(The Vatican)—Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has caused quite a stir with the publication of his new book on the importance of priestly celibacy. From the Depths of Our Hearts, written with Cardinal Robert Sarah, seems to challenge Pope Francis’ presumed desire to allow married deacons in the Amazon region to be ordained as priests. The move has incensed liberal theologians and laypeople, especially in the United States.
A woman coming out of a Manhattan Catholic parish and wearing a T-shirt that said “Hillary 2020?” excoriated the former pontiff, aged 92: “For crying out loud, his time has passed! He had his chance and blew it. It’s time for new blood now.”
“One pope is complicated enough. This is a mess,” complained a woman sipping coffee from a Starbucks cup and sporting pink hair, a nose ring, and a button with a rainbow-colored equal sign on it. “Imagine if we had someone claiming she should be president or something while the current president was trying to do his job.”
“It’s time for him to live up to his promise to be ‘hidden from the world’,” squawked a millennial man wearing a man-bun, Crocks, and a “I still [heart] Hillary” T-shirt, as he engaged in some sort of protest in front of Trump Tower.
Another woman at the same protest and wearing a “RBG Forever!” button balked: “That old geezer…. there’s no way he has the mental capacity at his advanced age to write a book. It’s a darn good thing he is not in a position to make decisions that impact the lives of millions anymore.”
“Now please leave me alone, as I have to go get ready to watch Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren square off in tonight’s debate.”
The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. We also sometimes add a dose of humor to our journal in the great tradition of Western satirists like Erasmus of Rotterdam, John Dryden, and Jonathan Swift. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.
The featured image combines official government photos of Hillary Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and a photo of Pope Benedict from Catholic Church England and Wales, which is licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)
And don’t forget that upstarty African Robert Sarah! Who does he think he is, lecturing Europeans for cryin’ out loud.
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Sadly, there is more truth than satire in this. For folks who claim to be awake, “they” sure do snore loudly.
We joy in knowing that every day Papa Benedict prays for all of us.
Not Catholic, so am only addressing the dissenters to their denomination’s policies.
Wow. Seems like if an idea is ” old” or if the speaker is retired…no matter their credentials…then ideas from those people are considered…invalid.
Ideas arent lunchmeat folks. Each idea should be considered…and logically tested. And not automatically discarded…because it’s not an idea from the latest ” woke” thought stream.
“For crying out loud, his time has passed! He had his chance and blew it. It’s time for new blood now.”
C.S. Lewis called it chronological snobbery or thinking that the present age is more enlightened. The cry is, “We won’t go back to….” The irony is that the West is going back, to the barbarous ways of our pre-Christian ancestors.