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Paris, Sunday 18th of November, 2012:

The Renunciation

In Memoriam.

He's not dead but you get the point.

Well what a day this has been. First thing I learned this morning as I checked the news, right out of the shower, His Holiness had renounced the Papacy. I was in absolute shock of course, as I warrant was everyone else. Like they say, not in 600 years has such a thing happened.

I won't dwell too long on His Holiness's reign, others can do that far better than I and can give far more fitting tributes than this. I will say that I think he was a good Pope, and that there is a great deal of love in my heart for him. God Bless the Pope.

Now, onto what the future holds and here I have to be all political and whatever: who will be the next Pope? No doubt that is the question on everyone's mind. So far it looks like there are several early favorites, but as we saw in the American elections and in our own, it's often unknown who the competition will end up to be. Just like in a political election though, it is fairly easy to rule some people out. I'll just go ahead and say I'll eat my own muttonchops if the next Pope is French, none of our Cardinals have the fortitude or the courage for such a post (all my respects however go to them for the admirable fight they are leading against gay "marriage"). There is however a seemingly strong possibility than Cardinal Ouellet from Quebec, so one of our cousins, could be a likely successor. I tend to agree that he'd be good for the job. Not only is he relatively young (68), which will be taken into light considering the circumstances of Benedict XVI's current plans, but he is fairly consistent with Benedict in his ideas and actions. They publish in the same conservative theological paper, Communio, they have both made opposing relativism one of their primary focus points, and they both consider the re-evangelization of Europe a priority.

That last example is quite frankly what I think the next Papacy will have as its hinge. Which is also why I'm not fond of the idea of an African Pope. We know the media loves it, and the well-intentioned urban bolsheviks will piss themselves on the idea that Europeans are ousted from one of those quintessentially European institutions which remains popular in the hearts of their perennial enemies, the conservative/traditionalists/reactionaries/fascist monsters/anti-semites/racists/regressives/etc. Naturally to us, or at least to me, an African Pope would produce a feeling of abandonment. I'm not against it, not in principle, but I'm against it now.

In any case we'll see the nuts and the hysterical parade their usual things. "Will the next Pope be pro-gay," they'll ask. "Maybe he'll be a transgender atheist Aborigine with autism!" they'll exclaim. "Maybe still, he could be the antichrist."

I wish His Holiness the best, and to the College of Cardinals as well, for their difficult decision. The fate of the Church is in the most capable hands of all...