It occurs to me, now that we are back to one Pope that by become Pope Emeritus Benedict set a pretty good example. There is some advantage to having a Pope Emeritus who basically devotes the remainder of his life to prayer for the Church and the people. The willing surrender of power and authority is an act of humility and having a holy faithful man in constant prayer for the church certainly can’t hurt.
The reins of St. John Paul II & Benedict the XVI were, in my opinion a golden age in terms of solid theology and evangelization. Nothing has made this more clear than the pontificate of Francis You never know how good you have things till they’re gone.
One of the things that Benedict will likely not get credit for in the media was his strong action concerning various church scandals. The standards that were implemented during his pontificate to prevent a repeat of the horrible abuse scandals from the past were rather solid and have made a real difference in the church.
One secular note concerning his death, he was the last living head of state or former head of state have served in the Military during World War 2 having been drafted into and served in an anti-aircraft unit for Germany. He and Elizabeth II, who served in the British military during the war mark the end of an era.
Finally you have to go back to the 7th century and before to see as many consecutive Popes be canonized as you have in the last 60 years. Every pope since John XXIII has been elevated either to Sainthood or to the stage just before Sainthood (Pope John Paul I) (Pope Pius XII St. John XXIII’s predecessor remains at the “venerable” stage likely, in my opinion for political reasons ).
Will Benedict XVI be canonized. I don’t expect Francis to waive the standard five year waiting period for a cause to be opened and I suspect that when those five years are up neither Francis nor any like minded successor will be in any hurry to push forward a cause for sainthood for Benedict. However in the end it comes down to God and if he decides that Benedict should be publicly recognized as a canonized saint it will happen if not under this pope then under a successor in the future.
In the end it doesn’t matter, all who are in heaven are by definition saints and most are not canonized. Canonization only reveals to us what has already happened, it doesn’t rush or push a soul forward out of purgatory nor can it remove a soul from hell that has already been damned. No power on earth can make the judgement of God concerning Benedict XVI any different than it is.
It’s most likely I won’t find the answer during my lifetime so i’ll end up having to find out for myself the hard way. I hope and pray when that happens I’ll be in a state where I can take joy in confirming what I already suspect. Any and all prayers for my soul while I’m still alive to do something about it or when I’m gone will be gratefully accepted.
UPDATE: It hit me about an hour after I wrote this post that Pope Benedict XVI is going to make history in another way.
He will be the first Pope in history to have his funeral presided over by the Pope
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