The John-Henry Westen Show - January 05, 2023


New Uncertainties for Traditional Catholics Following Death of Pope Benedict XVI


Episode Stats


Length

30 minutes

Words per minute

154.7758

Word count

4,730

Sentence count

276

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

On this special episode of the John Henry Weston Show, we take a look at President Joe Biden's odd response to a question about whether he would attend Pope Benedict XVI's funeral, and why he chose not to go.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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
00:30:10.820 we hope you enjoyed
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