Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing his resignation as leader of the Catholic Church in early February.

The pope cited his old age and poor health as reasons for his resignation, according to BBC News.

Benedict’s legacy will be made up of two things—the child abuse scandals that plagued his papacy and this unexpected resignation.

Many have alleged the pope has been a part of covering up child abuse scandals from the time he was a cardinal until now, according to ABC News.

While the pontiff may not have sexually abused a child, he allegedly covered up the inappropriate occurrences, which is despicable.

As pope and a disciple of God, Benedict should have protected the innocent children who suffered in these scandals instead of protecting the priests that committed these crimes. Being a priest does not put one above the law. If someone sexually abuses a child they should be put on trial like the law requires it.

The other half of the pope’s legacy will be his resignation, for it signals a change in how to view the office of the pope. The papacy can now be viewed as not a divine person acting on the will of God, but as an office that is occupied by a normal human being.

Catholics should not worry about the pope’s resignation. They should carry on like normal. The Church will not cease to exist because the pope is resigning. 

Also, do not expect any changes on the Church’s position on issues like allowing priests to marry, accepting female priests, or negativity towards the gay community when the pope is elected. The next pope will continue the conservative path that his predecessors have put in place.

The next pope will continue to face the child abuse scandals like Benedict XVI. He will also face the dilemma of the dwindling membership of the Church in Europe, North America, and among the young people of the world.

To help fix its membership problem, the Church should take a serious look at its decision to prohibit women to serve as priests or allow priests to marry. Changing its stances on these two issues would be a good attempt at trying to bring the Church into the 21st century, increase the number of people who attend mass, and even get more people to become priests.

The next pope has an opportunity to change the Catholic Church and modernize it unlike his predecessor.