Archbishop DiNoia shares the moment with Pope Benedict most vivid in his memory

He continues to serve in the Curia, now as adjunct secretary in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

He shared with us four reflections about the late Pope Emeritus, and his service to the Church, as he saw it from close up.

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The moment that remains most vividly in my memory occurred toward the end of Pope Benedict's homily on 24 April 2005, the day on which his pontificate began, when, with uncharacteristic passion, he spoke these memorable words:

This deeply moving appeal reverberated throughout his pontificate.

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It is regrettable that some in the media continue to describe his pontificate as a divisive one,  for surely no pope worked so hard to preserve the unity of the Church as did Pope Benedict. As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Church, then Cardinal Ratzinger collaborated with Pope St. John Paul II to champion a balanced, orthodox reading of the Second Vatican Council between the fracturing extremes of traditionalism and progressivism in order to ensure both the integrity of Catholic faith and morals, and the unity of the Catholic communion. Throughout his pontificate, Pope Benedict quite consistently maintained this course through dialogue with contending positions within the Church on both sides of the post-conciliar divisions. 

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As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then Cardinal Ratzinger pioneered the implementation of new legislation in the Catholic Church for dealing with sexual abuse of minors on the part of clerics and other measures for protecting the integrity and holiness of the Sacraments. When I joined the Congregation as undersecretary, I witnessed firsthand his determination to develop a jurisprudence that would be effective in removing offending clerics from ministry and even from the priesthood. He never deviated from this course as Pope, and always set the highest standards for the Congregation as it assisted bishops in facing the crisis of sexual abuse of minors in their dioceses and in the universal Church. 

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One of the most remarkable achievements of the pontificate of Pope Benedict was to find a workable response to requests for corporate reunion which had been addressed to the Holy See by former Anglicans desirous of bringing their precious patrimony with them as they were received into full communion with the Catholic Church. He personally and strongly encouraged the research and dialogue which led to the creation of ordinariates for newly reconciled Anglican communities where the distinctive liturgical, spiritual and theological traditions of historical English Catholicism could be acknowledged and preserved.