Pope Benedict XVI: Unrecognized Global Greatness

December 30, 2025 World News

Dimitri Messinis
Pope Benedict XVI and Ecumencial Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I raise their clasped hands at the balcony of the Patriarcal Church of St. George, Nov. 30, 2006, in Istanbul.

ANALYSIS: The third anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s death on Dec. 31 provides an opportunity to look at his little-acknowledged diplomatic acumen.