Buckley had the good sense to retire, the occasional column notwithstanding. He clearly thinks the Pope should have done likewise some time ago. I agree.
JPII has been one of the towering figures of the second half of the 20th century, but it is past time for him to leave the stage. He has become erratic politically, which is particularly sad because this is a man who used to be able to clearly tell the good guys from the bad guys, and had the courage to stand with the former against the latter. I'm not a Catholic and don't follow closely his denominational management, but if his fumbling of the American church's sex abuse scandal is any indication, he's damaging the institution by staying on. Age imposes imperatives of its own. It's sad to see a great man overstay his time.
Since you're not Catholic, your somewhat eccentric comments on JPII's "management" of the Church will be forgiven.