August 6, 2012
Today is the anniversay of the death of Pope Paul VI. His task was herculian, the first pope to bring an ecumenical council to a close and begin its implementation in the modern media age. His temperament, which by his own admission, had a certain Hamlet-like quality, was not necessarily suited to the task. But, by and large, he did it and he did it brilliantly. I continue to believe that for all the happy memories some hold of Good Pope John, who was indeed good, and of John Paul the Great, who was indeed great, Clio will more and more see Montini as the outstanding pontiff of the 20th century.
