
Pope Benedict XVI, the Roman Catholic Church's top priest, took the world by surprise with his decision to resign. Pulitzer Prize-winning author -- and lifelong Catholic -- Gary Wills asks why we need priests and suggests Christianity would have been better off without the priesthood.
Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "Why Priests?" Copyright © Garry Wills, 2013.

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