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A world desperate for good news (or at least news that isn't awful) is going pope crazy this week as the Catholic Church has named Leo XIV as the latest spiritual leader in their centuries-long tradition. Of course this has prompted many in the media to ask the big question: what's going on with the church in Wing Commander's distant future? Are there still popes? Well, the first movie spinoff novel, Pilgrim Stars, confirms that there are when Blair explains that the McDanielist (Pilgrim) church's highest office, called "protur", is their equivalent.
"She's not going to McDaniel to destroy it. That planet represents everything she stands for. Someday she'd like to see it as the hub and governing force in the universe, much like Earth is today. Yes, if I know her, she's going to McDaniel to see somebody, a man named Protur Carver Tsu the Second."
"Protur ..." Blair repeated, reaching into his memory. "That's the title of the Pilgrim elect's most powerful leader. Kind of like the Roman Catholic Church's pope or the Vegan Victorists' kreek-son."This is also a great small example of the classic 'sci fi list' trope that we've talked about before. It's not clear what a Vegan Victorist is but it's possible Peter Telep is connecting to the "Vegan Victory Award with diamonds" that Doomsday is said to have been awarded in Fleet Action. As for the pope, Pilgrim Truth brings up this comparison again and in the process mentions that the pope in the year 2654 is now "little more than a figurehead". Sorry, pope fans!
Protur Carver Tsu III held the Pilgrim theocracy's highest office, and while the Catholic religion's pope had in recent centuries become little more than a figurehead, the protur's authority remained well intact--even after the first Pilgrim war.Another potential detail is that the Wing Commander Armada manual, Voices of War, includes a log entry about the Kilrathi by a Lexington pilot named 2nd Lieutenant Niekro Hammond. While talking about the Sivar-Eshrad cult he mentions that women have been holding high church offices since the late 1990s. While some religions have moved in that direction, most--including the Roman Catholic Church--have not.
As strict as the cats are on social “rules,” they sure aren’t the chauvinistic type! All of their religious factions have females in charge. I find this interesting – after all, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that we even let women hold high church offices on Earth.We haven't seen any details beyond this on the 27th Century pope but the Wing Commander universe is no stranger to newly created religions with interesting leaders! Beyond the Pilgrims and the deep lore surrounding them we've got Princess Zukara and the Sivar priestesses, Mordecai Jones of the Church of Man (Retros), Uncle Kashumai of the Avuncular Order of Hom (itself a spinoff of the Anhurian Original Humanists) and so on... but those are all topics for future updates!
