The John-Henry Westen Show - New Uncertainties for Traditional Catholics Following Death of Pope Benedict XVI

00:00:00.000 This is John Henry Weston coming to you from Rome on this January 5th, 2023.

00:00:05.800 We are here at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

00:00:10.060 As you can see behind me, there's still the fog lifting in the morning.

00:00:13.760 It's a cool 5 degrees Celsius here, and we just passed by hundreds,

00:00:19.040 if not thousands of priests and religious queuing to get into the funeral.

00:00:24.060 And there are here hundreds of the faithful.

00:00:26.160 As you can see, media crowding behind us here as we all cover this historic day.

00:00:32.080 We've got a lot to offer to you as well today.

00:00:34.720 On this special episode of the John Henry Weston Show,

00:00:37.020 we're going to have a look at President Biden's kind of very odd response

00:00:42.160 to his press secretary saying that Pope Benedict seemed to not want the Bidens to come.

00:00:48.160 We know that Trudeau is also not coming.

00:00:50.120 These sort of Catholic leaders from America are not here.

00:00:53.440 But there are dignitaries here.

00:00:55.120 The Queen of Spain and her husband, Juan Carlos, maybe, we're not sure yet.

00:01:00.060 Also, the King of Belgium, King Philippe, was here as well.

00:01:03.580 Of course, the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, from Hungary was here.

00:01:08.820 So many dignitaries present.

00:01:10.580 We're going to bring you that and much more on this special episode of the John Henry Weston Show.

00:01:15.040 Stay tuned.

00:01:15.460 Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.

00:01:24.860 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

00:01:28.880 Amen.

00:01:29.800 Let's pray, especially for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict,

00:01:33.600 for whom we're praying today at this Mass.

00:01:35.760 I want to take you back a couple days now to President Biden.

00:01:39.380 President Biden, who fancies himself a Catholic, was asked if he was going to the funeral.

00:01:43.660 First of all, what he thought about Pope Benedict.

00:01:46.320 Take a look at his response.

00:01:47.480 What did Pope Benedict mean to you as a Catholic?

00:01:52.160 Well, I had an opportunity to spend some time with Pope Benedict, a couple hours.

00:01:57.440 And he was a great, it reminded me of going back to the theology class.

00:02:02.100 We spoke about Aquinas and about human theologica and the whole way.

00:02:06.420 I found him to be relaxing, very rational, and he was more conservative than you,

00:02:13.880 within the Catholic realm than I have, especially with both the present folks,

00:02:19.420 in terms of your philosophy, your view.

00:02:21.720 Well, I admired him.

00:02:23.180 I thought he was a fine view.

00:02:24.200 You're not attending his funeral tomorrow, though.

00:02:26.020 Why?

00:02:26.900 Well, why do you think?

00:02:28.240 Well, you tell me.

00:02:29.340 You know why.

00:02:30.320 I can't.

00:02:30.620 You can tell me, sir.

00:02:31.480 The reason I'm not attending the funeral tomorrow is because it takes an entourage of

00:02:36.240 a thousand people to show up, not literally.

00:02:38.900 But we would move everything in the wrong direction.

00:02:42.200 I inquired about it.

00:02:45.260 And the people are sending, mostly the apostolic delegates, the folks in Rome.

00:02:50.680 That's what we're going to do.

00:02:51.600 We would just get in the way.

00:02:53.480 But I made my views known.

00:02:55.660 I'm interested.

00:02:57.100 I think he was a fine man.

00:02:58.320 Thank you, sir.

00:02:58.820 Okay, so there is his response.

00:03:03.160 Now, get this.

00:03:03.960 He says, you know, how undiplomatic can you get?

00:03:07.420 But he's saying he is much more in common with Pope Francis.

00:03:11.000 Surprise, surprise.

00:03:11.920 And he says that, you know, Benedict is conservative.

00:03:15.600 But then this nonsense about, are you going, no, and then why do you think?

00:03:22.500 So that's unbelievable.

00:03:23.600 And then when pressed on it, then he gives some cockamamie answer about how to take a

00:03:27.320 thousand people and then it's all nonsense.

00:03:29.720 We got a little bit more clarity, maybe, from the press secretary.

00:03:33.540 Check out these comments from President Biden's press secretary.

00:03:36.240 As the president said in his statement, as I'm sure you saw, he joins Catholics and so

00:03:43.200 many others around the world in mourning the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

00:03:49.620 He will always remember the Pope's generosity and meaningful conversation they had when he

00:03:56.640 visited the Vatican in 2011.

00:03:59.200 So to answer your question, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Joe Donnelly, will represent the

00:04:05.360 United States at the funeral of the Pope in line with the wishes of the late Pope and

00:04:10.300 the Vatican.

00:04:11.020 This is what their requests were.

00:04:13.740 This is what their wishes were.

00:04:15.480 And so that's what you'll see.

00:04:19.400 So that's exactly why we have commentary all around Rome now that Pope Benedict himself

00:04:25.040 requested Biden not to come to the funeral.

00:04:27.520 Now, wouldn't that be interesting?

00:04:29.340 There are a lot of interesting things.

00:04:31.640 You might have seen our coverage from yesterday.

00:04:33.660 We were here yesterday.

00:04:34.780 We had gone in to see the body of Pope Benedict, to pray for him there.

00:04:39.880 Had a great talk with our Rome correspondent, Michael Haynes, talking about Benedict and the

00:04:46.360 legacy that he leaves.

00:04:47.540 We had a great interview with Bishop Schneider, who regrets that he can't be here, but gave

00:04:53.100 us some amazing reflections.

00:04:55.220 I encourage you to go watch that show from yesterday.

00:04:57.520 But just before, we're going to go in now to the funeral of Pope Benedict.

00:05:03.900 But just before we do, you really need to have a glimpse of Pope Benedict in his younger

00:05:12.040 days.

00:05:12.460 I know many of you have seen him now, an aging, aging man and someone who, you know, can hardly

00:05:18.580 speak.

00:05:19.080 And we've seen him kind of in a way these last number of years, like we did John Paul

00:05:23.580 the second, you know, dying away.

00:05:25.260 But with him, not as Pope.

00:05:26.700 In fact, he was actually, believe it or not, two years longer in retirement from the papacy

00:05:32.660 than he was Pope itself.

00:05:34.680 But here's a glimpse of Pope Benedict really in his glory days.

00:05:39.360 In fact, this is when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, he spoke about what would become

00:05:45.140 Sumorum Pontificum, that great document that will forever be his legacy to restore the traditional

00:05:50.640 Latin Mass.

00:05:51.520 This was a conversation he had before becoming Pope with Raymond Arroyo on EWTN about Latin

00:05:58.220 in the Mass, about the Latin Mass, and about its need to continue.

00:06:03.880 And that would, had someone seen that then, could have prophesied Sumorum Pontificum.

00:06:08.960 Take a look and listen to his excellent English.

00:06:14.240 Generally, I think it was good to translate the liturgy in the spoken languages, because

00:06:20.740 we will understand, we will participate also with our thinking.

00:06:25.560 But a stronger presence of some elements of Latin would be helpful to give the universal

00:06:31.200 dimension, to give the possibility that in all the parts of the world, we can see I am

00:06:35.740 in the same church.

00:06:36.620 So generally, popular language is a good solution.

00:06:42.240 But some presence of Latin could be helpful to have more experience of universality.

00:06:48.860 I know you are working on those new liturgical, this new liturgical piece of legislation that

00:06:55.340 the Pope previewed in his encyclical on the Eucharist.

00:06:58.220 We have been hearing a great deal from Cardinal Lorenze and in some publications that this

00:07:04.980 may be a precursor to a universal indult for the Tridentine Mass.

00:07:10.640 Do you foresee that at all?

00:07:12.100 I would distinguish between the future document and the problem of the indult.

00:07:16.120 The future document is not a new legislation, but interpretation of given norms.

00:07:21.220 So we have only to interpret, to clarify what is abuse and what is really application of the

00:07:30.120 liturgy.

00:07:30.680 In this sense, it's very limited, the possibility of this document, a clarification of abuses and

00:07:36.080 clarification of norms in this moment.

00:07:39.460 The other is a different problem.

00:07:44.420 I think generally the old liturgy was never prohibited.

00:07:49.720 We need only norms how in peace apply it so that the Reformed liturgy is the normal liturgy 0.95

00:07:57.260 of the community of the church.

00:07:59.120 But there also is always a valid liturgy of the church can be used, but in obedience to

00:08:05.300 the bishops and to the Holy Father.

00:08:06.880 And that's a great challenge, I know, in some parts of the church and in other parts of

00:08:10.900 the church.

00:08:11.860 They've embraced the Pope's call for more frequent practice.

00:08:16.680 Yes, I think it's important to be open to this possibility and to demonstrate also the

00:08:23.980 continuity of the church.

00:08:25.300 We are today not another church.

00:08:28.700 And from there, let's go into the funeral.

00:08:32.040 Now you know this man, you've been able to see him, hear him in our own tongue.

00:08:37.060 Yes, with a German accent, but it was so beautiful to get to know Benedict a little bit better.

00:08:43.960 So with that in your mind and in your heart, won't you join us right now?

00:08:47.840 We're going to go in and take in the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

00:08:51.600 And here you can see the pallbearers are bringing out the body of Benedict XVI in a cypress wood

00:09:00.940 casket.

00:09:01.920 This casket actually will be later today placed into a zinc coffin and finally covered in a

00:09:07.460 wood case to be buried under St. Peter's Basilica.

00:09:10.320 And as you can see here, there are tens of thousands of faithful here in St. Peter's Square

00:09:17.060 on this very cold day.

00:09:18.720 We are up here on the colonnade of St. Peter's right on top of the columns.

00:09:23.300 That's why you can see these beautiful views of the cardinals, the bishops processing in.

00:09:27.640 We just prayed the Holy Rosary in Latin.

00:09:30.560 And as you can hear now, the beginning of the hymns for the funeral mass of Pope Benedict XVI.

00:09:36.580 Please watch.

00:09:37.080 We're so pleased to bring you this coverage, really with a view to you joining us in prayer

00:09:42.740 for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict.

00:09:48.080 And here is Pope Francis being wheeled out in his wheelchair into the square, packed again

00:09:53.360 with tens of thousands of pilgrims.

00:09:55.720 Jim is filming here from atop the colonnade in St. Peter's Square at the funeral of Pope

00:10:01.480 Benedict, who from the age of five wanted to give his life to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

00:10:07.080 So here in the entrance antiphon, or entrance hymn there singing, eternal rest, grant unto

00:10:13.160 him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

00:10:17.040 To you our praise is due in Zion, O God.

00:10:20.400 To you we pay our vows, you who hear our prayer.

00:10:24.680 To you all flesh will come with its burden of sin.

00:10:28.740 Too heavy for us our offenses, but you wipe them away.

00:10:32.100 Blessed he whom you choose and call to dwell in your courts.

00:10:37.600 We are filled with the blessings of your house, of your holy temple.

00:10:42.200 You keep your pledge with wonders, O God our Savior, the hope of all the earth and of far

00:10:49.360 distant isles.

00:10:50.400 O God, who in your wondrous providence chose your servant Benedict to preside over your church,

00:10:58.460 grant, we pray, that having served as the vicar of your Son on earth, he may be welcomed by

00:11:04.900 him into eternal glory.

00:11:06.860 These again are the verses, the prayers, being offered here at this papal funeral Mass of

00:11:16.200 Pope Benedict XVI.

00:11:19.360 They're saying, now remember your servant Pope Emeritus Benedict, whom you chose, whom you

00:11:24.260 have called from this world to yourself.

00:11:27.540 Grant that he who was united with your Son in a death like his, may also be one with him

00:11:34.120 in his resurrection, when from the earth he will raise up in the flesh those who have

00:11:39.880 died and transform our lowly body after the pattern of his own glorious body. 0.56

00:11:47.920 As we receive sacred sustenance from your charity, O Lord, we pray that your servant Benedict,

00:11:54.640 who was a faithful steward of your mysteries on earth, may praise your mercy forever in the

00:12:00.460 glory of the saints, through Christ our Lord.

00:12:06.320 In his homily, Pope Francis is saying, God's faithful people gathered here now accompanies

00:12:13.720 and entrusts him through the life of the one who was their pastor.

00:12:18.940 Like the women at the tomb, we too have come with the fragrance of gratitude and the balm of hope

00:12:25.160 in order to show him once more the love that is undying.

00:12:30.420 We want to do this with the same wisdom, tenderness and devotion that he bestowed upon us over the years.

00:12:38.400 Together we want to say, Father, into your hands we commend his spirit.

00:12:45.500 Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice now and forever.

00:12:53.620 So after, these are some of the prayers being said by Pope Francis.

00:12:59.120 Dear brothers and sisters, in celebrating the sacred mysteries, we have opened our minds and hearts to joy-filled hope.

00:13:06.760 With confidence, we now offer our final farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict and commend him to God,

00:13:13.360 our merciful and loving Father.

00:13:14.980 Father, deliver Pope Emeritus Benedict from death, that he may sing God's praises in the heavenly Jerusalem,

00:13:22.780 in expectation of the resurrection of his mortal body on the last day.

00:13:27.920 May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles and Sallus Populi Romani,

00:13:34.420 intercede before the Eternal Father,

00:13:36.280 that he may reveal the face of Jesus, his Son, to Pope Emeritus Benedict

00:13:41.660 and console the Church on her pilgrimage through history as she awaits the Lord's return.

00:13:51.040 And finally, Pope Francis prays,

00:13:53.720 Gracious Father,

00:13:55.320 we commend to your mercy, Pope Emeritus Benedict,

00:13:58.640 whom you made successor of Peter and shepherd of the Church,

00:14:02.000 a fearless preacher of your Word and a faithful minister of the Divine Mysteries.

00:14:08.160 Welcome him, we pray, into your heavenly dwelling place,

00:14:12.460 to enjoy eternal glory with all your chosen ones.

00:14:16.660 We give you thanks, Lord, for all the blessings that in your goodness you bestowed upon him

00:14:21.680 for the good of your people.

00:14:26.040 And now we have the Skola Choir singing the beautiful hymn,

00:14:30.140 in Paradisum.

00:14:32.460 May the angels lead you into Paradise.

00:14:36.180 May the martyrs come and welcome you and take you to the Holy City

00:14:40.320 and the new and eternal Jerusalem.

00:14:44.340 May choirs of angels welcome you,

00:14:47.260 and with Lazarus, who is poor no longer,

00:14:51.380 may you have eternal rest.

00:14:53.760 Just a quick note before we return,

00:14:58.580 if you would like to stay up to date on LifeSite's coverage

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00:15:15.820 at give.lifesitenews.com.

00:15:18.740 And now, back to the video.

00:15:20.120 The funeral mass for Pope Benedict XVI has just concluded.

00:15:25.540 In fact, the Bavarian marching band continues down

00:15:29.780 via della Conciliazione, away from the Vatican,

00:15:33.640 just streaming out of the Vatican,

00:15:35.760 tens of thousands of people,

00:15:37.560 as well as thousands of prelates and religious.

00:15:41.020 We were there on top of the colonnade,

00:15:43.400 Jim, Michael, Hale, and myself.

00:15:45.700 It was freezing cold, not as cold as Canada, of course,

00:15:48.380 but it was still cold, especially for the Romans.

00:15:50.900 You'll notice they're all in parkas and hats and everything else.

00:15:53.840 But I hope you've joined us in praying for the Holy Father.

00:15:57.440 I want to bring Michael Haynes on for a minute

00:15:59.520 just to discuss your reactions to the funeral mass

00:16:04.460 and to the homily of Pope Francis.

00:16:06.500 It's always an impressive moment to see a papal funeral.

00:16:08.740 They don't come around often.

00:16:09.840 And I think particularly Pope Benedict was the pope

00:16:12.620 who I knew growing up.

00:16:14.620 And to see him lying there, as we were discussing,

00:16:17.040 just in a simple coffin, very, very simple coffin,

00:16:19.900 it could have been anybody,

00:16:21.460 except for the, as you say, the hundreds of prelates,

00:16:23.880 the thousands of priests gathered around in the square.

00:16:26.400 And then it's even rarer to get a pope bearing another pope.

00:16:30.000 I mean, that's kind of unheard of, untold of.

00:16:33.620 It was particularly poignant.

00:16:35.020 I found very moving to see Cardinal Zen come in

00:16:38.660 just before the start of mass

00:16:40.080 and he was sitting on the front row of the cardinals there.

00:16:42.860 He got permission from the Chinese Communist Party

00:16:45.660 to leave Hong Kong just for five days.

00:16:48.760 Very, very beautiful.

00:16:50.340 Yes, and himself having suffered, I would think, a lot

00:16:53.000 in terms of what's going on.

00:16:55.320 What's going on with the coffin is interesting.

00:16:57.760 As I was mentioning there during the mass,

00:16:59.820 he's in a cypress wood casket right now

00:17:03.520 that will be put into a zinc coffin,

00:17:06.740 which will then be surrounded by a wooden box

00:17:08.920 and then buried in the crypt under St. Peter's there.

00:17:12.400 What is the symbolism of a lot of what's gone on?

00:17:16.000 We saw a lot of cardinals in red.

00:17:17.760 We saw a lot of bishops there, obviously.

00:17:19.800 But what is the point of making such a big deal

00:17:23.200 of a funeral mass for the send-off of Pope Benedict?

00:17:26.900 What's the church's sort of goal in having this mass?

00:17:30.980 I think with every funeral,

00:17:32.380 there is the point that, as Catholics,

00:17:34.320 we're coming to pray together

00:17:35.860 for the soul of the person who's just died,

00:17:37.520 particularly more so for the Pope,

00:17:39.040 because it's a scary thing for every parent

00:17:41.980 to have charge of your children.

00:17:44.020 For every priest, he has charge of his flock in the parish.

00:17:46.260 But for a Pope, he has charge of the souls of the church,

00:17:49.160 which is just an unbelievable responsibility.

00:17:52.120 All the more important, I think,

00:17:53.460 and it's something which is too easy to forget,

00:17:55.560 for us to come to pay our respects,

00:17:58.060 but more importantly, to pray for the Pope.

00:17:59.600 Excellent.

00:18:00.540 Let me do this.

00:18:01.760 Now, this is quite interesting.

00:18:03.260 This is for the first time we have, on film anyway,

00:18:06.820 both our Rome correspondents here.

00:18:08.900 Louis Kanufki, if you could come on in.

00:18:11.320 So, here on either side of me

00:18:15.100 are both our Rome correspondents,

00:18:16.800 Michael Haynes and Louis Kanufki.

00:18:18.420 You've probably read a lot about them,

00:18:20.240 and you've seen some of Louis already,

00:18:22.580 if you watch the video of him coverage here.

00:18:24.800 And so, it gives me great pleasure to introduce all of you

00:18:28.900 to the both of them, who are here permanently.

00:18:32.140 And really, we're trying to get to know the lay of the land.

00:18:35.660 It's a new lay of the land,

00:18:37.320 because it is a very strange place now

00:18:41.180 that Pope Benedict is gone,

00:18:43.280 and we're dealing with the aftermath.

00:18:45.480 And what will that aftermath be?

00:18:47.260 Before I get to that, from you, Louis,

00:18:49.400 I wanted to ask you your take on the funeral

00:18:51.160 that you were at, and what you thought of things.

00:18:53.340 Well, I did think it was very beautiful.

00:18:57.080 I was especially impressed, I guess,

00:18:58.860 by the presence of the Bavarians.

00:19:01.540 I don't know if we caught the procession out

00:19:05.060 after everything was finished,

00:19:07.640 but they brought a marching band

00:19:09.440 and dressed in their traditional regalia,

00:19:12.960 I think, to honor the Pope.

00:19:14.480 And it's a beautiful thing.

00:19:16.060 One of the things Pope Benedict liked, I think,

00:19:18.720 to remind us of was the beauty of tradition.

00:19:21.520 And we have the liturgical traditions

00:19:23.660 that he opened up more widely to the church.

00:19:27.240 But the cultural traditions as well,

00:19:29.200 that's part of our Catholic heritage.

00:19:32.180 Beautiful.

00:19:33.340 Michael and I were talking yesterday

00:19:35.040 about the future of the church.

00:19:37.800 I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, Louis.

00:19:39.240 Some people have suggested that Pope Benedict

00:19:43.440 was sort of a restraining factor on Francis.

00:19:46.520 Of course, that's contested

00:19:47.560 because he put out Traditiones Custodis,

00:19:50.060 which may have been the final blow for Pope Benedict.

00:19:53.760 But what are your thoughts about the future,

00:19:55.680 and what have you heard around town?

00:19:57.920 Well, I actually have spoken with some priests

00:20:01.200 back in the U.S.

00:20:02.100 about the Latin Mass

00:20:04.440 and the future of the church,

00:20:06.020 the future of the clergy.

00:20:08.280 And I think, one,

00:20:11.640 because of Pope Benedict's modu proprio,

00:20:14.280 the youth of the church

00:20:15.800 have really been exposed

00:20:18.160 to the beauty of the Old Mass.

00:20:20.540 And they don't understand now

00:20:23.080 why it's been taken from them.

00:20:25.280 And in a certain way,

00:20:26.720 that could have been the best thing

00:20:28.160 that could have happened

00:20:28.900 for the Latin Mass, to be honest.

00:20:31.080 I think those who are young,

00:20:33.780 who are devout,

00:20:35.420 love the liturgy

00:20:36.620 and the traditions of the church,

00:20:38.320 and now they're not going to let go.

00:20:41.300 And so I think, you know,

00:20:42.440 if we think several decades out,

00:20:45.120 both young priests and young laity,

00:20:50.040 when they can,

00:20:52.020 they're going to bring the Old Mass back,

00:20:53.520 and it's going to come back like none other.

00:20:55.540 I think 50 years out from now,

00:20:57.280 that's what the future of the church is.

00:20:58.900 The Latin Mass,

00:21:00.220 big families,

00:21:01.520 traditional families,

00:21:03.080 traditional Catholic education.

00:21:06.020 So, you know,

00:21:07.440 we're not seeing it right now,

00:21:08.920 but I think the seeds have been planted,

00:21:10.700 and I think a few decades out,

00:21:12.300 it's going to blossom.

00:21:14.080 I think one of the most beautiful things,

00:21:16.420 and a great way for us to close out,

00:21:18.940 is to look at the Last Testament

00:21:21.320 of Pope Benedict.

00:21:24.260 He left that Last Testament, 0.99

00:21:25.920 in which he encouraged people to stand firm,

00:21:29.020 and to not be confused.

00:21:32.040 I think in the words of, you know,

00:21:35.920 Bishop Schneider,

00:21:36.700 who commented on that,

00:21:38.140 relating that directly to the Latin Mass,

00:21:40.580 and the need to hold firm to tradition,

00:21:42.300 and be courageous,

00:21:42.900 and not be confused.

00:21:44.700 I think he recognizes,

00:21:45.960 as we're coming into this time,

00:21:48.320 when even the elect,

00:21:49.760 if it be possible,

00:21:50.700 will be confused.

00:21:51.960 Either of you have a comment on that?

00:21:53.680 Maybe just one thought.

00:21:54.700 It certainly is a bit of a confusing time.

00:21:57.980 Having two men in white was a bit confusing.

00:22:01.560 You know,

00:22:01.780 that's kind of come to an end now,

00:22:03.900 with the death of Pope Benedict.

00:22:05.660 But God works kind of in his own way,

00:22:08.100 and out of confusion,

00:22:10.100 I think the Holy Spirit,

00:22:12.420 the Holy Spirit is never conquered.

00:22:15.600 And so, you know,

00:22:16.440 whatever he has in mind for the church,

00:22:20.100 he'll bring that about.

00:22:22.520 But just before we go,

00:22:24.100 I wanted to get Jim Hale,

00:22:27.640 who's always behind the camera,

00:22:29.200 on here for a quick second.

00:22:30.540 Hey, guys.

00:22:31.640 It's so awesome, isn't it,

00:22:33.080 to be here with our Rome correspondent,

00:22:35.580 John Henry.

00:22:36.580 It's amazing.

00:22:37.100 But one thing I wanted to share with everybody,

00:22:39.340 you've been reading the book from Peter Zebalt,

00:22:42.400 the big, huge book on Benedict's life.

00:22:45.740 I know you're only about halfway through or so.

00:22:48.020 Give us the highlights for you,

00:22:50.040 and what it means now,

00:22:51.440 in light of what we just experienced now,

00:22:52.700 with the funeral.

00:22:53.240 Well, John Henry,

00:22:54.340 first of all,

00:22:54.780 just to say,

00:22:56.240 I mean,

00:22:56.840 when we were up on the colonnade this morning,

00:22:59.060 and there was a fog,

00:23:00.280 and you would just look at this,

00:23:03.040 and think,

00:23:03.780 this is the glory,

00:23:04.800 and the beauty of our faith,

00:23:07.220 of our church.

00:23:08.960 And we're all a little anxious,

00:23:11.980 I think,

00:23:12.800 to know where we go from now.

00:23:15.620 But the Zebalt book,

00:23:17.000 wow,

00:23:17.520 I highly recommend it.

00:23:19.300 Micah Hickson did an incredible review of it

00:23:22.800 for Rorati Cheli,

00:23:24.140 and I would highly recommend that review

00:23:28.080 that Micah did.

00:23:30.460 But this is glorious biographical writing,

00:23:34.560 talking about Benedict growing up,

00:23:37.600 a young child in Bavaria.

00:23:39.500 It's just so inspirational.

00:23:41.740 This is a man who wanted to be a priest.

00:23:43.580 He and his brother Georg,

00:23:44.680 they practiced saying the Mass

00:23:47.160 when they were like five years old.

00:23:49.280 Just incredible.

00:23:50.640 He had such a pious father,

00:23:51.960 he was a chief of police,

00:23:53.780 anti-Nazi to the core.

00:23:57.100 But I have to tell you,

00:23:59.000 the book is shocking,

00:24:00.920 and really quite astonishing to know

00:24:02.840 just what a titanic,

00:24:05.460 controversial figure

00:24:07.240 that Joseph Ratzinger was

00:24:09.160 when he was 35 years old,

00:24:10.860 when Vatican II started in 1962.

00:24:13.640 And it's not an overestimation to say

00:24:18.120 that he is arguably

00:24:20.480 the most influential advisor

00:24:25.400 that there was at Vatican II.

00:24:28.760 That's just a little tease for you. 0.98

00:24:30.540 Of course,

00:24:30.880 we know that he had

00:24:33.580 an eventual change of heart later,

00:24:36.900 but just to be here today

00:24:38.420 and look down at that simple wooden casket today

00:24:40.640 and just to know who this man was,

00:24:43.340 the mark that he made on our church,

00:24:45.640 it was just extraordinary.

00:24:47.360 But yes,

00:24:47.800 I highly recommend the Zewald,

00:24:50.740 it's a two-volume biography.

00:24:52.340 I'm almost done with volume one.

00:24:54.440 It just helps you understand

00:24:55.780 so much of the Catholic Church

00:24:57.380 in the 20th century.

00:24:58.980 It does,

00:24:59.660 and that's very controversial.

00:25:01.340 There was a light peddling on that

00:25:03.080 because, you know,

00:25:04.320 the stuff that he's responsible for

00:25:06.820 with regard to the council

00:25:07.940 is quite severe

00:25:09.100 that we'd look at it now.

00:25:10.260 I do wonder when his conversion was.

00:25:13.040 When he changed heart,

00:25:14.880 as you said,

00:25:15.440 because there's a very stark difference

00:25:17.640 from the man really behind

00:25:20.060 getting rid of the schema

00:25:21.140 at the Second Vatican Council,

00:25:22.460 which were great documents.

00:25:23.380 If you don't know what they are,

00:25:24.100 please look to LifeSite.

00:25:25.000 We've got them up there

00:25:25.800 translated into English.

00:25:27.780 But really,

00:25:29.500 that's a story left untold,

00:25:30.700 which needs to be told

00:25:31.340 in the coming days.

00:25:31.820 I'm going to go back

00:25:32.580 behind the camera now,

00:25:33.600 John Henry.

00:25:34.140 All right.

00:25:34.320 But I just want to say

00:25:36.140 what an honor it was

00:25:37.620 to be here with you,

00:25:39.120 to share this moment with you.

00:25:40.920 I think we all recognize

00:25:42.260 that today is hugely significant.

00:25:48.580 This is one of the most historic days,

00:25:51.160 certainly in the history

00:25:52.400 of the Catholic Church

00:25:53.180 in the 21st century.

00:25:54.720 Absolutely.

00:25:55.360 We're at the end of an epoch,

00:25:56.700 and I think we're going to be seeing

00:25:59.800 some very important things

00:26:01.480 in the coming days.

00:26:02.360 As we said,

00:26:02.940 there'll be lots more from Rome.

00:26:04.800 Tonight is a Requiem Mass

00:26:06.460 in a Latin traditional Requiem Mass.

00:26:08.960 Also on Sunday,

00:26:10.240 Cardinal Burke is supposed to be here

00:26:11.480 to celebrate another Requiem Mass

00:26:13.440 at the famous Trinita,

00:26:15.640 where the fraternity is here in Rome.

00:26:17.660 So we'll be having lots more

00:26:19.560 from you here in Rome.

00:26:21.060 So for Michael Haynes,

00:26:22.920 for Louis Konefki,

00:26:23.840 for Jim Hale behind the camera,

00:26:25.560 this is John Henry Weston

00:26:26.600 from Rome for LifeSite News.

00:26:28.100 With the passing away

00:26:33.060 of Pope Benedict XVI,

00:26:36.120 many Catholics felt

00:26:39.060 that they lost a clear

00:26:41.860 and sure point of reference

00:26:45.900 for their faith.

00:26:47.980 One can have the sensation

00:26:50.320 of orphaned children.

00:26:54.040 We can say that Pope Benedict XVI

00:26:57.900 was a Pope

00:26:58.940 who put at the center

00:27:01.360 of his personal life

00:27:03.920 and of the life of the Church

00:27:06.840 the supernatural view

00:27:09.120 of the faith

00:27:10.520 and of the perennial validity

00:27:13.520 of the Holy Tradition

00:27:17.500 of the Church

00:27:18.680 which constitutes the source

00:27:21.640 and the pillar of our faith

00:27:24.440 together with the Holy Scripture.

00:27:28.480 In this sense,

00:27:30.800 the greatest and most beneficial act

00:27:34.300 of his pontificate

00:27:36.260 was the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

00:27:42.140 with the full restoration

00:27:45.100 of the traditional Latin liturgy

00:27:47.960 in all its expression,

00:27:52.520 Holy Mass,

00:27:53.920 Sacraments,

00:27:55.480 and all the other sacred rites.

00:27:58.080 This pontifical act

00:28:01.740 will go down

00:28:04.300 in history

00:28:05.360 as epoch-making.

00:28:08.420 Pope Benedict XVI states

00:28:10.420 that the traditional rite

00:28:12.780 of the Holy Mass

00:28:13.800 was never abrogated

00:28:16.240 and should remain

00:28:17.900 always in the Church

00:28:19.200 because

00:28:20.680 what was holy

00:28:23.100 for our forefathers

00:28:24.800 and the saints

00:28:25.900 must be

00:28:27.500 holy

00:28:29.080 for us

00:28:30.060 and for the future generations

00:28:32.540 as well.

00:28:34.420 In a time

00:28:35.720 as it was

00:28:37.280 after the Second Vatican Council

00:28:39.180 where there was

00:28:41.540 within the Church

00:28:42.620 an almost general movement

00:28:44.460 of a radical rejection

00:28:47.100 of the millennium-old

00:28:49.880 liturgical rite

00:28:51.360 of the Holy Mass

00:28:52.280 and therefore

00:28:53.880 a rupture

00:28:54.660 with the principle itself

00:28:57.060 of the tradition

00:28:58.440 of the tradition

00:28:58.460 the pontificate

00:29:00.480 of Benedict XVI

00:29:02.200 was worthwhile

00:29:04.060 for the only reason

00:29:06.140 of having

00:29:07.660 issued

00:29:09.380 the

00:29:10.420 and not a propria sumorum pontificum

00:29:12.840 with which

00:29:15.120 began the healing

00:29:17.480 of the wound

00:29:19.300 in the body

00:29:20.620 of the Church

00:29:21.840 the wound

00:29:23.080 which was caused

00:29:24.800 by the attitude

00:29:26.460 of rejection

00:29:27.760 and even hatred

00:29:29.360 of the venerable

00:29:31.300 and millennium-old

00:29:33.480 rule

00:29:34.840 of the prayer

00:29:36.180 of the Church

00:29:37.160 in his spiritual testament

00:29:40.700 Paul Benedict XVI

00:29:42.140 left us

00:29:43.640 among others

00:29:44.380 the following

00:29:45.460 substantial

00:29:46.840 short phrase

00:29:48.980 which I consider

00:29:50.900 the most important

00:29:52.560 of all

00:29:53.320 he wrote

00:29:55.860 stand firm

00:29:57.860 in the faith

00:29:59.420 do not

00:30:01.120 be confused

00:30:02.520 hi everyone

00:30:09.720 this is John Henry Weston

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The John-Henry Westen Show - January 05, 2023

New Uncertainties for Traditional Catholics Following Death of Pope Benedict XVI

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