In commemoration (celebration?) of Former Papal Guy’s death, I’m going to do an entire weekly series on Benedict’s thought and legacy. You may wonder why the life of an old man who hasn’t been pope for ages is worthy of such attention. I won’t leave that question unanswered.
There are two reasons. First, Benedict’s ideology was, and remains, a source of inspiration for many prominent figures of the New Right. The arc of GOP thought is currently bending in their direction, so they can’t be ignored. Second, I am quite certain that Benedict, in a different time, would have had me burned at the stake for insisting upon the primacy of logic and experience over his personal authority. Even Xi and Putin wouldn’t go that far, to say nothing of Trump and DeSantis.
It’s a lot to forgive–way too much, in fact. I will discuss it in more detail throughout the week.