Pro-Life leader reflects on legacy of Pope Benedict XVI

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger served Saint Pope John Paul the Second for twenty-five years as his prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. When Ratzinger became Pope, he was already seventy-eight years old when he ascended to the Throne of Peter. Larry Cirignano, the D.C. Representative for the Children First Foundation, told One America News, Benedict's 2013 resignation - the first in six-hundred years - will define his legacy. Part of Benedict's magisterium was healing rifts created by the 1960's Vatican Two Council, such as his loosening the suppression of the traditional Latin Mass in 2005 - a move Pope Francis reversed in 2021. Cirignano said the pendulum swung from the conservative Benedict to the liberal Francis and he expects it to swing back towards Benedict after Francis. A high-respected theologian, Benedict continued to write as Pope, but unlike his predecessors, he kept his pre-elevation by-line. As his own health challenges mount, Cirignano said Francis may well be grateful for Benedict's example. The current Holy Father, Pope Francis, celebrated his 86th birthday on December 17th.