Benedict XVI's predecessor was known as the 'witness to hope', but I think that this Holy Father will be remembered as the 'witness to love'. From the very first moments of his papacy, when he embraced the Church so profoundly, teaching us about love, pointing to its fullness in Christ and witnessing to the humble simplicity of Christian love - in his face, his gestures and in his sheer graciousness - Benedict XVI has given of himself for the life of the Church.
I am sorry that he did not have the time to do two things: to appoint more English bishops and to write the Post-Synodal Apostolic Letter on the New Evangelisation. I say this not by way of criticism, but rather to reveal something of my own expectations. But God's plan is much better than my expectations. Benedict's successor will have the responsibility of these tasks.
But much more than my expectations of any Pope is the way in which our lives have been embraced by Benedict XVI. He has been such a tremendous father to all of us. We will miss him. I hope that God will greatly bless the rest of his life from the store of His grace
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