Popes also lose, as when facing a recalcitrant publisher:
The first edition of the Ratzinger/Sarah Book is already printed and the French publishing-house Fayard will not change anything.
Francis was not pleased, Was “Furious,” Wanted A “Total Defeat”
When the Ratzinger/Sarah book [arguing against removing
the celibacy requirement for priests] became known, “all hell broke loose in the Vatican,” Bergoglio [Francis] was “furious,” writes Francis critic Antonio Socci (FaceBook) referring to anonymous sources.
Why? Because:
Such an authoritative pronouncement from Benedict XVI prevents him from smashing priestly celibacy, as had been his intention to do in the forthcoming Post-[Amazon] Synodal Exhortation.
Details are messy indeed, with Francis personally calling and giving orders to Benedict’s spokesperson.
Blithe Spirit 