and outrage at this group. I, personally, would be much more alarmed at the apparent "infestation" (to borrow Ho Hum's term) of Freemasons in our society. Even then, having had many friends and family who are (or were) masons, I think we have much bigger issues to worry about than people seeking a bit of brotherhood and a "hand up" in society.

This guy is supposed to be Gods rep, and therefore infallible.
What a joke. At least they aren't dying of syphillus these days but the "godliness" is pretty hard to see!
Otokonoko, it is precisely the "hand up" that people worry about.
You see you can let people grow and accumulate wealth based on virtue (ability and results), or by association. They tend to be mutually exclusive. At school I was taught that ability and honor and persistence are desirable traits. Talking to catholic educated folks, they were taught they were "special" and it was more important to be faithful (and loyal) than to be correct.
People see no problems with these "old boy" networks yet there is little difference between mafia "families" who steal and catholic associations that pay no tax and work to influence politicians in secret. If they cannot work openly and honestly...what are they hiding?
The fact that creationist lies are allowed to be taught to children here with no discussion shows how pervasive the religious nuts are these days. At least in the US it went to the courts.
If they were *really* interested in God they would study His works in detail and learn from it. This is science, and they repress it. This shows that Power is the focus, not God or Good or truth.

Ozandy, that's precisely what I'm saying. Opus Dei is not a political lobby, nor is it an 'old boys club'. It's a lay organisation dedicated to living lives according to stricter than normal application of Catholic rules. That's why I said I'd be more worried about Freemasons.

As for creationist lies, I can assure you that my Catholic school taught me evolution. One thing that is often forgotten, as well, is that John Paul II was a fan of evolutionary theory.