Over the past couple of weeks, there have been countless reflections on the life and work of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, highlighting his rich theological writings and his decades of church service and even some of the challenging moments he faced before, during and after his papacy. He was a complex man with so much experience. Let us pray that he might rest in the peace of Christ forever.

Whenever a world-historical event happens related to the papacy, host Mike Jordan Laskey likes to call up his friend Dr. Christopher Bellitto, Ph.D. Chris is a medievalist, a church historian and a professor of history at Kean University in New Jersey. He’s a frequent media commentator on church history and contemporary Catholicism, and you might have seen him quoted in recent days in the Washington Post, CNN, NBC and other outlets. He always brings the long view to current events as a scholar of history.

Chris talked about the history of papal resignations and what lessons the church might learn from how Benedict’s post-papacy unfolded. He also talked a bit about the history of Jesuit superior general resignations, and teased his upcoming book from Georgetown University Press titled “Humility: The Secret History of a Lost Virtue.”

Learn more about Dr. Bellitto: https://sites.google.com/a/kean.edu/christopher-m-bellitto-ph-d/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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