[Magdalen] German RC bishop speaks boldly

[Joseph Cirou]

I think Benny may be a tad shorter than Dowager Queen Mary, but they'd make a fetching couple with his red shoes and her jewels that made her look like a walking Christmas Tree. I don't think any other surviving royal spouse has received the title "Dowager" in recent history. I think the last one before Queen Mary was her mother-in-law Queen Alexandra the widow of Edward VII.  (The retired queens in the Netherlands return to their title Princess; I never saw Queen Fabiola of the Belgians referred to as a "Dowager" Queen.--although Mother Egregia knows many monsignors who would resemble that moniker.


Joe

-----Original Message-----
>From: Jon Egger <revegger at gmail.com>
>Sent: Feb 13, 2016 4:23 PM
>To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
>Subject: Re: [Magdalen] German RC bishop speaks boldly
>
>I call Benedict the Dowager Pope.
>
>Grace and peace,
>brud
>
>On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 8:06 PM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>> Carter is definitely productive, "Bennie", um, not so much.  He looked
>> dead before he retired.
>>
>> Marion, a pilgrim
>>
>>
>> On 2/12/2016 8:04 PM, Joseph Cirou wrote:
>>
>>> Maybe you should have qualified it with "voluntarily"  There are Popes
>>> who resigned before death, but in the past with circumstances, such as
>>> exile for the Pope who was sent to the mines to reconcile with St.
>>> Hippolytus (the first antipope) St Celestine who recognized that he was
>>> administratively incompetent, Martin V to heal the Great Western Schism and
>>> perhaps a few others.
>>>
>>> Bennie was the first to simply "retire" considering his age, but he will
>>> soon join Jimmy Carter and other who are still productive into their 90's
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>
>>>> From: Ann Markle <ann.markle at aya.yale.edu>
>>>> Sent: Feb 12, 2016 4:31 PM
>>>> To: "magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] German RC bishop speaks boldly
>>>>
>>>> Not socially progressive, but he *is* the first Pope ever to retire
>>>> before
>>>> he died.  He set a precedent there....
>>>>
>>>> Ann
>>>>
>>>> The Rev. Ann Markle
>>>> Buffalo, NY
>>>> ann.markle at aya.yale.edu
>>>> blog:  www.onewildandpreciouslife.typepad.com
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Oct 9, 2015 at 3:34 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> B16 is German, but *hardly* progressive! I see him as pretty far right,
>>>>> in
>>>>> fact.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>