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good. fuck him.
he’s being killed by karma.
It’s interesting that he and Joe Paterno are same age.
Whom do I push out of my 2012 Dead Pool to make room for him: James Garner? Larry Hagman? Aretha Franklin? Andy Williams?
It’s hard to have sympathy for a man who is purported to be, and presents himself as, God’s instrument on earth. If he believes in his religion like he is supposed to, then his death is something he and those who believe should celebrate, for he will ascend to heaven.
One of the things I most resent Christianity for is making death something to be wished for.
Not to be confused with John Ratzenberger.
Dying is a bit hyperbolic. He’s 84 and slowing down according to the article. He will certainly die one day. I am not Catholic and am very much opposed to his conservative stance on social issues, but wishing someone’s death doesn’t raise one’s own moral or ethical stance.
I have to say I very much regret Christopher Hitchens dying without having the opportunity to write a biting obituary for this “elderly villain.”
Joseph Rats-a-who? Wasn’t he some evil death lord or something?
What, he was the pope?
Meh. Same difference.
“slowing down” is Vatican Politburo code for “any minute now.”
Good riddance!
Maybe he needs to start carrying a hip flask of cocaine-laced Vin Mariani, like his predecessor popes Leo XIII and Pius X.
Well… I’d wish him a speedy passing, but they’ll just replace him with another pope. Whoever the next pope is will not likely be a whole lot more progressive than the current pope, and will still be pushing the same old crazy sky-grandpa dogma. Although I suppose having new pope who wasn’t an actual Nazi might be a small improvement.
Your posts today are so movingly expressive that I’m almost in tears!
You are too funny, Dano. Happy Holidays!
Big air {{{{{{HUG}}}}}
Sith Lord is dying, so what?
They’ll have another idiotic ceremony and they will elect a new Sith Lord,.
If only he’d take that whole stupid cult to hell with him when he goes.
Hallelujah!
The AP story never written…….
Joey Ratz the leader if the organized crime family commonly known as the Catholic Church died today at………… An expected power struggle will…………….
Why must you tease me?
The article describes him as being in the shape of my great-grandfather 5 years and 3 strokes ago. My grandpa’s still going strong.
And @6 thatsnotright, I will concede that actively wishing and cheering for his death is morally sub-optimal, but if it’s the only way to get that evil, hateful, mysogynistic, fundamentalist bastard out of his current position of influence, I’ll pull for it. Even this very-Ratzinger-friendly article says that his resignation is highly unlikely, so his death is probably the only way to get rid of him. And the day of his departure cannot come too soon for the world in general or for the Catholic church and it’s adherents in particular.
Yet another stupid headline from Dan. Jesus H. Motherfucking Christ, man, can’t you ever get it right?
No, he’s not dying. Or at least, he’s not dying any faster than any other 85-year-old.
The sadness I feel for Vaclav Havel outweighs the joy I feel for this. If Ratzi the Nazi was actually dead, then it might be a wash, but I really liked Vaclav Havel.
Finally, another Nazi dead. I only wish there was a hell for him to burn in.
@6 + 1
@18 Don’t see how anyone will be better off. They’ll only replace him with someone just like him.
@5: Yes, that would be a bigger shame. Pixar movies just won’t feel the same once we’re no longer listening for the Cliff cameo.
It will change nothing.
@5–LOL. The first thing that passed through my head when I glanced at the headline was “No! Not Cliff Clavin!”
@11 Have you seen his eyes? What makes you think he hasn’t been hitting that stuff hard all along?
That sucks, I love Cliff from Cheers.
Clearly God is sending a message – a Holy Smotedown if you will – that He is tired of Pope Rat’s hatefulness toward women & gays, and his spreading ignorance about birth control & sex education.
Newt For Pope 2012!
Never mind the dead pool, I know of only two papers that have made this an article, and the other one is The Daily Mail (UK).
19 re:headline
Dan Savage’s Brain
Dying…..
Newt for Pope, @30? …perfect!
A slimy reptile as head of the largest criminal organization in the world.
I don’t know how I know this, but it’s there like a Nostradamus prediction that the next pope after Benedict will be the LAST POPE EVER? Or am I making that up?
Don’t worry, I’m sure that Nostradamus was making shit up too.
@34: It’s not Nostradamus, and you’re not making it up. St. Malachy back in the 12th century made a list of popes, and the one succeeding Benedict XVI would be, according to Malachy’s prophecy, “Peter the Roman” and the last.
@1 Apparently karma translated into English is “old age”.
Could this mean we’ll get to masturbate again?
RIP, ASAP, Pope Ratzo.
The College of Cardinals chose Cardinal Ratzinger to become Pope Benedict in part because of his age. They didn’t want another multi-decade papacy like with Pope John Paul II.
The RC Church is like an old uncle or grandfather. We love the Church for its wisdom, and most of the stuff it tells us is good, but when it says something racist or ridiculously out of touch, we smile and not and sometimes politely contradict.
What’s with all the hate? The way some of you commenters are talking, this is the worst enemy you ever had. The Catholic Church feeds and educates and provides medical and social services for underprivileged people worldwide. Yes, it ALSO has harmful and outdated ideas about gays, birth control, women and sex, but come on. When we found out that the Salvation Army discriminated against gays, did we wish for its leaders to die? No. We just figured there were better places to put our money.
Yes, Pope Benedict AKA Ratzinger has some bad ideas that have contributed to unnecessary hostility, but the Church also does a lot of good.
@41 You obviously missed the Intelligence Squared (sorry, should be numeral 2, but I can’t get the superscript tag to work here) debate with Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens squaring off against two Church apologists. The proposition was “The Catholic Church Is A Force For Good In The World.” Polls of the 2000-someodd audience members before and after showed a massive shift to the negative.
The nice ones just end up being assassinated. I wonder if there are any Borgias still around.
“I am a woman who slept with my father the Pope.
They say I did, at least, and so does he.
And who am I to make of the Pope a liar,
And who is he to make a liar of me?”
Why the hate? I guess I’m capriciously hating on the guy who claims to be god’s ambassador while preaching condomless pregnancy-and-disease subjugation of women and telling friends and members of my family that they are rotten and sick for loving people of their sex.
@40, even if the old uncle rapes his 4 year old nephew?
Pope Palpatine to be replaced by whom? Some other child rapist in a dress. His death will changed nothing, alas.
I try not to wish for the death of anyone. And ultimately, as others have already pointed out, they are just going to replace this crazy, pedophile protecting bastard with another crazy, pedophile protecting bastard.
But I am not going to cry over another dead Nazi. And I am not going to hesitate to put him on my 2012 celebrity death pool list.
Dan, old age is not a predictable thing, and it’s not even linear. I nearly lost my Grandad several years ago at about 88– at one point it looked like we were in the final days. After 3 months, he bounced back mentally and physically.
Unless you have the cardinals sitting at his deathbed, making bets, it doesn’t count.
Until then, they will continue to put him on the float and push him down the aisle for Christmas Mass, like an old beauty queen.
@27, good point. Vatican City is a sovereign state, after all; he could have it brewed up within the borders, with no possibility of negative consequences. I’m sure there are some Inquisition relics in the basement that could be dusted off if anyone showed signs of wanting to gossip.