The strange thing about the death of Pope Francis is that, when I saw the news alert, I was just gazing at a Reuters photograph of President Trump in an excellent Daily Beast piece by Michael Daly about an old real-estate feud with the Pritzker family that helps fuel Trump’s hatred of Harvard (where Penny Pritzker leads the board).
A prophetic remark: "The news that Melania will be accompanying Trump to the pontiff’s funeral in Rome means we will have a twenty-foot mantilla to look forward to."
Thank you, Tina. It really was crass of him to attend the funeral—and to announce beforehand that he was going because he wants the Catholic vote. Shameless huckster.
My reaction to the death of Pope Francis has surprised me - it was visceral. I'm not a practicing Catholic and I have deep, conflicting feelings about the Catholic church and the faith itself, but the ancestral memory of catholicism thrums in my DNA. My blood is infused with incense, I'm sure of it. And I mourned the pope. I was fearful that his work would be undone, that we would be undone. At this moment, when so many are suffering, are afraid, are desperate, I think we need some hope - and a kind of spiritual parenting. I'm surprised I'm writing this. I didn't expect to feel this way. I rarely express my theological or spiritual ramblings. But everything that Trump is, and stands for, is the opposite of what Pope Francis was. At least, that's how it feels. And then there was the white smoke. I found myself - again, to my surprise - crying. I was hoping, praying even, that a leader would be found who could counter the horrors of the Trump regime. The need is great. The time is now. The world needs goodness. Evil - and I've thought a lot about the use of that word - is alive and on the loose.
A prophetic remark: "The news that Melania will be accompanying Trump to the pontiff’s funeral in Rome means we will have a twenty-foot mantilla to look forward to."
Indeed! She didn't go QUITE that far, but close!
https://substack.com/profile/266057536-damion-matthews/note/c-112388460
Thank you, Tina. It really was crass of him to attend the funeral—and to announce beforehand that he was going because he wants the Catholic vote. Shameless huckster.
My reaction to the death of Pope Francis has surprised me - it was visceral. I'm not a practicing Catholic and I have deep, conflicting feelings about the Catholic church and the faith itself, but the ancestral memory of catholicism thrums in my DNA. My blood is infused with incense, I'm sure of it. And I mourned the pope. I was fearful that his work would be undone, that we would be undone. At this moment, when so many are suffering, are afraid, are desperate, I think we need some hope - and a kind of spiritual parenting. I'm surprised I'm writing this. I didn't expect to feel this way. I rarely express my theological or spiritual ramblings. But everything that Trump is, and stands for, is the opposite of what Pope Francis was. At least, that's how it feels. And then there was the white smoke. I found myself - again, to my surprise - crying. I was hoping, praying even, that a leader would be found who could counter the horrors of the Trump regime. The need is great. The time is now. The world needs goodness. Evil - and I've thought a lot about the use of that word - is alive and on the loose.