Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianL99
He will go down in history, as the most reactionary, ineffectual and out of touch Pontiff in recent history.
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Debatable.
Benedict XVI Struggled under two handicaps. He was decidedly not a great communicator and he succeeded John Paul II, a rock star of a Pope who was one of the true movers and shakers on the planet during his time in St. Peter's chair.
Benedict XVI was most effective working out of the spotlight. Before his election to the papacy, then-Cardinal Ratzinger earned the nickname "God's Rottweiler", for the inexhaustible way he pursued his duties as Prefect of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after being appointed to that position by John Paul II. And though it can be argued that he didn't do enough, he DID do more than any of his predecessors not only in dealing with the sex scandals of the church but also in his efforts at cleaning up the Vatican Bank.
I think history will be far kinder to Pope Benedict XVI than his contemporaries are.