All good people of faith, please keep this man in your prayers. Here’s the text:
ROME (Reuters) – The following is the text of the speech that Pope Benedict delivered in Latin to members of a consistory, or church council, announcing his planned resignation on Monday. It was distributed by the Vatican in a statement:
“Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. 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. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.
“Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.”
With this first resignation of a Pope since the Middle Ages, Christianity in general, and the Roman Catholic Church in particular, is thrown into uncertainty once again. Keep the Faith! STAND.
Tags: Pope Benedict XVI
The first Papal resignation in 600 years. I guess it would be too much to hope that Timothy Cardinal Dolan could become the first American Pope….yeah, methinks too much.
Not.
Happy.
eaglesoars wrote:
Not.
Happy.
At.
All.
It will be interesting to see who the next Pope is. Will the Church continue is slight rightward shift,or will the Liberation Theologists win out? Or doe it matter? The majority of the Catholic vote went to Obama in the last election, and he is the most anti-Catholic President we’ve ever had. If the Catholics are going to vote like that, maybe it no longer matters who the Pope is.
There have been rumors of his ill health for quite some time now, but he must be far sicker than anyone suspected. Damned shame.
I keep reading prophecies about Pope Benedict being the Next to Last Pope….
Iron Fist wrote:
I doubt it. IIRC John Paul excommunicated a few.
I’m not clear on global demographics of the Catholic church, but I think the fastest growth is on the African continent so the cardinals may want to recognize that and promote those gains
Macker wrote:
Yeah. I remember we were all reading that when Pope Ben was elected.
I’m very sad. I’m not even Christian, let alone Catholic, but the respect I have for this man is profound, both for his intellectual depth/honesty and for his generouse spirit. Early in his tenure he wrote a piece on charity that was transporting.
Also, he was no fool when it came to jihadis -- unlike John Paul, who I thought was a bit naive.
It’s fascinating how this has caught everyone flatfooted. They’re saying even his closest advisors didn’t have a clue.
eaglesoars wrote:
JPII was a bit naive; he was a wonderful man, but he oft appeared exclusively spiritual. Benedict seemed far more involved in the temporal world; I saw the most remarkable picture of him sitting at a table with an iPad!
Here we go.
CARITAS IN VERITATE
Charity in Truth
@ Iron Fist:
Obama won the Catholic vote 50-48 because Hispanic Catholics voted 70% against the GOP who they perceive as hating them. Bush won the total Catholic vote in 04.
This is now the main thread.
I wonder what one calls a Pope after he steps down?
@ eaglesoars:
There is a purge of Liberation Theologists types.
Rodan wrote:
As well there should be.
@ eaglesoars:
They are Marxists. Father Phleger is a prime example.
this orthodox prays hard for a worthy successor. its gonna be hard to replace this guy
MacDuff wrote:
pope.
il papa
Rodan wrote:
Yes. And if you read Charity in Truth, you will find that Ben writes about ‘social justice’ but with a completely different foundation, i.e., logos It must be based on truth and there IS objective truth, it cannot be relativized.
@ eaglesoars:
Social Justice got hijacked by Progressive. Just like Obama’s balanced approach is not balanced.
The parade of the clueless, the buffoons and the mean and sick of spirit has begun…
.
Piers Morgan:
Solidad O’Brien:
Someone named Alex Gibney:
@ Rodan:
Obama’s “balanced” approach is 100% tax increases, 0% spending cuts. That’s his definition of “balanced”. Tax-and-Spend Democrats are back in force. I wish the GOP would have the balls to run television ads against them decrying their tax-and-spend ways. That was very effective in the Reagan era, and I think most people realize that there is a real spending problem in our government. They can’t borrow and spend enough from the Chinese to cover everything that the Democrats want to spend. It is obvious to anyone paying attention that the Democrats are trying to break the country’s back with their out of control spending. Everybody can look forward to 2022 when it all comes crashing down, but nobody seems to be willing to do what is required to stop it.
MacDuff wrote:
wtf?
I think he means CLARITY of doctrine.
Yeah, doofus, that’s what Popes do.
@ Iron Fist:
The Democrats think Ben Bernanke will keep printing money. They want to make the economy so bad that everyone is dependent on Government.
Let me know when that happens!
@ MacDuff:
@ coldwarrior:
The Pope stepped down so he can have a say on his successor.
Rodan wrote:
But there is a new kind of “Liberation Theologists” and they are in the business of female priests, gay marriage, ending celibacy and of course: “social justice”
@ MacDuff:
screw the idiot talking head marxists.
@ MacDuff:
Solidad O’Brien:
There also has to be some pressure and impact from what you really talked about; the sex scandal that has been a huge problem and enveloped much of the Catholic Church over the last decade.
It’s always about sex with that lot. Something many catholics have known since the whole “pedophiling priest” news stories evolved over the decades is there are plenty more pedophiling public school teachers. Ann Coulter once mentioned the odds for ever one pedo preist conviction there are 33 public school teachers. It’s the news you don’t hear you need to be weary of.
Any case, interesting times we live in.
Rodan wrote:
he would still only get one vote as cardinal of rome.
Guggi wrote:
I get such a kick out of these people. Joining a club whose rules they don’t agree with. Like Bradley Manning.
The Beagle is bugging me. BIAB
my single favorite event is papal succession. i will stay home from work to watch this. it fascinates me to no end
coldwarrior wrote:
But he does pick the Cardinals…..
Not going to be easy to replace My man Joe. The drumbeat for electing some squishy Third World Liberationist starts today, and it will be huge.
@ Guggi:
Yup, that’s their new approach.
That said I do think its time to allow Priests to get marry. The Jews and Orthodox Christians allow Marriage, the Catholics should too.
Mike C. wrote:
I think that is why he stepped down. To make sure he has a say in his successor.
I was just reflecting that Benedict is the sixth pope during my lifetime……
Q: How old are you?
A: Six Popes.
@ coldwarrior:
That is true, but he still will have a big say. I think that’s what part of this is about.
MacDuff wrote:
i am 4.
eaglesoars wrote:
and it workes so well for the Lutherans in Germany: open gay/lesbian priests, a divorced female bishop (and many divorced male/female priests) and an open association with the “Green Party”. The churches are empty and -- now retired -- Bishop Huber called for cooporation with Evangelicals “because they lack space and we lack people”.
eaglesoars wrote:
Their intention is to be a human metastasis within the organizations they despise; you gotta be a special kind of pompous, self-righteous a-hole to engage in that type of activity.
I dunno. I remember when Pious XII died…
Rodan wrote:
he was in charge of doctrine and was responsible for destroying the liberationists and bringing the heretical sspx renegades to heel. hopefully, the cardinals choose well. i have let them know that i am in the running. its the only job i really want.
MacDuff wrote:
or a journalism major.
@ coldwarrior:
@ MacDuff:
Maybe Rick Santorum should be the next Pope. I think that is his true calling!
@ Guggi:
iprefer the orthodox system. the parish priests are married. the monks and leadership are celibate. you must be married before you are ordained and if there is a divorce, you are no longer a priest.
Rodan wrote:
pope sanctimonious assholius the first.
I can’t remember the last event that was described as happening “the first time in 600 years”; that’s pretty momentous, in itself.
@ coldwarrior:
That would be a nightmare. He would rant and rave about contraception.
coldwarrior wrote:
Or a Supreme Court Justice? I am thinking of Justice Ginsberg and her comments to the a-rab spring governments advising them to not use the US Constitution as a model for their new constitutions.
MacDuff wrote:
il papa has wisdom. if he is in poor health, this is the right move. this shows great humility as well. a rare thing these days.
@ citizen_q:
stout hemp rope.
I think it’s a good and honest decision. Ratzinger was very close to JPII and watched the long ongoing process af fading away of him while the Church was without a proper leadership. He’ll spare this the Church in his case.
Guggi wrote:
i am thoroughly impressed by his wisdom and humility.
coldwarrior wrote:
I was always impressed by him because he is a very deep thinker (and a human with failures)
@ Guggi:
@ coldwarrior:
This is the right move.
@ Guggi:
He’s a true Theologian/Philosopher.
coldwarrior wrote:
Humility is indeed rare- not only these days, but throughout man’s history. I think that’s why it’s always such a valued virtue.
as pope, i would renew the following:
deus volt
and i would dig up and re-inter pope formosus, just for good measure.
deus volt, yinz!
Guggi wrote:
the church is losing a great man.
Rodan wrote:
The profound intellectualism of Benedict, and Popes in general, is always overlooked. They’re far more than just the leader of the Catholic Church- they’re some of the most learned and prolific moral philosophers you’ll ever find.
coldwarrior wrote:
Men like Benedict XVI belong to all of civilization.
MacDuff wrote:
true. and sadly rare
bbl.
I hope I don’t go to hell for going OT on Benedict’s thread, his would make a helluva topic of discussion:
Artur Davis on “The House That Rove Built”
I am saddened by this news but I hope the next Pope will continue in Benedict’s vein. I personally loathe the current progressive form of Mass, the the use of the Protestant Pater Noster, that shake hands with your neighbors. Catholics want their traditions back -- there’s a church in Vacaville that offers the Tridentine (Latin) Mass every Sunday at 11:00 -- old traditions -- women’s heads must be covered, no blue jeans, no sneakers and track suits -- in other words, you dress for Mass like you did back in the day. They can’t offer a 10:00 Mass because people arrive an hour early just to be able to get in.
@ Carolina Girl:
As long as you don’t get involved with Mel Gibson type of Catholicism!
MacDuff wrote:
Hell? nah.
Kansas mebbe
eaglesoars wrote:
I’ll see your Kansas and raise you Detroit, Michigan.
MacDuff wrote:
Karl Pig Vomit Rove is the ultimate target rich environment.
@ Speranza:
Well, we all have those in the flock that embarrass us no end.
MacDuff wrote:
There was a guy who understood what Islam was all about.
Carolina Girl wrote:
Sedevacantism Catholicism I believe is what they (Gibson pere at fils) practices.
@ Speranza:
I don’t know if you caught Levin’s show on Friday (you can download free and load on a smartphone) but he DESTROYED all of Karl Rove’s claims re being a conservative. He flat out called him a liar.
Speranza wrote:
fold
@ Speranza:
Please dear God -- Not DETROIT!!
I hated it when fools referred to him as a Nazi because at age 15 he was in the Hitlerjugend (as if he had a choice).
Carolina Girl wrote:
Dante’s vision of Hell. Almost like a Hiernoymus Bosch painting.
Carolina Girl wrote:
You seem to be an “old school Catholic” like myself. We have a church here that offers the Tridentine Mass and yes, it’s generally filled.
The thing that I always loved about Catholicism was the air of mysticism that, alas, evaporated with the advent of the “protestantization” of the 60′s.
@ MacDuff:
I knew we were in trouble the first time I walked into a church and there was an acoustic guitar near the altar.
@ Speranza:
Dennis Miller described it best. “It looks like downtown Beruit, an open-air Nintendo Game.”
As a Jew I always found it to be inspiring and sacred the Latin the one time I heard it (decades ago) when I went with a Catholic girlfriend to Mass (as a favor to her) at her R.C. Church. I sat in the back naturally.
Carolina Girl wrote:
Up until 1962 it actually was a very nice and prosperous city.
Good morning. Thhere will be all kinds of speculation about the reason
for Pope Beneducts resignation & Vatican intrigue. some of it will sound
like Angels & Demons.
I think tht it is time for a Catholic Pope, but I doubt it will happen.
@ Speranza:
I miss the Latin -- there was something incredibly mysterious. Of course, when I was a kid, I thought “Et cum spirtu tuo” was the Pope’s phone number….
[Catholics will get it immediately...non Catholics - sound it out.]
@ MacDuff:
Very good read and it makes some valid points. I think Rove understood the problem the GOP was facing, but when they had total power 2002-2006, they blew it. Now a large part of the electorate does not like them. Plus elements of the GOP base is stubborn and refuses to realize they need to reach out to others.
I think within the next few cycles we will see a different GOP or rather one that appears more like it’s 1980′s incarnation than the one that has existed since 92. But its going to be bloody. I wish this had happened after 2008, but too many thought Obama would be easy to beat. They were wrong.
@ RIX:
The big speculation now is of course that the next Pope will be Black.
@ MacDuff:
I went to Orthodox Mass and it felt like an Old School Catholic mass. I think the Mysticism need to be brought back.
I prefer Spanish Mass because the language is close to Latin and those masses tend to be very traditional.
I was at a wedding Saturday & there was a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria.
It occurred to me that we Catholics really have only two great musical
pieces, Ave Maria & Silent Night.
We need some more tunes.
@ Speranza:
Rove vs. The purists is exactly what is wrong with the GOP. I’m in the pox on both their houses category. I do not like the Wannabe Socialism of Rove nor do I like the The I am better than you attitude of parts of the base.
I think in a few cycles we will have a different GOP, but its going to be a fight to get there.
Carolina Girl wrote:
The beautiful old church where I took my First Communion, located a wonderful old blue-collar neighborhood, was gutted in the 60′s and turned into a hideous, modern “in-the-round” abomination.
Traditional values were swept away with our traditional rituals…
Carolina Girl wrote:
There was a lot of that speculation last time around.
@ RIX:
Well, we have that catchy tune by the Singing Nun….
@ MacDuff:
And that’s another thing. I want the communion handrail back and I want one Priest, one altar boy. This putting the host in your mouth with your hands makes me ill. I don’t CARE if it takes longer. Communion isn’t supposed to move like the drive-thru window at McDonald’s!
Speranza wrote:
Back in the mid-90s, I met a fellow who had probably been in the Hitlerjugend as a kid. He was more or less the right age. It was at a conference in Amsterdam, and he wanted to go to the Anne Frank house; he asked me to go with him.
Very interesting afternoon. I’d been to the Anne Frank house in 1960, long before Anne Frank became Big Business; back then, you had to make an appointment and have a caretaker wrench back the bookcase that took you up to the secret annex where the Franks hid. The place looked almost as it did when the Gestapo hauled the family away—it was, after all, only 15 years after the end of the war.
It sure had changed by 1996: plexiglass museum entrance booth, background video playing in a room on the ground floor, new exterior metal staircase to accommodate all the visiting traffic. The bare floorboards had been covered with linoleum to prevent their being worn out by thousands of feet; the pictures from illustrated papers which the people hiding there had cut out and pasted on the wall to brighten up their hiding place had been covered over by plexiglass to prevent their being scrabbled off and stolen by souvenir hunters. Big gift shop, of course.
I found this transformation disturbing, having seen it in its early days—but my companion was visibly moved. We spent a long afternoon afterwards over some excellent glasses of beer discussing the experience, and discussing some of the racial unrest plaguing Germany at that time; there was a lot of skinhead/neo-Nazi violence directed at Turkish guest workers in those days before radical Islam had clearly reared its head.
I found his take on things much more complex, much more passionate and compassionate, than the German student I ended up speaking with at the conference later that evening. She was born long after the war—indeed, she was born long after my first visit to the Anne Frank house—and her assumption of a wholly vicarious guilt for what the Nazis had done terrified me. Because her spurious assumption of guilt was not grounded in any reality, it was clear that it could easily alter and turn itself inside out; it was a free-floating attitude that had no substance. The older man who had experienced some of the lingering horrors of the war, even if indirectly, was someone with whom it was possible to have a complex and intelligent discussion, whether or not one agreed with him. The student wallowing in an unearned guilt was a fascist waiting to happen.
@ Speranza:
50 years of unrestrained Democrat rule will do that to you. Detroit is a hole. It is one city that if the Islamonazis nuked it, no one would notice.
Yeah, but she went rogue with her gal pal.
@ Iron Fist:
Hey good real estate!
Detroit is like futuristic horror movie.
There are abandoned neighborhoods with packs of feral animals
dominating, and vegetation growing in houses.
buzzsawmonkey wrote:
I think that may well be one of the more interesting paragraphs I’ll read today; it’s certainly the most thought provoking.
RIX wrote:
Pot farms?
Meanwhile, if you have a strong stomach, you can read what the tolerant left tweeted in response over at Weasel Zippers. I’m sure our favorite no-talent Jazzy Ponytail will join right in the chorus.
I think that they do that right downtown.
It’s all over Twitter, lots of hate.
@ RIX:
I saw the Alouette post over at DoD. Interestingly, one of her minions who decided to go after me last time on Twitter has all of 8 followers and surprise, surprise, one of them is Charles Johnson. Hoping for me to fall into the Reply trap. Not gonna happen.
@ Carolina Girl:
Check DOD, Aloutte should her Catholic bigotry already.
@ Rodan:
I gave her a “see you next Tuesday” wave.
That place is a nut house. The conformity with that
clown Johnson should shame all of them.
I feel a nap coming on.
later
Rodan wrote:
She thinks that the next Pope does not have to be Catholic?
Ok, I want to be President of the NAACP. Hey White is a color!
RIX wrote:
The Democrats, claiming to be “anti-racist,” are utterly race-obsessed, and their First Black President, elected by people who hoped and believed he would go beyond the race obsession and finally lay it to rest, injects race into everything.
The Democrats also claim to be the “party of science,” and deride conservatives for being “anti-scientific”—yet they endorse the anti-scientific fiction of “transgenderism,” which decrees that contrary to the physical evidence of the body and the scientific evidence of DNA, one can be a member of the opposite sex based solely on one’s feelings.
Accordingly, I hereby decree that–based upon one’s feelings, it is possible to be transracial—all that is necessary to be black, or brown, or yellow, or white is to feel that one is, and to really, really believe it. No hormone shots, creams, or lotions necessary—maybe a stack of Motown or Duke Ellington records, or some sides by the Ray Coniff singers.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
Awesome!
I KNEW I was a neanderthal.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
I like Buzz’s decree -- I can see a boom for the t-shirt industry; for instance:
“A Carolina Cracker Who Keeps Gettin’ Blacker.”
@ Carolina Girl:
Next Census I am checking every box
On the occasion of Benedict’s resignation, I checked LGF for the first time in months. It’s like flies on dog shit on a hot July afternoon, except flies don’t really have a choice.
@ Prebanned:
@ Carolina Girl:
@ Prebanned:
It’s science! The Democrats say so!
@ buzzsawmonkey:
I’ve always felt i was a tall, thin black man, despite being 5’8″ and weighing in at 191 as of this morning. Feelings trump mere physical realities, after all…
@ buzzsawmonkey:
By any metrics race relations are worse under obama.
When the Dems try to immunize him from criticism by screaming
racism it kills debate & frustrates people.
Obama has made it an us & them proposition by race & class.
@ MacDuff:
Johnson has a real grudge against the Catholic Church
for some reason.
I look forward to someone suing over a denial of benefits—scholarships, hiring preferences, etc.—on the basis that they are being discriminated against for being transracial.
About ten or fifteen such lawsuits scatter-sited around the country might kill off an awful lot of nonsense.
@ RIX:
You may be White, but you are Black in spirit.
@ Iron Fist:
I think I need some Affirmative Action to get me in the NBA, too. Mere merit-based employment is so Twentieth Century…
@ Carolina Girl:
I know her real name.
@ RIX:
He probably wishes he’d been molested by a priest…
Exacty right, I am dow with the struggle.
I should be sufficiently grouchy in a couple weeks since I observe traditional Lent of Fast and Abstinance. No meat, one full meal a day.
By the time Easter rolls around, I’d kill for a chicken pot pie.
Yeah, his ego is bruised because he got ignored.
@ Iron Fist:
Personally, deep inside, I think I’m Larry Elder.
BTW, I see where Mooch AND Clinton both lost at the Grammys last night.
RIX wrote:
Johnson, the obese blogger
Didn’t like the Catholic Church
Though he was brought up within it
He felt it left him in the lurch
All the other altar boys
Used to laugh and call him names
‘Cause he was not included
In the sexual-abuse games
Years later, the Pope resigned
And he got to tweet
“Good riddance to this old Pope
Who’ll they choose for the next dope?”
Then all his posters loved him
And they shouted with glee,
“Johnson, the obese blogger,
We’ll give you our sycophancy!”
—to the tune of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
I want to be a power forward. I have a half inch veritical leap.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
He just feels left out.
RIX wrote:
Oh, his Leftism is out there.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
Hee. I found it interesting that Jazzy follows this one nerd who snotted at me after I posted Alouette’s lies about the TGDN -- this twit has 19 tweets and is following only one individual (not Chucky by the way). Guy has 8 followers and one of them is CHUCK? Sounds like a sock that he created or that he had one of his little elfs create “and when she replies to you, everybody pounce and block and report.” BTW, I went back to check his 19 tweets -- it reads “no tweets.”
We all know what the “reply” trap is, Jazzy. And I NEVER respond to libturds. My time is too valuable to waste on idiots.
Carolina Girl wrote:
I’m thinking seriously of observing a traditional Lent this year. I watched Fr. Jonathan Morris yesterday on Fpx and he was really in rare form in his discussion of giving up certain things and adding certain things in their place- quite inspiring and thought-provoking. Though I quit smoking two years ago, I’ve still some bad habits I could shed and some good ones I could acquire, as do we all.
The louder the critics of the Church become, the more they drive me toward her, funny how that works. The Latin Mass at St. Martin of Tours, Ash Wednesday, 8:00 AM. I’m there.
@ MacDuff:
Yeah! But seriously, I was upset to hear this; I loved my “German shepherd. I hope and pray that God protects him and gives us a worthy successor.
RIX wrote:
It’d be cooler to be Dr. Benjamin Carson!
mtc wrote:
I really like that!
@ MacDuff:
Yeah, but it pays more to be in the NBA. Those are some evil rich dudes…
@ coldwarrior:
Maybe Pope Emeritus or Emertus bishop of Rome.
@ Carolina Girl:
I don’t really follow the fortunes of Mad King Yertle any more, except as they are mentioned in passing here. There are so many more interesting things to do.
He does, however, perform a service; in keeping his coterie of acolytes busy giving him tongue-baths, he occupies their time so that the adults have more freedom of movement around the rest of the Internet.
The former pope won’t be able to vote as he is over 80
Yes it would.
@ coldwarrior:
I’m 5 Popes old since John XXIII
@ MacDuff:
The Latin Mass is enjoying an enormous upsurge in popularity, especially among younger Catholics. I get that the Church wanted to make Mass “more accessible” but in their zeal they turned us all into Anglicans(NTTAWWT).
@ mtc:
Pius XII was Pope when I was born, but John XXIII was the first one that I knew, so to speak. Followed by Paul VI. My mother was one of the most religious Catholics EVER and even SHE didn’t like Paul VI. She adored John-Paul I and John-Paul II. I think she would have liked Benedict.
Carolina Girl wrote:
We must be just about the same age, you and I. I’ll be 60 (and 7 Popes old) in May.
http://weaselzippers.us/2013/02/11/detroit-gun-shop-stops-selling-bin-laden-skeleton-targets-after-cair-complains/#disqus_thread
Had I but known…..I’d have grabbed a couple dozen for the California contingent….
@ MacDuff:
Same. In October. Exactly 6 months AFTER Jazzy.
@ MacDuff:
I got that off a bumper sticker
MacDuff wrote:
Normally the Pope stays whether sick or not unless the Pope sees something coming that a stronger Pope will be needed. This is by far not normal.
Macker wrote:
Something is wrong…the Cardinals had no clue about him stepping down. If it was his health this would not be a surprise….to the Cardinals.
@ Lily:
I think he wants to make sure he gets to influence who his successor is.
eaglesoars wrote:
This is highly unususal to say the least!!! Something is terribly wrong and it isn’t his health in my opinion. Popes normally stay til death.
MacDuff wrote:
Because something is terribly wrong and it isn’t his health…
Rodan wrote:
I wonder how many Cardinals he’s appointed. If Dolan is any indication, he’s leaving a far more conservative, traditionalist Church than he found, not to take anything away from John Paul II, a Saint if there ever was one.
Rodan wrote:
You could be correct..but when I heard it…I thought something is wrong…he saw something spiritual or something.
MacDuff wrote:
Yes this Pope did correct some of the errors of Vatican II …
Lily wrote:
I’ve no real reason to think this, but he may have Alzheimer’s or some other progressive condition. Then again, he seems very interested in keeping the Church front and center on the world stage and he may feel that an 85 year-old man in ill health is up to performing that historically all-important task.
@ MacDuff:
“…is NOT up to performing that historically all-important task.”
mtc wrote:
I LOVE IT!
@ 94 buzzsawmonkey:
. That is OBama today isn’t it?
MacDuff wrote:
If it is his health …the Cardinals would not be taken so aback…but it could be his …it also could be something coming in the very near future that the Pope thinks the Church will need a younger stronger Pope.
As long as the new Pope doesn’t take the name Pope Peter II I’m cool. If he does however I’m heading for the hills folks !
You all realise of course that the next guy is supposed to be the last Pope and he’s not at all good.
Brought to you by the folks who said that the world ended in 21st. December 2012.