New pope
May 7th, 2025 at 12:18:07 PM
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Maybe they're all really just sitting around playing cards and Scrabble? In Latin of course.
I believe you do get black smoke if you burn the marshmallows over the fire.
I believe you do get black smoke if you burn the marshmallows over the fire.
Sanitized for Your Protection
May 7th, 2025 at 12:43:30 PM
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I think it will be over fairly quickly. It's strange that most of these men have never met each other and are expected to vote for a man they have not met and know little about until a few days ago. Most of them have never been in a conclave before.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 7th, 2025 at 8:53:07 PM
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Quote: rxwineMaybe they're all really just sitting around playing cards and Scrabble? In Latin of course.
I believe you do get black smoke if you burn the marshmallows over the fire.
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Do they make a Scrabble set for Latin?
It's a question about letter counts and scoring values.
May the cards fall in your favor.
May 7th, 2025 at 9:41:46 PM
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Quote: DieterQuote: rxwineMaybe they're all really just sitting around playing cards and Scrabble? In Latin of course.
I believe you do get black smoke if you burn the marshmallows over the fire.
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Do they make a Scrabble set for Latin?
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Officially, I doubt it, but plenty of aficionados have made their own letter sets and rule sets. I did dream up a rule variation where you can change an existing letter on the board, as long as it is in a straight line and still forms a valid word. So if the word POWER is on the board and you want to play a word with a T, you can change it to TOWER as you play your word. Then your opponent can switch it to TOWEL if they want to play an L.
I have seen Hebrew Scrabble, and I suppose the vowels are optional.
Latin being such a heavily inflected language, the rules and scores would have to change dramatically. German would also have that issue, and an even worse one (along with Finnish) where creating a new word by running two together is completely legitimate, sometimes. No idea how that is handled.
May 8th, 2025 at 8:08:34 AM
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Quote: AutomaticMonkeyQuote: DieterQuote: rxwineMaybe they're all really just sitting around playing cards and Scrabble? In Latin of course.
I believe you do get black smoke if you burn the marshmallows over the fire.
link to original post
Do they make a Scrabble set for Latin?
link to original post
Officially, I doubt it, but plenty of aficionados have made their own letter sets and rule sets. I did dream up a rule variation where you can change an existing letter on the board, as long as it is in a straight line and still forms a valid word. So if the word POWER is on the board and you want to play a word with a T, you can change it to TOWER as you play your word. Then your opponent can switch it to TOWEL if they want to play an L.
I have seen Hebrew Scrabble, and I suppose the vowels are optional.
Latin being such a heavily inflected language, the rules and scores would have to change dramatically. German would also have that issue, and an even worse one (along with Finnish) where creating a new word by running two together is completely legitimate, sometimes. No idea how that is handled.
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Not only is there an official Latin Scrabble game, there are perhaps 4 of them. Not having studied Latin, I can't comment on the fidelity of each game to the language rules. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrabble_letter_distributions
Monkey, have you heard of google?
May 8th, 2025 at 8:23:50 AM
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Diversion ahead...
Eh, that made me curious if there is Chinese Scrabble given that.
And there IS a Chinese Scrabble.
BACK ON TOPIC
There are Chinese cardinals. Could we have a Chinese Pope?
Eh, that made me curious if there is Chinese Scrabble given that.
Quote:There's no precise number, but the total number of Chinese characters is estimated to be over 50,000, with some dictionaries including over 100,000 characters, including historical and variant forms. However, the number of characters a typical educated person knows is around 6,000 to 8,000. For basic literacy and fluency in modern Chinese, a working knowledge of 2,000-3,000 characters is generally sufficient, allowing one to understand around 95-99% of common texts.
And there IS a Chinese Scrabble.
BACK ON TOPIC
There are Chinese cardinals. Could we have a Chinese Pope?
Sanitized for Your Protection
May 8th, 2025 at 9:21:50 AM
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Could we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 8th, 2025 at 9:24:31 AM
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Quote: billryanCould we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
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White smoke after the 4th ballot.
Any predictions in the few minutes before the famous announcement?
May 8th, 2025 at 9:30:09 AM
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Quote: GenoDRPhQuote: billryanCould we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
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White smoke after the 4th ballot.
Any predictions in the few minutes before the famous announcement?
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Not me. ;)
May the cards fall in your favor.
May 8th, 2025 at 9:43:21 AM
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Quote: DieterQuote: GenoDRPhQuote: billryanCould we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
link to original post
White smoke after the 4th ballot.
Any predictions in the few minutes before the famous announcement?
link to original post
Not me. ;)
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I didn't get that phone call, either.
Still holding out for Father Mike getting the promotion!
May 8th, 2025 at 9:44:40 AM
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Quote: GenoDRPhQuote: billryanCould we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
link to original post
White smoke after the 4th ballot.
Any predictions in the few minutes before the famous announcement?
link to original post
Please let be Fr G
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
May 8th, 2025 at 10:22:33 AM
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An American. Wow. Pay the field.
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but that is the way to bet.
May 8th, 2025 at 10:36:20 AM
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Quote: GenoDRPhQuote: WizardQuote: GenoDRPhThe next Pope will not be Russian (i.e. hold a Russian passport).
The next Pope will not be Chinese (i.e. hold a Chinese passport).
The next Pope has slightly better chance, but not by much, of being an American (i.e. hold a US passport).
The next Pope will be selected from the ranks of Cardinals, and will not be a bishop, priest or layman.
The next Pope will be a member of the Latin Church, and not any of the other Catholic Churches.
When it comes time to bet, that's how I would do it.
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I think there is a low chance of the next Pope being American. I'll offer you 2 to 1 odds he is.
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There was a point in time where I would bet a poker player would draw a five of a kind with no wild cards or a craps player would roll a Hard Thirteen before there would be an American Pope. But the last consistory Cardinal O'Malley of Boston was papabile (he's now retired and 80 years old), and now an American, Cardinal Prevost is the frontrunner according to some Vatican observers. So now I am not so sure. How long is your offer good for?
Should've taken Mike up on his offer.
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May 8th, 2025 at 10:38:06 AM
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Quote: GenoDRPhQuote: DieterQuote: GenoDRPhQuote: billryanCould we? Yes. Will this conclave elect one? No.
I'm thinking either 5th or 7th ballot.
link to original post
White smoke after the 4th ballot.
Any predictions in the few minutes before the famous announcement?
link to original post
Not me. ;)
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I didn't get that phone call, either.
Still holding out for Father Mike getting the promotion!
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There's always 2037.
May the cards fall in your favor.
May 8th, 2025 at 10:41:44 AM
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Quote: unJonAn American. Wow. Pay the field.
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I told ya bet on Fr Gamble!
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
May 8th, 2025 at 11:09:34 AM
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Quote: AZDuffmanQuote: unJonAn American. Wow. Pay the field.
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I told ya bet on Fr Gamble!
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The new pope is only 69, Francis was 76 when he took over in 2013. This guy has a potential for being there 20 years. He speaks three or four languages fluently including Italian.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
May 8th, 2025 at 2:26:19 PM
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An American with deep ties to South America and a member of a minor order.
It's impressive that such an outsider could assemble a coalition so quickly. At 69, he is anything but a caretaker.
Although all Catholic Orders support many charities, Augustinians and Franciscans are particularly focused on the hungry and homeless.
I pray he will show the rest of the world how Americans follow the word.
It's impressive that such an outsider could assemble a coalition so quickly. At 69, he is anything but a caretaker.
Although all Catholic Orders support many charities, Augustinians and Franciscans are particularly focused on the hungry and homeless.
I pray he will show the rest of the world how Americans follow the word.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 8th, 2025 at 3:43:36 PM
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Cursory reading of some articles.
Less tolerant of LGBT behavior
More tolerant of alleged priest sexual abuse of minor males.
Less tolerant of Trump/Vance.
More focused on helping the poor.
I’ll stop there and take over the even more ‘political’ aspects to DT.
Less tolerant of LGBT behavior
More tolerant of alleged priest sexual abuse of minor males.
Less tolerant of Trump/Vance.
More focused on helping the poor.
I’ll stop there and take over the even more ‘political’ aspects to DT.
May 8th, 2025 at 4:19:13 PM
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Quote: SOOPOOCursory reading of some articles.
Less tolerant of LGBT behavior
More tolerant of alleged priest sexual abuse of minor males.
Less tolerant of Trump/Vance.
More focused on helping the poor.
I’ll stop there and take over the even more ‘political’ aspects to DT.
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"Alleged?"
He has work ahead of him. Honestly, he might do well to call a Vatican III conference. Two plus generations since the last one. IMHO they need to look at having married priests, with restrictions. Maybe Bishops and above still need to be married to the church, and no marriage to non-Catholics? I maintain that the next generation seems like they may end the less religious trend but they will go to indie, Protestant-offshoot churches some small and some megachurches. Lots of people have a need for religion, but fewer want the formality.
Out on a convertible ride in the country last week I saw two "megachurches." One a former Acura dealership, another looked purpose built. In another part of town a huge one-floor office building I used to work at, talking at least 50,000 square feet, is another one. These places are all over. Meanwhile, the Parish I was in when I grew up had 3.5 priests (we had one come up on Sunday) to handle the Mass load now down to one. The school closed a few years back. Again, back in the day to think it would close would be to think GM would go out of business.
The Hispanic population in the USA is the future of the Catholic church here. The rest of it is in demographic collapse.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
May 8th, 2025 at 5:02:49 PM
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Immigrants are the future of the Catholic church, just as they've been for generations. My old Catholic school in Queens is about 90% Haitian these days, and my grandparents' parish in Brooklyn has almost as many Chinese masses as they do English and Spanish.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 8th, 2025 at 5:10:03 PM
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Quote: SOOPOOCursory reading of some articles.
Less tolerant of LGBT behavior
More tolerant of alleged priest sexual abuse of minor males.
Less tolerant of Trump/Vance.
More focused on helping the poor.
I’ll stop there and take over the even more ‘political’ aspects to DT.
link to original post
Seriously, who cares. The Catholic church is a shadow, a thin shadow of its former self. Nobody listens to the pope anymore, not even Catholics. 50 years ago 90% of Catholics went to confession regularly. Today 90% never go and the 10% that do go don't go very often. 50 years ago the divorce rate among Catholics was under 10%, today it's 28% and climbing. 50 years ago almost no Catholics used artificial birth control and today almost 100% do. Catholic schools and Catholic churches have been closing at an alarming rate for over 20 years. Many parishes don't even have a permanent priest, they have a priest that rotates in between different parishes. 50 years ago seminaries to train new priests were everywhere. Today there are so few that you have to travel a great distance from your home just to find one. Being a priest these days has so much baggage attached to it nobody wants to touch it. And rich people are leaving the church in droves and they're not being replaced by other rich people, they're being replaced by poor Africans and poor South American's. And most of this decline is rightly blamed on the rampant sexual abuse the church has been accused of since the 1990s. And here we have a pope who thinks that's just fine and dandy. I'd love to see the intimate details of his personal life.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
May 8th, 2025 at 7:03:43 PM
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Quote: DRichAre there any betting lines available for who will be the next pope?
I am not Catholic but I always find the process interesting.
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pope Leo was made cardinal in 2023?
That's a pretty quick promotion to pope.
Did the conclave explain why they picked one of the most recently promoted cardinals as their new boss?
Last edited by: 100xOdds on May 9, 2025
Craps is paradise (Pair of dice).
Lets hear it for the SpeedCount Mathletes :)
May 8th, 2025 at 7:43:16 PM
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Quote: 100xOddsQuote: DRichAre there any betting lines available for who will be the next pope?
I am not Catholic but I always find the process interesting.
link to original post
pope Leo was made cardinal in 2023?
That's a pretty quick promotion.
Did the conclave explain why they picked one of the most recently promoted cardinals as their boss?
link to original post
Conclave participants take solemn vows of absolute secrecy. That being said, he checks off a bunch of boxes. Well educated, a teacher,parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and top Vatican administrator and polyglot who isn't terribly liberal, if he is at all. His elevation to Cardinal in 2023 as well as his high ranking and influential Vatican appointments raised his profile as papabile. Overall, a palatable choice for most conclave voters. His election after only 4 ballots would seem to indicate wide support, at least at the end.
May 8th, 2025 at 9:02:40 PM
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Quote: 100xOddsQuote: DRichAre there any betting lines available for who will be the next pope?
I am not Catholic but I always find the process interesting.
link to original post
pope Leo was made cardinal in 2023?
That's a pretty quick promotion.
Did the conclave explain why they picked one of the most recently promoted cardinals as their boss?
link to original post
The Conclave wouldn't say anything, but it appears Francis hand-picked him, and the majority went along.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 8th, 2025 at 9:30:30 PM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: SOOPOOCursory reading of some articles.
Less tolerant of LGBT behavior
More tolerant of alleged priest sexual abuse of minor males.
Less tolerant of Trump/Vance.
More focused on helping the poor.
I’ll stop there and take over the even more ‘political’ aspects to DT.
link to original post
Seriously, who cares. The Catholic church is a shadow, a thin shadow of its former self. Nobody listens to the pope anymore, not even Catholics. 50 years ago 90% of Catholics went to confession regularly. Today 90% never go and the 10% that do go don't go very often. 50 years ago the divorce rate among Catholics was under 10%, today it's 28% and climbing. 50 years ago almost no Catholics used artificial birth control and today almost 100% do. Catholic schools and Catholic churches have been closing at an alarming rate for over 20 years. Many parishes don't even have a permanent priest, they have a priest that rotates in between different parishes. 50 years ago seminaries to train new priests were everywhere. Today there are so few that you have to travel a great distance from your home just to find one. Being a priest these days has so much baggage attached to it nobody wants to touch it. And rich people are leaving the church in droves and they're not being replaced by other rich people, they're being replaced by poor Africans and poor South American's. And most of this decline is rightly blamed on the rampant sexual abuse the church has been accused of since the 1990s. And here we have a pope who thinks that's just fine and dandy. I'd love to see the intimate details of his personal life.
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How can something be "rightly blamed" on an accusation?
A few dozen years ago we took a poison pill, which was severely restricting the statue of limitations for sexual abuse claims. This disregarded the reasons for statues of limitations in the first place, which include the fact that the quality of evidence deteriorates over time and eventually the likelihood of an unfair process is high enough that we are better off avoiding it. There is some ideology out there where convicting the person who is actually guilty of some crime is less important that making a statement by convicting someone, and especially so if that someone is a socially disfavored person. Cops have long done the same thing: when there is a high profile crime that makes the cops look bad and the public angry and they can't figure out who did it, they will find someone who "did" it and find a way to rationalize framing them up.
This has led to a new industry and we've seen it played out a few times before, notably with Bill Cosby and Ron Jeremy and now with Smokey Robinson. Here's the formula:
1) Pick some celebrity or really anybody with money, but someone very advanced in age or ill, well past their time of being popular and influential.
2) Make up a real page-turner about all the stuff they did you, but decades ago so that there will be no real evidence one way or another, nobody really remembers anything, and half of the people who could exculpate your target are dead. You can work with partners; thanks to Signal and similar encrypted services they can't even prove you were in contact, let alone working together to get the story straight.
3) Find a lawyer who knows how this game is played, and get your claim in before the guy expires and his will is settled.
This appears to have been applied to the priests of the Catholic Church too. Have you ever noticed all of these cases seem to have taken place long ago, under this formula? Like none of these same people did the same things last Tuesday? As a society, winds have shifted and when we hear reports about nooses and racially incendiary notes being left for some supposed victim we all kind of roll our eyes and say "This again" now. It might take a while longer before people get to that highly skeptical place I am with claims of decades-past sexual abuse.
Hopefully the new Pope Leo is streetwise enough to recognize how this play works and come up with a way to effectively counter it.
May 9th, 2025 at 6:39:31 PM
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Quote:The new Pope has a degree in math from Villanova.
He doesn't just understand sin, he understands cos.
Source: A joke going around Facebook.
May the cards fall in your favor.
May 10th, 2025 at 4:39:38 AM
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Quote: DieterQuote:The new Pope has a degree in math from Villanova.
He doesn't just understand sin, he understands cos.
Source: A joke going around Facebook.
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Funny level of the joke = Point Q
A slight groan
Craps is paradise (Pair of dice).
Lets hear it for the SpeedCount Mathletes :)
May 10th, 2025 at 8:18:29 AM
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Quote: billryanQuote: 100xOddsQuote: DRichAre there any betting lines available for who will be the next pope?
I am not Catholic but I always find the process interesting.
link to original post
pope Leo was made cardinal in 2023?
That's a pretty quick promotion.
Did the conclave explain why they picked one of the most recently promoted cardinals as their boss?
link to original post
The Conclave wouldn't say anything, but it appears Francis hand-picked him, and the majority went along.
link to original post
There is nothing more dead than a dead Pope.
May 10th, 2025 at 8:30:45 AM
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Pope Leo has some explaining to do about what went on in Chicago. After reading some of the emails, I realized that he was more involved in covering up than he publicly acknowledged.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 10th, 2025 at 10:56:06 AM
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It appears the new Pope's grandmother was classified as a mulatoo, with her father being from Haiti. His parents are listed as white, according to the 1920 Census.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
May 10th, 2025 at 3:51:54 PM
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Quote: billryanIt appears the new Pope's grandmother was classified as a mulatoo, with her father being from Haiti. His parents are listed as white, according to the 1920 Census.
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Just goes to show the melting pot that is the United States.
