Then at the very least he still thinks Benedict was a valid pope despite his criticism of his "hermeneutic of continuity". I do hope you are correct that this latest communique is hopeful. I am nowhere near as hopeful.
Yes, it's obvious at this point he considered Benedict a valid pope. He's also made it clear that he still considers Vatican II to be a legitimate Ecuмenical Council, despite its having been at the same time a "devil's council". Not sure how this squares with Traditional Catholic ecclesiology. Actually, I am sure ... it does not. No, he's sliding straight into a strong R&R.
Really, the only thing I saw as hopeful here was Magister's rebuke of this very problem. You can't say that a legitimate Ecuмenical Council of the Catholic Church should be jettisoned. If he were to ever take Magister's criticisms to heart along with his conviction that V2 was not Catholic, me might wake up to what's actually going on. He talks about the Church being taken over by Masons and a parallel church being set up ... and yet he won't entertain the possibility that the V2 papal claimants have been deliberate co-conspirators in said takeover.