It seems that the Pope may be following Terri Schiavo before too much longer.  I'm actually surprised by the fact that I am a little upset about that as well.

For the record, I'm not a Catholic, and don't assign any theological importance to the office personally, but I've always had good feelings about the current Pope.

He took office only a year after I was born, and I can often remember watching him perform the various Catholic rituals on television when I was four of five.  I can also remember being somewhat upset about his assassination attempt, as well.  I never deeply studied his involvement in the abolition of the Soviet Union, but he was always there in my peripheral vision, popping up in the news every now and then.  He seems to have been someone who was very interested in using his office to make a difference.

I hope his passage is comfortable, and painless.

I'm actually curious though, now that I think of it.  It's a shame Bruce is away at the moment, because I'd ask him whether he believes that it's necessarily totally imminent that the leader of a religious organisation such as the Pope would go to a BST after passing, as opposed to F27.  The reason why the question has come up in my mind is because I'm assuming the Pope's religious beliefs are fairly strong, and that therefore it's likely that he could be drawn to a BST.
Thoughts?

Change is always upsetting. This Pope is a known and he surely will soon be replaced.

I have a strange sense of humor and I was thinking earlier of what a story with the title of "Terri Schiavo meets the Pope" would be like. Where would they meet? What would they say? Her family is Catholic, is it not?

Does one have to go to EITHER a BST or F27? I've read enough self-retrievals here to wonder if we split on reintry into the afterlife...parts may go to BST and parts to F27. But what does it mean to say "HAVE TO"?
It always sounds to me as though the afterlife runs under the rule "Like Attracts Like" and we end up to where we are pulled.

I'm not a fan of religion, but I think this Pope has been an interesting person. His experiences with the Nazis certainly must have given him an interesting perspective. He was always such a physically vigorous person until recent years, I hope he accepted his aging with more grace than I feel I could. Yet I don't know how to ascertain what his life experience means either to him or to the rest of us. Did he maintain the attitude he developed in resisting the Nazis? I don't know, but I did hear a story in the newspaper some years ago that if it was true, indicated to me he had lost touch with something...it seems tha he was traveling and was upset because he needed gold shoe laces for his sneakers...

That church is going through some big changes. The local diocese tried to close some churches so they could sell the property and get money to make up for what they are having to pay out in the sex abuse cases. One of the local churches is quite active and protested the closing of their church. They have been "living" in the building for months to keep it from being closed. Today the diocese announed that this church will be allowed to remain open. This is procedurally a great departure from the past. I am glad for these parishoners. But I see the Catholic church as being forced to evolve. Maybe he know he can't do that and so it is time for him to move on.

 Overheard someone here at za library just saying, "The pope just died."   A very symbolic event.  

 Many Christians believe this a strong precusor or sign along the way, to the major part of the changes.   I've read a little about Fatima and though i don't interpret it in any religious way, it was quit the interesting happening.

 Seems our "neighboors" were showing off their mind technology when that Sun that moved and spun colors, and dried the people's clothes etc.   I do believe there was a message behind it, and what some call the White Brotherhood (not actually a "brother"-hood) got together with the other hierarchies and decided to tell us something in encoded, symbolic form.  

Hi Petrus-

Based on my clinical regression work I'd vote for BST. It seems that anyone who "knows how it is" goes to that place.

Of course this would also be true for car bomber terrorists who "know that they will be saints", although I wouldn't want to go there with them, as well as the heroic Japanese soldiers who were certain that Banzai charges carried them to Tenno's heaven. I had a regression case where three thieves who robbed the Baron to feed their townspeple died in a dungeon and went to a heavenly reward that they felt they deserved. Then they got reborn into the world of cause and effect, quite different.

This Pope seems to have done al lot of good, and I wish hm well.

dave

It must be a very interesting experience in conciousness to be about to transition and to have so many people praying for you....he could just ride a wave of prayer to the other side...

I'm wondering if all the prayers for the Pope - assuming people pray that he stays alive - can actually make it more difficult for him to let go. Any thoughts on that?

Anja

Hi Anja -
Experimental work has actually Proven (!) that prayer is effective, even when anonymous. It eases disorders, makes people more comfortable, aids healing. It might make it easier for him in every respect.
dave

I know prayer works. :) That's why I'm thinking: What if most of the world prays that someone stays physically alive - would that make it difficult for him to leave?

Anja

I dont think it would make it harder for him to leave, people praying that he stays alive will only make him happier that he is remembered. I am not religious but I like to think that he has done what was asked and he has gone "home".

One of the comments I read earlier on this thread stated that they werenot religuous but they were moved by the popes passing. I too feel strangly greived by his passing ... its hard to explain.

I admire him for his courage and not every person  who gets shot 4 times in an assassination attempt lives, so I admire his strength as well. I also admire his strength with regards to his illness, some people say he was battling his illness... but I think he embraced and accepted his illness.

I just want to send my sympathies to those who are saddened by this loss of the world, but also my happiness in knowing that he is indeed at rest and suffering no more.

Go with peace.

Evidently the Pope passed quietly and in relative comfort. The prayers of millions seem not to have prevented that, Anja. However, the degree of comfort may have been affected.
-dave

Anja, what I saw on the news was that some of the people were
praying for a "good death". Probably a lot of the people had
accepted his death, and were praying accordingly.

Actually it is good that he lasted as many years as he did, so that
the opportunity for change would occur right at the peak of the
perverts in the pulpit scandal. That way his successor would arrive
amidst the greatest pressure for change.

This pope was the man who was holding up the works on things like
wives for priests, and contraception, etc. He was resisting
pressure from the cardinals within the church, for change. We will
now see if any progress can take place.

I see you have a curious mind, and that is good.

wrote on Apr 3^rd, 2005 at 2:53pm:

moved by the popes passing. I too feel strangly greived by his passing ... its hard to explain.

Hi Azrael,
I think one of the main things I've been wondering about with regards to the Pope's death is what his successor is going to be like.  To my mind he had the right idea with a lot of the reforms he introduced.  Although as I said I'm not Catholic, enough other people are that the office has a fair degree of political power...and it could cause problems for more people than just the Catholics themselves if someone gets into the office who isn't as progressive as the last Pope was...and who wants to go backward (in terms of past traditions etc) rather than forward.  Historically speaking, this is not a time when we can really afford that, I don't think.  But I'm possibly veering off topic here, so I'll stop.

Hi Petrus,

I totally hear where your coming from - The pope did have some really good values however there were also some which were deemed unpopular - ie, use of contraception, abortion and homosexuality.

I think that this time now is an ideal opportunity for the Vatican to elect a new pope who can perhaps change the views on the above - obviously the Church see's things such as abortions to be incorrect as we should embrace life but rather than condemming the actions some poeple take it will be an opportunity to respect and embrace things such as homosexuality and contraception etc.

In my opinion the Church and religions all around the world are beginning to lose followers - obviously in places like roam this is not the case however in Ireland there has been a dramatic drop in catholics and only 26 people actually whent forward in order to become a priest. I think they are going to need to be less traditional in this modern society - they can by all means keep the some of the same values however they to need to evolve with the rest of the world and I fear that if they dont then followers will get less and less - apologies if I have started rambling and hope this makes sense. If anything I have said is incorrect please by all means let me know - the above is just my observation as well as a few statistics produced on the news (as accurate a source as any)

I know many of you don't go by channelings, but in one newsletter I got, there was a channeling saying that he was welcomed on the other side by the higher beings that he has been working with for many incarnations and that he will continue to work from the other side for world peace. ;-)

Love, Mairlyn ;-)