Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How should we think of the Pope in his valedictory period? Do we see him in the context of his history, or is it something else?

Rick Rosner: I like him because he used to be a bouncer, and he seems like a cool guy. At the same time, he hasn’t been entirely consistent. He says a lot of good things—certainly better than many others before him—but there’s a consistent inconsistency to it. When he’s on, he trends toward socially conscious perspectives that might motivate people to do good things. So, more good than bad—but still, some bad.

Jacobsen: That’s good.

Rosner: Because I collect a lot of church-adjacent shit.

Jacobsen: Church-adjacent shit?

Rosner: Micromosaics. That’s on the nose.

Jacobsen: That is the nose. 

Rosner: Yes. So much of my collection is from Rome. A lot of it was sold probably within two miles of the Vatican. Some of the later stuff was made under fascism, because Italy went fascist in 1922. yet, Rome was still a huge tourist hub.

I saw an interview today with a group of old-school Spanish journalists. They were talking about Franco.

Rosner: He held onto power into the seventies—with his fascism still intact.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Rick Rosner is an accomplished television writer with credits on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Crank Yankers, and The Man Show. Over his career, he has earned multiple Writers Guild Award nominations—winning one—and an Emmy nomination. Rosner holds a broad academic background, graduating with the equivalent of eight majors. Based in Los Angeles, he continues to write and develop ideas while spending time with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project; International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416); The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576); Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066); A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.

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In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. ©Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012-Present. Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen strictly prohibited, excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.