To draw up the balance sheet of a pontificate, of which we lack an adequate historical perspective, is something very pretentious on my part and on the part of any other analyst. But, since so many have already been published, I don't think one more will matter.

Let us remember, first of all, what Benedict XVI said about himself when he was asked to define himself. He bluntly acknowledged that he was "a professor who has become a pope. He has never wanted to renounce that academic status, which he acquired in 1958. I had the opportunity to verify this when he was invested honorary doctor by the University of Navarra. Asked the previous evening by colleague Angel Faus, then head of protocol, what suit he would wear at the ceremony (whether filettata, a cassock with a red sash and buttons of the same color, or clergyman), he answered, without hesitation: "As a professor!" It should be added, moreover, that he has been a timely and prudent teacher, who has rightly directed the first steps of the Church in the 21st century, when the most interesting and perhaps hardest cultural battle of the last five hundred years is being fought.

Benedict XVI has done very well in this context, and no one who understands subject can deny it. He has maintained a prudent balance, not at all easy, between tradition (a basic element in Christianity) and progress (because the Church walks in history and with history). It was convenient to open windows and, at the same time, to reaffirm the path walked for two thousand years. Sometimes fidelity to tradition requires making choices, because there are traditional things that do not belong to the essence of the origins. And this selection has disappointed traditionalists. On the other hand, not all progress is clean wheat, because there are also tares. And in shaking the grain to separate it from the chaff, some things have not pleased everyone, especially the rupturists. However, only in this way, maintaining the right proportion and harmony, can we shake hands with the first apostolic generation as a sign of identity and communion, and at the same time look ahead, because time does not stand still.

There is another outstanding aspect of this pontificate that has just come to a close. Benedict XVI has shown admirable respect for truth and justice. He was and is convinced that the law, that is, the discreet application of canonical norms, cannot be ignored under the pretext of a pretended charity; otherwise justice, which is the guarantee of order and freedom, is offended, so that government leads to confusion and confusion, with the trampling of rights and the neglect of duties. We have seen this with the abuses of unworthy ecclesiastics and in other reprehensible cases. It is true that the management of Benedict XVI has encountered many obstacles and resistances; but he has shown his successor the pathway to get out of those tangles, so much aired by the media in the last months.

Benedict XVI has had a longing, inherited from his predecessor John Paul II, which he has not seen fulfilled completely, although he has indicated guidelines to achieve it: the full reception of the Second Vatican Council. The last Council was so revolutionary in some aspects that it logically took some time to be properly digested. Here it is necessary to recall an important intervention (apparently almost improvised, but undoubtedly very well thought out) that the pontiff emeritus made to the clergy of Rome on February 14. In this speech he pointed out the four great objectives of the ecumenical assembly. In this order: liturgical reform; ecclesiology; the Word of God, that is, Revelation; and finally, ecumenism. The four themes are commented by Benedict XVI, with undeniable autobiographical references. He then mentions, with great importance, the declaration on religious freedom. I recommend reading this dense text, in which he discusses what the Council did, how he and his predecessor intended to receive it, and what road remains to be traveled.

Benedict XVI is now retiring to prayer, following what the Most High is asking of him. We respect his decision and accompany him with our prayers, while we pray, calmly and peacefully, for his successor in the Petrine ministry.