NEW DELHI, Jan. 9 -- While the whole world mourns the death of Pope Benedict XVI, who made an indelible mark as an outstanding intellectual and theologian, we want to recall how his theology came across to the people of Asia.

The problem with Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI's original name) was that he turned his personal theological positions - which became increasingly strident, reactionary and right-wing -- into the official position of the Church without distinguishing both roles sufficiently. Some of those personal views were problematic. But then he saw his theology as the official theology of the Church, which he could impose on Asia and elsewhere, thanks to his powerful perch as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine o...