papal bull

two days ago, when i heard that the pope died, i found myself wondering how he was doing. i mean, he was quite conservative, as popes go, disallowing the existence of alter girls and other such nonsense, and the strict catholic notion of the afterlife is quite specific. so... i wonder how he's doing. i wonder how sweet the fruits of his labour taste.

nevermind the fact that no one has any clear grasp of what happens after death, that it's reasonable to assume that there aren't words or even non-verbal contexts in which to put the experience of being what we call "dead", nevermind all that. think, just for fun, what if he was mostly right -- but not quite completely? if there is a heaven, is the pope there? en route? or is he slogging his way through the bardo? having his heart weighed against a feather by anubis? if there is a heaven, and he managed to get there, would god be pleased with his work on earth, or would god look at him and say, "You know, you pretty much got it all wrong. You should have known better. 'E' for Effort. Into the Pit with you."

after a life of trying his best within his narrow framework of morality, influencing over a billion people, is being dead easier for him? is he being rewarded? is it what he expected? is he coming face to face with the sometimes heartbreaking results of his party line? is he being set straight by a female jesus? is he hunting the furthest shadows of the universe for our absentee watchmaker deity? how's he doing?

everlasting life in paradise is supposed to be the reward for a life virtuously lived and right now, the pope knows if it's a bluff or not.