Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died last week at age 95. He left behind a legacy filled with accomplishments, but also punctuated by accusations that he mishanded allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.
Margaret Roylance, vice president of Voice of the Faithful, a lay organization that supports survivors of clergy sexual abuse, and Thomas Groome, professor of theology and religious education at Boston College, said on Greater Boston that Benedict made great strides in reforming the church and demystifying the role of the papacy, but also protected the church at all costs and averted transparency.
Groome said the Pope's most lasting legacy will be that he resigned, a rarity in the history of the papacy. Groome and Roylance said the sex abuse scandal played a role in his resignation, but he mostly stepped aside for recognition that he couldn't solve the problems of the church.
Watch: The life and complicated legacy of Pope Benedict XVI
