Pope Benedict to resign

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Rome (CNN) -- The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, surprised the world Monday by saying will resign at the end of the month "because of advanced age."

It's the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years.

"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," the pope said, according to the Vatican.

After Benedict's resignation becomes effective on February 28, cardinals will meet to choose a new leader for the church.

"Before Easter, we will have the new pope," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said at a news conference.

The decision was not impulsive, he said.

"It's not a decision he has just improvised," Lombardi said. "It's a decision he has pondered over."

After his resignation, Benedict, 85, will probably retire to a monastery and devote himself to a life of reflection and prayer, he said.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said the decision "shocked and surprised everyone."

"Yet, on reflection, I am sure that many will recognise it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action," he said.

Benedict -- born Joseph Ratzinger -- will not be involved in choosing a new pope or in guiding the church after his resignation, Lombardi said.

Benedict was elected pope in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II, the third-longest-serving leader of the Catholic Church.

He has served during a time in which the church is declining in his native Europe but expanding in Africa and Latin America.

His papacy also has been marked with a series of scandals and controversies, including hundreds of new allegations of sexual abuse by priests.

Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl Am Inn, Bavaria, a heavily Catholic region of Germany.

He spent his adolescent years in Traunstein, near the Austrian border, during the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.

Ratzinger wrote in his memoirs that school officials enrolled him in the Hitler Youth movement against his will when in 1941, when he was 14.

He said he was allowed to leave the organization because he was studying for the priesthood, but was drafted into the army in 1943. He served with an anti-aircraft unit until he deserted in the waning days of WW II.

After the war, he resumed his theological studies and was ordained in 1951. He received his doctorate in theology two years later and taught dogma and theology at German universities for several years.

In 1962, he served as a consultant during the pivotal Vatican II council to Cardinal Frings, a reformer who was the archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

As a young priest, Ratzinger was on the progressive side of theological debates, but began to shift right after the student revolutions of 1968, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen Jr. said.

In his book "Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith," Allen says Ratzinger is a shy and gentle person whose former students spoke of him as a well-prepared and caring professor.

Pope Paul VI named him archbishop of Munich in 1977 and promoted him to cardinal the next month. Ratzinger served as archbishop of Munich until 1981, when he was nominated by John Paul II to be the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he held until his election as pope.

He became dean of the College of Cardinals in November 2002 and in that role called the cardinals to Rome for the conclave that elected him the 265th pope.

In his initial appearance as pope, he told the crowd in St. Peter's Square that he would serve as "a simple and humble worker in the vineyards of the Lord."

He is the sixth German to serve as pope and the first since the 11th century.

The last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415. He did so to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/index.html

[Boggy1974 124]

Rome (CNN) -- The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI, surprised the world Monday by saying will resign at the end of the month "because of advanced age."

It's the first time a pope has resigned in nearly 600 years.

"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," the pope said, according to the Vatican.

After Benedict's resignation becomes effective on February 28, cardinals will meet to choose a new leader for the church.

"Before Easter, we will have the new pope," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said at a news conference.

The decision was not impulsive, he said.

"It's not a decision he has just improvised," Lombardi said. "It's a decision he has pondered over."

After his resignation, Benedict, 85, will probably retire to a monastery and devote himself to a life of reflection and prayer, he said.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said the decision "shocked and surprised everyone."

"Yet, on reflection, I am sure that many will recognise it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action," he said.

Benedict -- born Joseph Ratzinger -- will not be involved in choosing a new pope or in guiding the church after his resignation, Lombardi said.

Benedict was elected pope in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II, the third-longest-serving leader of the Catholic Church.

He has served during a time in which the church is declining in his native Europe but expanding in Africa and Latin America.

His papacy also has been marked with a series of scandals and controversies, including hundreds of new allegations of sexual abuse by priests.

Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl Am Inn, Bavaria, a heavily Catholic region of Germany.

He spent his adolescent years in Traunstein, near the Austrian border, during the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.

Ratzinger wrote in his memoirs that school officials enrolled him in the Hitler Youth movement against his will when in 1941, when he was 14.

He said he was allowed to leave the organization because he was studying for the priesthood, but was drafted into the army in 1943. He served with an anti-aircraft unit until he deserted in the waning days of WW II.

After the war, he resumed his theological studies and was ordained in 1951. He received his doctorate in theology two years later and taught dogma and theology at German universities for several years.

In 1962, he served as a consultant during the pivotal Vatican II council to Cardinal Frings, a reformer who was the archbishop of Cologne, Germany.

As a young priest, Ratzinger was on the progressive side of theological debates, but began to shift right after the student revolutions of 1968, CNN Vatican analyst John Allen Jr. said.

In his book "Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith," Allen says Ratzinger is a shy and gentle person whose former students spoke of him as a well-prepared and caring professor.

Pope Paul VI named him archbishop of Munich in 1977 and promoted him to cardinal the next month. Ratzinger served as archbishop of Munich until 1981, when he was nominated by John Paul II to be the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he held until his election as pope.

He became dean of the College of Cardinals in November 2002 and in that role called the cardinals to Rome for the conclave that elected him the 265th pope.

In his initial appearance as pope, he told the crowd in St. Peter's Square that he would serve as "a simple and humble worker in the vineyards of the Lord."

He is the sixth German to serve as pope and the first since the 11th century.

The last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415. He did so to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/index.html

God bless the Pope's heart for resigning when his health will not allow him to function effectively in his Papal duties. He's unique in that regard and only one of two in the church's history. Stay well Pope, and God guide you in the days ahead!

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Since when do they resign due to "advanced age"? Seems odd. Not that I'm sad to see him go. I don't pay much attention to religion in general, but I've never liked this guy.

[Caryh 5,206]

Since when do they resign due to "advanced age"? Seems odd. Not that I'm sad to see him go. I don't pay much attention to religion in general, but I've never liked this guy.

He's not resigning because of his age, he's resigning because of his frailty. Given how long people can live today compared to just a short time ago, its good to see this pope admit it to himself. BTW I am a Catholic, and I'm not so sorry to see this pope go. I hope they pick someone who can be inspirational in his person, and not just because of his position.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

He's not resigning because of his age, he's resigning because of his frailty. Given how long people can live today compared to just a short time ago, its good to see this pope admit it to himself. BTW I am a Catholic, and I'm not so sorry to see this pope go. I hope they pick someone who can be inspirational in his person, and not just because of his position.

Frailty, "advanced age", whatever you want to call it. Isn't this usually a position that's held until death?

Hopefully they pick someone who won't turn a blind eye to the sexual abuse going on in their churches.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Evylin

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Frailty, "advanced age", whatever you want to call it. Isn't this usually a position that's held until death?

Most popes are dead or just on their way out at his age. I don't know why you are making a deal out of this and I don't even like the pope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ages_of_popes

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Most popes are dead or just on their way out at his age. I don't know why you are making a deal out of this and I don't even like the pope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ages_of_popes

How is asking one question considered "making a big deal out of this"? It's obviously very, very rare for a pope to resign for ANY reasons. So I found it odd.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

How is asking one question considered "making a big deal out of this"? It's obviously very, very rare for a pope to resign for ANY reasons. So I found it odd.

I didn't say you made a 'big' deal. I said you were making a deal.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I didn't say you made a 'big' deal. I said you were making a deal.

Okay. Thanks for making that clarification.

[^_^ 5,021]

How is asking one question considered "making a big deal out of this"? It's obviously very, very rare for a pope to resign for ANY reasons. So I found it odd.

Take your anti-Catholicism elsewhere! This is a thread to celebrate the Pope and his numerous accomplishments. If all you can do is be negative then please start a "I hate the Pope" thread!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Okay. Thanks for making that clarification.

You're welcome.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

[quote name=' timestamp='1360596757' post='5973251]

Take your anti-Catholicism elsewhere! This is a thread to celebrate the Pope and his numerous accomplishments. If all you can do is be negative then please start a "I hate the Pope" thread!

NO, YOU.

[^_^ 5,021]

NO, YOU.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Since when do they resign due to "advanced age"? Seems odd. Not that I'm sad to see him go. I don't pay much attention to religion in general, but I've never liked this guy.

his doctor said he couldn't physically handle the travel duties anymore. he is stepping aside, so someone that can travel & represent the vatican can assume the duties.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

his doctor said he couldn't physically handle the travel duties anymore. he is stepping aside, so someone that can travel & represent the vatican can assume the duties.

How does this not happen more often? The popes elected are generally in their late 70s or early 80s. How is it in all this time, nobody else has resigned due to reasons like this? I'm not saying his reasons aren't valid, I'm wondering how this is so rare.