Compiled: from sources
Over 1.2 billion Catholics around the world are without a Pope after Pope Benedict XVI “stunned the Roman Catholic Church and the rest of the world” early February by giving three weeks’ notice that he is stepping down as of yesterday, February 28.
The Bavarian-born pontiff cited his deteriorating health and “advanced age” — he is 85 — as the reason he is bowing out after nearly eight years as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
In doing so, Benedict becomes the first Pope to resign the office in nearly 600 years.
In 2012 it was written, “Since his 2010 book, “Light of the World,” in which he said that if a pope felt “no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of carrying out the duties of his office,” he would have “the right, and in some circumstances the obligation, to resign.”
He emphasized that carrying out the duties of being pope — the leader of Roman Catholics worldwide — requires “both strength of mind and body.”
“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he told the cardinals. “I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only by words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering,” he said at his resignation.
So, there should have been no surprise when The Associated Press reported, “Pope Benedict XVI announced Feb. 11 that he would resign on February 28 because he was simply too infirm to carry on — the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.”
On the stroke of 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2013, as bells chimed and pilgrims stifled sobs, the Swiss guards who had been standing outside the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo retreated inside, their duty done. The man they had come to protect, three hours before, was no longer eligible for their care. In spectacular style through cloudless skies, he had arrived a pope. But he was now, in his own words, “simply a pilgrim”.
Last October, Benedict started using a movable platform to carry him down the central aisle in St. Peter’s Basilica, and he leaned on a cane before boarding the plane for a recent weeklong trip to Cuba and Mexico. He his now the sixth-oldest pope since at least the 1400s; the oldest, Pope Leo XIII, died in 1903 at age 93.
His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, died in 2005 at age 84 after years of failing health. After his death, it was revealed John Paul considered resigning twice, on his 75th and 80th birthdays, but decided to continue serving “as long as (Jesus), in the mysterious designs of his providence, will want.”
The Feb. 28 resignation allows for a fast-track Conclave to elect a new pope, since the traditional nine days of mourning that would follow a pope’s death doesn’t have to be observed. It also gives the 85-year-old Benedict great sway over the choice of his successor. Though he will not himself vote, he has hand-picked the bulk of the College of Cardinals — the princes of the church who will elect his successor — to guarantee his conservative legacy and ensure an orthodox future for the church.The resignation may mean that age will become less of a factor when electing a new pope, since candidates may no longer feel compelled to stay for life.
The Cardinals will not be able to use any mobile devices they may sneak into the Conclave, because jamming devices will be installed to prevent their use.
Photo caption: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful as he delivers his Christmas Day message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 25, 2012, in Vatican City.
