So as to not derail the topic of women priests:

Pope John XXIII was at a dinner and was seated next to a woman whose attire barely counted as clothing. He handed her an apple. She asked why he did this.

He replied, "After eating the apple, Eve realized that she was naked. I'm hoping you'll do the same!"

LOL !

Hilarious!

For the record, maybe we should post some other "gems" that have shown up on other posts. What do you think?

Another from Blessed John XXIII:

"It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope."

Blessed John XXIII must have been really funny:

"God knew from all eternity that I would be Pope. He had 80 years to work on me. Don't you think He could have made me a little more photogenic?"

Another time, he told Bishop Sheen: "Let's have our picture taken together; it will make Spellman jealous."

It's not a quote from a pope, but one of my cousins is an RC priest and the "joke" for some time now has been that at the Third Vatican Council, the Bishops will bring their wives. And at the Fourth Vatican Council, the Bishops will bring their husbands. Laugh or cry, your choice!

Tim

Pope John XXIII was certainly funny! Here's an old one.

He had the habit of going around Rome visiting parishes and congregations unannounced.

One day, he was seen sauntering toward the "Convent of Christ the King" in suburban Rome. The young sister at the reception was aghast at the unexpected visit of the Pope so she run upstairs to fetch her Mother Superior shouting: "The Pope is coming! The Pope is coming! The Pope is coming!" startling the Mother Superior and all the nuns in the convent.

Mother Superior and sister run down the stairs in time to greet the Pope at the door: "Your Holiness (gasp), I am the Superior of Christ . . . (gasp) . . . ! ! !

Calmly, Pope John XXIII replied: "Good for you, sister, I am only His Vicar!

Haha Tim, maybe at the Second Council of Trent those priests will be shut up in monasteries!

Alexis

Pope John XXIII was certainly known for his wit.

During an interview with foreign journalists, John XXIII was asked, "How many people work in the Vatican?"

The Holy Father pondered, then replied, "About half."

The first one could be a possibility the second NOT a chance.
unless the bulk of the Church went off into heresey and schism, which has been know to happen but then it stops being the Church of God doesnt it?
Stephanos I

Please remember, I'm just passing along what I heard, not endorsing it.

But stranger things have happened---who would have thought in the early 1800's when "Irish need not apply" signs were hanging all over the East coast of the U-S that it would be an Irish Catholic Bishop (named Ireland, ironically enough) who did not believe EC priests were allowed to be married? In less than 100 years, the Irish went from not even being tolerated stepping into a place of business to being Bishops. And about 100 years after Bishop Ireland, we have a Pope who has ordered that ECs follow their traditions---including the married priesthood. And we now we have an Eparch in the U-S who has ordained three married men. Who's to say what or will not happen 100 years from now? Whether we like it, or agree with it, just about anything can happen.

For centuries Jews were blamed for the death of Jesus. The first ghetto was in Rome, I believe. In fact, if I recall correctly, Jews were supposed to wear red hats to identify themselves as Jews. But people kept getting the Cardinals and the Jews mixed up that they had to change that law. The first pogroms against Jews were started by Christians. And then John Paul II had the courage to publicly say that what the Catholic Heirarch's and Catholics in general did was wrong and apologized. Who would have believed that would have happened 100 or 200 years ago?

I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it (the Third and Fourth Vatican Council "joke") happening. Then again, I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it not happening, either!

Tim

Good points, Tim.

I'm almost certain the first ghetto was actually in Venice.

Alexis

Stephanos,

The only reason I don't think a second Council of Trent would ever occur is because, well, I don't see the entire Church hierarchy converging in Trent, Italy. That'd be quite unmanageable these days, I imagine.

We are not living in the 1960s and frankly, my generation is quite a bit more traditional that the generation of those who hijacked and misinterpreted (and still do both of those) Vatican II.

Alexis

There is hope.