For the first time in history, a pope has resigned without a sword at his back.

 For the first time in 700 years, under any circumstances, a pope is leaving office vertical.

 This is a unique occurrence.

 And Benedict XVI is a unique man.

 Of the 265 men who have been pope, he is the first to voluntarily lay down the power and privileges of his office. Human nature seems hardwired to seek for and cling to power, yet this man, with massive power firmly in his grasp, is going to let go and let God.

 It has always been presumed that God spoke his will through a stilled heart, that when he wanted a new pope he would call home the old pope. But there is a new declarer of God’s will in these matters, and at 85 he wants to pass the torch.

 I am not a Catholic, yet I am an admirer of this pope. I have read extensively of his writings, and watched the way he has tried to run his papacy. His church and the world would do well to give greater heed to his preachings and pronouncements.

 And as he bids farewell, and slips into a life of prayer, I’d like to say a few things.

 First, those who yesterday glibly said that Benedict XVI’s papacy withered in the shadow of his predecessor’s papacy understand neither this pope nor the last pope. Benedict XVI and John Paul II were ecclesiastical partners, with the Polish predecessor using the German successor as his foil in a decades-long good-cop, bad-cop routine.

 If John Paul II was the loving shepherd of a modern flock, the cardinal who would become Benedict XVI was his faithful sheep dog, nipping at the flanks of the herd, turning it and guiding it, keeping it intact.

 With the death of John Paul II, a new era did not dawn, the old era continued with a mere switching of the chairs.

 I say that not as a criticism, but as a reflection of the fact that Benedict XVI’s thundering impact on the church universal did not begin with his elevation to the papacy. If you focus on the last eight years as the totality of his contribution, you miss out on 20 years in which he was John Paul II’s right-hand man.

 The long view of history will see what John Paul II’s rock-star popularity currently hides the fact that John Paul II and Benedict XVI were together an era, one season in time.

 They were of one mind, but, in the end, they made different choices – perchance to teach different lessons.

 Robust and athletic as a young pope, John Paul II taught us how to live. Frail and weak as an old pope, John Paul II also taught us how to die.

 Racked by Parkinson’s Disease and other ailments, mostly incidental to age, John Paul II held onto his office as long as he held onto life. He fought the good fight. He passed through the descent into infirmity and death with faith, courage and good cheer. When his body barely had life left, he soldiered on, doing everything he could to fulfill his responsibilities and show an example of bravery and belief.

 The model of faithful endurance is a valuable one for people of all religions. And John Paul II taught that by his example.

 Benedict XVI’s resignation teaches a different lesson. Not a conflicting lesson, but a different lesson, for different people in different situations. It is a lesson of sublimation of personal desire to the greater good. A lesson of humility and of the possibility of doing God’s will in a different way.

 It also sets a precedent that informs and empowers future popes. In his last act as Holy Father, the pope seems to have mentored the men who will follow him over the centuries to come. They now know that their tenure can end by the decree of death or the choice of life. Where he has walked, others may follow.

 And now a new pope will be chosen.

 Fools and ignoramuses in the press, and the faithless in the community, will speculate much about homosexual rights and the ordination of women. But the new pope and the cardinals who pick him will more wisely focus on Christ and discipleship.

 The faithless will see the weaknesses of the church, the faithful will see the strengths.

 Hopefully, the new pope will strive to be like the first, and heavily feel the responsibility to feed the Lord’s sheep the saving truth of faith in Christ. It is time for the Roman Catholic Church to evangelize, to reach out to reclaim the strayed and invite the newcomer.

 As Catholicism goes weak in Europe and the United States, the pious zeal of Africa and Latin America must become the standard for the entire church.

 Perhaps soon a Holy Father will come from one of those regions.

 For 500 years it was nothing but Italian popes. Then we had a Pole, and now we are losing a German. And some people will carp about the nationality or race of the next pope.

 Which seems odd in a church that worships a God who doesn’t
recognize either.

 It remains to be seen who the new pope will be or how he will fare.

 But this much is certain about the old pope.

 He was a good man who gave his life to his church and his Master.

 And that is a stirring example for us all.