Absolutely!  Both JP II and Benedict were to frightened to permit the Constitutions and Documents of Vatican II to become operative.  Neither of these men were comfortable with having the laity have any voice [or God forbid---authority] within the Church.   They were formed by life under both Nazi and Communist oppression.  But the official church in Central Europe, which operated in secretive actions, was what they were accustomed to having.  The Church [official church] made its pronouncements as benevolent dictator----and the simple people obeyed.  Anyone highly educated who made any objection was criticized, and silenced.  This concept was best observed in Ratzinger's statement that Catholics are simple people and "bishops should protect the faith of these little people against the power of intellectuals." [Allen, John, POPE BENEDICT XVI] p. 130.

Sadly, the world that JP II and Benedict imagined was barely true in the late 1930's of their youths.  Today, it's just a memory.