For those who followed yesterday's discussion of the plans of the pope emeritus to take his secretary with him into retirement, Rachel Maddow's commentary last night on Benedict's departure from the Vatican may be interesting. The clip at the head of the posting is from her website. I won't add commentary--but I wonder what readers who watch the clip may think.
The posting I made yesterday, to which the first link above points, cites commentary of Jayden Cameron here at Bilgrimage two days ago. Jayden has now posted his own expanded statement about these same matters at his Gay Mystic site. As he notes, it's impossible to watch video coverage of Benedict's final moments as pope and his leave-taking and not feel sadness--for the heavy burden a frail, elderly man has borne, for the pain of those who are cut to the core by his renunciation of the papal throne, but above all for the tragedy of the Catholic church right now. Tragedy, not derision, is the proper trope for assessing the status quo of the church now, Jayden maintains.
And then he concludes:
One feels an unbearable sadness for the never ending cycle of denial and self deception that seem to mark the Vatican culture surrounding the office of the Papacy. One accepts this situation in a spirit of faith, that the Spirit knows what she is about in purifying the church through one contradictory trial after another. Yet we long for respite and for some sign of hope for the institution that carries the Catholic Christian mystical tradition.
And I heartily agree with Jayden.
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