posted
O.K. I did go to the Religion catagory and search for the word "testicles", and this subject did not come up - though how this could have been missed I can't imagine.
Anyway, here goes: is it true that when a new Pope is selected, one of the ceremonies he must go through is to sit in a crescent shaped chair, exposing his genitalia to the view and touch of the passing College of Cardinals? Supposedly each cardinal is supposed to recite "Testiculos habet et bene pendentes", which loosely translated means "Testicles he has and well-hung ones". This invasion of privacy is supposed to insure that neither a eunuch or - heaven help us - a woman ascends the Throne of Peter.
I first read about this ceremony in an historical novel about the mythical (maybe) Pope Joan. I have done a search on the web about this, but couldn't really find anything that confirms or refutes this story.
Posts: 1651 | From: Columbus, Ohio | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I've never heard this one before, but I have often referred to things as being "useless as the Pope's testicles". Wikipedia seems to think its not true, and, quite frankly, neither do I; you'd think something like this, if it were to be checked, would be done a few steps below Pope.
-------------------- "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin "That lonely recluse who lives down the road is crying out. So is that pregnant teenager. And the prostitute. And the drunkard." Join the Free State Project - I did! Posts: 1516 | From: *sigh* Elmira, NY | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
The Catholic Encyclopedia thoroughly debunks the Pope Joan story; but then they would, wouldn't they.
Four Kitties
-------------------- If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales? Posts: 13275 | From: Kindergarten World, Massachusetts | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Four (2 squared) Kitties: The Catholic Encyclopedia thoroughly debunks the Pope Joan story; but then they would, wouldn't they.
Four Kitties
Exactly, Four Kitties.
Horse "Next they'll be saying Jesus wasn't married" Chestnut
Posts: 1651 | From: Columbus, Ohio | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Yeah, they made a movie about this. It was called "Yentl".
-------------------- "I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. I wanna bite that hand so badly. I wanna make them wish they'd never seen me." - Elvis Costello Posts: 2291 | From: The Banks of the Merrimack, MA | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I have a book called "The Unexplained" by Dr. Karl P.N. Shukur that addresses a section to Pope Joan, and the chair with the hole in it. He doesn't say whether or not the practice was discontinued, or when it was discontinued if it ever existed, however he does debunk the rumour of Joan herself. He suggests instead that it may have been based upon Nicetas, who was a eunuch Patriarch in Constantinople, and that some writers might have willfully misrepresented him in a bid to badmouth the papacy.
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posted
I REALLY doubt this would be true. It's one of the weirdest and most ridiculous activities (religious or no) I've ever heard of.
-------------------- A dyslexic man walks into a bra. Posts: 541 | From: New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Rhiandmoi
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
What would be the problem with a Eunuch being Pope? Does that mean a person that is a eunuch because of testicular cancer for example is out? What if you are only a half eunuch?
-------------------- I think that hyperbole is the single greatest factor contributing to the decline of society. - My friend Pat.
posted
Eunuchs, not by disease or force, are forbidden from the clergy (I Nicaea, Canon I):
quote:IF any one in sickness has been subjected by physicians to a surgical operation, or if he has been castrated by barbarians, let him remain among the clergy; but, if any one in sound health has castrated himself, it behoves that such an one, if[already] enrolled among the clergy, should cease[from his ministry], and that from henceforth no such person should be promoted. But, as it is evident that this is said of those who wilfully do the thing and presume to castrate themselves, so if any have been made eunuchs by barbarians, or by their masters, and should otherwise be found worthy, such men the Canon admits to the clergy.
-------------------- All posts foretold by Nostradamus.
Turing test failures: 6 Posts: 5481 | From: Decatur, GA | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
You're kidding. That sounds like a parody passage:)
-------------------- "For me, religion is like a rhinoceros: I don't have one, and I'd really prefer not to be trampled by yours. But it is impressive, and even beautiful, and, to be honest, the world would be slightly worse off if there weren't any." -Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 3239 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Oh, no...Deuteronomy 23:1 is a classic! It's one that we used to quote often at church camp (when the kids weren't around, of course!) Chloe seems to have quoted the King James Verson. NRSV is a bit more...straight forward.
My favorite, though, is Ezekiel 23:19 and 20.
Heavy "like DONKEYS?" B
Edited to correct dumb mistake
-------------------- I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. - Joe Walsh Posts: 801 | From: Minnesota | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Some early Christians subscribed to the dualistic idea that the body--especially sex--was bad, and therefore advocated castration to subdue the 'lusts of the flesh'.
However, the Church condemned this practice on the grounds that God made sexuality, and everything that He made is pronounced in the Bible as "very, very good." Sexuality can be misused, of course, but that is the fault of human beings who are very good at NFBSK-ing up good things.
Celibacy, for those who were called to it, is intended to be a continuous offering of one's sexuality to God; it was a decision that had to be made every day; hence, for a celebate to have himself castrated would defeat the purpose.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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