When Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was elected to succeed the popular Pope John Paul II, the world anticipated a less ebullient but more formidable theological behemoth able to right the challenges Roman Catholicism had encountered. The Pope, however, who never wanted the role, fell to its cross-currents in the face of entrenched Vatican bureaucracy, a persistent hierarchical reluctance to deal with sexual abuse in the clergy and the ongoing secularization of daily life. While his resignation in 2013 deprived the world of an intellectual powerhouse who could have been a formidable agent of change, it should be noted that the Pope never stopped reminding us that God must remain relevant.
Originally posted for the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida 100.
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