This blogger echoes eloquently a sentiment I have felt myself:
Some gnashed their teeth and railed when he
was chosen to assume the office of Peter. I didn’t. After my return to
the faith, I read Cardinal Ratzinger closely and came to love the man,
his wisdom, his clarity, his charity. He was the master catechist of our
age, and as one called to the catechetical ministry, I felt a
connection to this pope that I never had with Bl. John Paul II.
He
is the person I admire most in the world, now more than ever when this
man caricatured as an “arch-conservative” (and who anyone with eyes to
see knew was nothing of the sort) has once again done something bold and
unexpected. He has recognized his limitations, and acted accordingly.
There
are those who will point to Bl. John Paul II who suffered and bent
under the burden of the Petrine office as illness consumed him. They
will be right to do so, because it was a powerful witness to the dignity
of human life. It also affected the way he managed the church, and as
the abuse scandal exploded, that was something we could ill afford.
Perhaps this potential for failure loomed large in Benedict’s mind when
he made this decision.
He will never
again be just another man. What he will be is, right now, uncertain.
After being Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, Father, Professor, I think, for a
little while at least, at the end, he wants to just be Joseph.
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