JOHN Paul II took the view that he, like almost all of his predecessors, should die in office. For at least his last seven years, the pope was a triumphant reminder of hope embodied in mortal frailty, but the Catholic Church was leaderless and not well governed at a time of crisis. Benedict XVI is traditionally minded and he too no doubt would have preferred to die in the traces. However, having done what he could to manage the chaos at the end of the last reign and having had the church entrusted to his care, he has now chosen to renounce the office. It is a sensible precedent in an age when medical science can keep people alive much longer, but can't guarantee them the physical and mental stamina to sustain such a burden.