To mark our anniversary, we have invited 50 Catholics to choose a person from the past 175 years whose life has been a personal inspiration to them and an example of their faith at its best Benedict XVI’s resignation came as a relief to this writer: I would no longer have to try to defend him in the public square. It pained me to see the distorted caricature that the media presented of a truly humble and great man of God – and a thinker of refreshing originality – whom I had the privilege of knowing as a teacher and a friend.Despite his reputation as “God’s Rottweiler” gained while prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI initially surprised the world with his gentle smile and profound words. His teaching could be su