When I was a teenager, I was a big fan of an American journalist named Penny Lernoux, primarily for her book "Cry of the People: The Struggle for Human Rights in Latin America".
There was a lot of tragedy in the book, stories of martyrdom, but also hope and inspiration in the story of Liberation Theology and the embrace of the Second Vatican Council idea that the Church was not the old guys with crimson skull caps but, rather, "The People of God".
In 1989 I read another book by Lernoux called "People of God: The Struggle for World Catholicism". This was a much less hopeful story of a reactionary church bent of purging progressive theologians, bishops and priests, and lay organizations and reversing any progressive promise anybody saw in Vatican II.
This was under John Paul II but JP2 isn't the villain of the book. Admired for his stand against communist totalitarianism, he was, nonetheless a conservative suspicious of the "excesses" of secular liberalism (ie the West). No, the villain was one of JP2's chief lieutenants, a German Cardinal named Joseph Ratzinger. At the Vatican, Ratzinger was head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, probably better known for its historic moniker, the Inquisition.
JP2 also made sure all newly promoted old guys with crimson skull caps were conservatives so that the next Pope would be even more conservative than he was, to carry on the work. No surprise then that in 2005 the old boys' club elected Joseph Ratzinger to be Pope Benedict XVI.
There was one fly in the ointment for Benedict's push for conservative doctrines and clericalism. That was the fact that clerics were too often being found out for sexual abuse despite the best efforts of the hierarchy. This was especially true in those pesky excessive democracies with their press freedom that hated secrets, especially where the privileged hurt innocent people.
So, anyway, I'm sure Benedict did some good (such as retiring, something that hasn't happened in 600 years). But you can see why I'm not terribly broken up about his passing. He broke Penny Lernoux's heart.