Benedict's funeral to bring 'two popes' era to a complicated close - The Washington Post

But the delicate creation betwixt the 2 popes — 1 current, 1 erstwhile — isn’t implicit yet, astatine slightest not entirely. That’s due to the fact that Francis, successful the last enactment of a narration that was outwardly lukewarm but often awkward, volition beryllium the 1 to framework the play of remembrance and mourning.

This precedent-setting week volition beryllium watched to spot however afloat Benedict is fixed the passages that would usually beryllium afforded a sitting pope. Initial indications suggest that his ceremonial volition person little pomp than the 2005 mass-scale ceremonial for John Paul II. In this case, the Vatican said lone 2 ceremonial delegations volition beryllium attending, from Italy and from Benedict’s autochthonal Germany. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the ceremonial would beryllium “simple.”

Also important is however Francis — for this archetypal clip successful his pontificate, the lone Vatican fig dressed successful achromatic — volition talk astir his predecessor. So far, successful prayers connected Saturday evening and Sunday, helium has addressed Benedict’s decease lone successful passing, calling him “noble” and “kind.” Francis has different proceeded arsenic mean with the Vatican’s New Year’s festivities. On Saturday, successful a wheelchair, helium waved to adoring supporters arsenic helium was pushed done St. Peter’s Square.

Marco Politi, a Francis biographer, predicted that the pope would negociate this week with “diplomacy” and hunt for ways to amusement the communal crushed betwixt himself and Benedict.

“This is simply a mode for him to neutralize the enemies of his papacy,” Politi said.

Politi said that wrong the church, “there’s a consciousness of relief, due to the fact that this soundless opposition betwixt 2 figures and 2 visions of the religion is present over.”

Benedict broke centuries of contented successful which popes served until death, and the request to coexist with his predecessor has been a defining facet of Francis’s tenure, coinciding with a play of increasing polarization wrong the faith.

For traditionalists, Benedict became a awesome of opposition. Conservative figures successful the religion would question audiences with him. Far-right politicians would punctuation him — oregon John Paul II — alternatively of Francis.

Intrigue astir their narration has been truthful aggravated that it adjacent inspired a movie, “The Two Popes,” which imagined the 2 verbally sparring, and yet enjoying 1 another, successful a play earlier Benedict’s abdication.

In existent life, Benedict showed deference to Francis and said determination was lone 1 authorization fig astatine the top. Francis, successful turn, regularly touted Benedict’s tone and “intellectual insight.” After ceremonies to induct caller cardinals, Francis would routinely pb them to greet Benedict, who lived successful a monastery tucked down St. Peter’s Basilica.

But it sometimes proved treacherous having a retired pope — peculiarly 1 who lived truthful adjacent to Francis and who chose to proceed dressing successful white. Benedict didn’t wholly abide by his pledge to enactment “hidden from the world,” causing maelstroms erstwhile helium interjected himself into religion affairs.

In 2019, helium wrote a lengthy missive astir intersexual abuse, linking immoderate of the church’s problems to the 1960s intersexual revolution, a diagnosis that conflicted with Francis’s ain theories astir the basal causes.

A twelvemonth later, Benedict offered a defense of clerical celibacy, conscionable arsenic Francis was weighing a determination to let the ordination of joined men successful the Amazon to offset a dire clergyman shortage. Benedict aboriginal said determination had been a “misunderstanding” with the co-author of the publication wherever his remarks had appeared. Some religion watchers speculated that the ex-pope risked being manipulated arsenic helium grew much frail.

Often Benedict’s and Francis’s stances were not truthful acold apart; some person upheld religion teaching connected sexuality, for instance. But their philosophical differences were truthful pronounced that they seemed to correspond other poles. Benedict, arsenic pope, focused connected upholding the eternal teachings of the faith, adjacent if it meant a smaller religion of ardent believers. Francis, by contrast, has traveled to countries with small Catholic presence, emphasized dialog with Islam, and harnessed issues specified arsenic clime alteration and migration — areas that traditionalists accidental person small to bash with the faith.

While popes are ever compared to their predecessors, it was wholly caller to person 2 surviving men with acquisition arsenic the religion’s apical motivation and spiritual authority.

Even successful St. Peter’s Square connected Saturday, successful the hours aft Benedict’s death, radical spoke astir him successful opposition to Francis.

Andrea Versace, 23, visiting Rome from the bluish portion of Veneto, described Benedict arsenic “cold and detached,” arsenic opposed to Francis, whom she sees arsenic “more humble.”

Benedict’s decease volition person ripple effects for Francis. Some religion watchers anticipation that helium draws up ceremonial rules that usher immoderate aboriginal pontiff’s status — perchance requiring him to unrecorded extracurricular the Vatican and revert to his fixed name. Such rules would person been awkward to make erstwhile Pope Benedict was inactive alive.

Francis, successful past interviews, has said helium views Benedict’s resignation arsenic a precedent — thing helium would see doing arsenic well, should his wellness falter. For now, Francis has genu pain and struggles to walk. But helium keeps a engaged schedule.

Francis, for his part, has said that helium would beryllium known arsenic the bishop emeritus of Rome were helium to measurement down. He said helium would “surely not” enactment successful the Vatican.

In an interrogation past twelvemonth with 2 Mexican journalists, Francis said that the archetypal acquisition with a sitting pope and an ex-pope “went rather well,” due to the fact that Benedict was “a beatified and discreet man, and helium knew however to bash it well.”

“But for the future,” Francis said, “it’s due to explicate things better.”