The symbolism of the Popes death has been awesome. It’s hard not to be taken in by it sometimes. He has been cast older and wiser than Gandalf and looks every bit the part. He has travelled far and knows the secrets of life itself. That this is the wisdom that will bring us together and maintain the future and safety of life itself is beyond doubt when from his deathbed he tells he is ‘thinking of the young people’.

With the power of christ on his side, as well, who could resist. Hell, he might even be christ. We are told over and over again how suffering is redemptive and there it is clear as day, in excrutiating detail. He cant talk. He cant walk. He cant breath. By the end we even knew when he couldn’t pump blood.

That 2 million people gather to share in this suggests that the belief is necessary for a swathe of humanity. Unfortunately, that the pope’s suffering connects deeply with the strongest pro-life sentiments suggests that condoms will not be welcome in Africa any time soon.