One of the often overlooked aspects of COVID is that the death rates and the full ICUs do not tell the whole story. The patients that survive their ICU stint and go home often do so with scarred lungs and hearts, and an unknowable future.

There are also the long haulers, who continue to feel weak, lose their sense of taste and smell for long periods, even lose hair continually. There are people that have had COVID a year ago and have not recovered. It is a big unknown.

Another big unknown is the political situation inside the Catholic church. The church itself is led by a Jesuit, long seen as the most liberal division in the priesthood, known as educators (Pope Francis has advanced training in chemistry and taught chemistry as a young Jesuit), and social justice warriors. And then there are priests that are essentially MAGAs. The Cardinal below, one who was severely demoted by Pope Francis, finds himself to be a long hauler, perhaps because of his MAGA beliefs. From the AP:

A high-ranking Roman Catholic cardinal who was placed on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19 said he has moved into a house but is still struggling to recover from the disease.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, 73, one of the church’s most outspoken conservatives and a vaccine skeptic, posted a letter on his website Saturday saying he left the hospital Sept. 3 and moved into a house near his family. He didn’t say where.

Burke said he’s going through in-home rehabilitation, still suffers from fatigue and has difficulty breathing. The pope removed Burke from his position overseeing the Vatican’s supreme court after Burke in 2014 likened the church to a ship with no rudder.

But lest anyone use this jackass to judge the entirety of the Catholic church, one should hear from the boss. The scientist who leads all of it is not impressed:

Pope Francis said earlier this month that he doesn’t understand why people refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine, acknowledging that “even in the College of Cardinals, there are some negationists.” He called one of the cardinals a “poor guy” who had been hospitalized with the disease, an apparent reference to Burke, and added: “Well, the irony of life.”

Francis is smart enough to know it’s all politics but didn’t want to get into it. And, it’s not so much irony, Francis, as it is deserved consequences. It’s what happens when one simply ignores an epidemic because that’s what MAGAs do.

Pope Francis called one of the cardinals a “poor guy” who had been hospitalized with the disease—an apparent reference to Burke—and added: “Well, the irony of life.” https://t.co/It2Rhz4H18

— America Magazine (@americamag) September 28, 2021

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