On has to respect him, even though we may not agree with all he says.
As head of the Catholic Church, he has attempted to bring the Church back to basics and has had much success, but he is fighting that battle alone it seems, as he is surrounded by Euro-Cardinals who fight him every step of the way.
I am not a Catholic and do not hold the Pope responsible for the smear on his record regarding the pedophile priest issue.
I think the Catholic church may do a knee jerk after this Pope passes and choose a liberal as the next Pope. This will be (if it happens) a harbinger of future major disruptions within the Catholic family and may well make the prophesies of the end of the church as it is now known a reality.
Just my thoughts on a very uncertain future.