you

Pope Benedict XVI, who some call Pope Emeritus,

Benedict XVI died this morning, December 31st, 2022,

Roman time.

And I got to admit, I'm conflicted on how to feel.

The very first thing that came to mind is,

what if Pope Benedict had not resigned?

What if his pontificate had continued to go from 2013

when he resigned all the way to the last day of 2022?

And how would the Catholic Church look if that had happened?

It's a big what if, obviously it didn't happen.

As you know, I struggle with Pope Francis, his theology,

his policies, his appointments.

And in many ways, I think Francis has been destructive for the church

and caused a lot of confusion.

But what if Benedict had been put,

what if Sumorum Pontificum hadn't been overturned?

What if there had been no pochimamas and synods and synodality

and amorous latheets, yeah.

All the things that I've been wrestling with,

that you've been wrestling with,

for coming up on a decade.

...