Dear Holy Father,
Thank you for understanding your role as the first pope of this modern age. Your nontraditional decision to step down shows how, in today’s world, different approaches must be taken when shepherding the church. Thank you for understanding that, in this era of social media, aging on the world’s stage may not be the best image for the renewal of the Catholic Church.
Thank you for choosing to make your announcement just days before Lent, a time of preparation for our most holy season of Easter, so that we also may prepare ourselves for the future of our church. Thank you for encouraging the new evangelization during the Year of Faith by putting the Catholic Church in the world spotlight, offering us invaluable opportunities to start a conversation, share our faith and answer the questions of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
Most importantly, thank you for your ministry and leadership. Thank you for your sacrifice, an act of martyrdom for the good of the church. Thank you for your love and humility. Thank you, Servus servorum Dei, for being a true Servant of the Servants of God.
“The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23: 11-12)
Tags: Pope Benedict XVI
