I would simply threaten the Catholic Church with the power of the sword, a problem it has never previously confronted.

April 08, 2026 - 19:52 UTC

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Who knew taking multiple Church History classes in seminary would be so relevant?
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Threaten the Catholic Church with the power of the sword and then somehow be surprised that the Pope doesn't accept invitations to the US.
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It’s such a poor understanding of the Avignon papacy too. Which of course the White House doesn’t care about, but … it’s a very poor understanding.
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Babylon 5 again for a pithy, but apt, description of this administration.
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@weirdmedieval.bsky.social emergency pod!
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What 14th century weapon did he reach for as he made this clumsy threat at the cardinal? I want to know.
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I don’t really trust America to make its own Baja blast chartreuse
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Are medieval historians being inundated with media calls now? "WTF is this Avignon stuff?"
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It’s bill Colby’s grandson! A man who ran the Phoenix program and maybe got got in revenge like thirty years later! Amazing.
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I didn't realize they were related. That sheds a whole new light on that a-hole.
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JD should send a letter calling the Pope "not Bishop but false monk" and calling on him to resign in the name of the President and the US bishops.

This is a foolproof strategy which definitely works and has never backfired before.
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I've been waiting for a Vatican/Pentagon showdown since Leo chose his papal name and I'm not disappointed
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It is an interesting thing about an institution with 1700+ years of recorded institutional history, that it has faced and somehow survived a very wide range of problems indeed.

We'll see if the US can deal with the 'mad Leader with mad followers' problem the Papacy has survived a few times
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Tbh this is basically a cycle of "business as usual" -> "business as usual"
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Canossamaxxing
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Pope Leo's namesake faced down Atilla the Hun and made him back off from invading Italy!
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I knew those 20' thick walls were still warranted
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Tbf they weren’t exactly on the side of the righteous in the 1940s so they have form for accepting this kind of thing
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The Pope may not have as many divisions but the last guy who checked the number didn’t last past 1953 and a later Pope was a significant part of the downfall of the USSR
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Why do you think Leo was elected? Comes the moment; comes the man.
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Don't make Leo go all Julius II on your ass.
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