Pope Benedict lies in state at St. Patrick's Basilica
ahead of his funeral to be held at 9.30 am (our local
time) this morning. The funeral will be held by Pope
Francis and political and religious leaders apparently
will be paying their tributes. Us President Joe Biden,
British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak and the Dalai Lama
are expected to attend.

Hundreds of thousands have paid homage according to the
Vatican.

It will be a fitting final farewell to a Church leader
of one of the most powerful religious institutions in
the world.

.

This was a man who wanted to be a priest since his
childhood. For him he was a calling. He never wanted
the high position bestowed upon him. And when he saw
that he was not able to be effective - he resigned
and left the administrative task to someone better
suited for the job. Pope Benedict gave his Life to
his Church. May he Rest In Peace.

I sat and watched the BBC News video on UTube
this morning. It certainly was impressive.
The power and the glory of the Catholic Church
was on full display. As was the magnificence of the
Vatican City. So many priests, bishops, cardinals,
and nuns in all of their regalia in attendance.
So many readings and prayers being offered.

A funeral fit for a king.

The Church did full honour to this former Pope,
and then some.

I view the passing of Georg Ratzinger with much relief. As pope he was an utter failure (among many other issues, but most importantly) when it came to protecting children abused by catholic priests. His preference for 'doctrinal purity' exposed the hypocrisy of the church for all to see. Let's just hope it can be corrected.