Benedict's announcement that he would resign from the papacy came two days before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and a day on which many Catholics go to mass to be anointed with ashes as a sign of repentance. How providential that the new pope will be elected in the midst of this Lenten season, born in ashes but looking forward to resurrection.
And there are plenty of ashes to go around, not least of which are the 'ashes' of the pain and humiliation of the survivors of clergy sexual abuse. While the Church is currently in the midst of a sexual abuse 'crisis', the issue is decades old. It will be one of the major challenges for the new pope to find creative and compassionate ways of addressing this issue.
We saw some of this creativity at work with the move by Pope John Paul II to publicly seek forgiveness for the sins of the Church, including sins against 'minors who are victims of abuse'. Many local bishops conferences echoed this act of repentance. But words are cheap, and actions speak louder.
There is a world of difference between a global apology to 'victims' and how an individual cleric faces the pain of a survivor standing in front of him. The entrance into that world is through conversion, a change in heart and mind, to begin to see the world through the eyes of the poor, the suffering, the humiliated.
This should not be unfamiliar territory for any priest or bishop. A regular reading in the priest's breviary is taken from St Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Paul reminds his readers that Christ did not cling to his equality to God, but emptied himself to become a slave, to the point of accepting a humiliating death on the cross. To begin to see the world through the eyes of its victims is to take on the heart and mind of Christ.
Can we expect this from the next pope? Can we expect anything less?
One of those considered papabile, Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines, has called for greater humility, respectfulness and silence on the part of the Church so that it can become more credible among its followers. Perhaps there is some wisdom in Benedict's humble decision to resign