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Subscribe to RSSMentioning no specific ailment other than 'advanced age,' Pope Benedict's parting came as a shocking announcement for many – except for the Pope's brother, who said he knew Benedict had been thinking about stepping down for months. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
Updated at 2:57 p.m. ET: Pope Benedict XVI shocked Catholics around the world Monday by saying that he no longer had the mental or physical strength to carry out his job and would become the first pope since the Middle Ages to give up the title.
The pope, speaking in Latin, informed a small gathering of cardinals at the Vatican of his decision. The abdication will take effect on Feb. 28, and cardinals could gather as early as March to elect a successor.
Benedict, 85, said later in a statement that the papacy required “strength of mind and body,” and that both had deteriorated in recent months. He said that he had made the decision “after having repeatedly examined my conscience before God.”
The abdication closes an eight-year pontificate widely recognized as deeply conservative. The church also spent much of Benedict’s term grappling with sexual abuse scandals.
The pope’s decision shot quickly through the dioceses of the world, and some of the 1.2 billion faithful — from laity to the very cardinals who were in the room — expressed profound surprise.
“I’m as startled as the rest of you and as anxious to find out exactly what’s going on,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said on TODAY. “Except for prayer, I don’t know what else to do. I’ll await instruction with everyone else.”
In an announcement that stunned Catholics around the world, Pope Benedict XVI revealed he will be stepping down from his position, citing failing strength. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports on his eight years as pope.
Monsignor Oscar Sanchez of Mexico, who was at the Vatican for the announcement, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the cardinals “remained shocked and were looking at each other.”
President Barack Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama “warmly remember our meeting with the Holy Father in 2009, and I have appreciated our work together over these last four years.”
Canon law says that the pope may relinquish his office provided that the decision is “made freely and properly manifested” — language to which Benedict appeared to allude in his statement.
Because there is no one in the church higher than the pope to accept a resignation, the renouncement is technically an abdication.
The last pope universally recognized to have abdicated was Celestine V, who was elected in July 1294 and gave up the job five months later after feeling that he was being manipulated by the King of Sicily and Naples. He was declared a saint in 1313.
During a period of division known as the Great Western Schism, from 1378 to 1415, there were three rival claimants to the papacy. The legitimate pope, Gregory XII, abdicated to make way for an undisputed pope.
Benedict’s abdication clears the way for the College of Cardinals to gather at the Vatican to elect a successor, a process in which the United States is expected to have unprecedented sway.
The U.S. will have 11 votes, almost 10 percent of the electorate and the second-largest voting bloc behind Italy, which will have 28 votes. Germany, the home country of the current pope, will have six.
It appears highly unlikely that an American will be elected Benedict’s successor. Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is considered a longshot for the job.
The archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, explains the "mixed emotions" he feels about the news that Pope Benedict XVI will resign on February 28, saying he feels a "special bond" with the pope.
Among the cardinals mentioned as possible successors are Angelo Scola of Italy, Peter Turkson of Ghana, Marc Ouellet of Canada and Francis Arinze of Nigeria and Christoph Schoenborn of Austria.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, told reporters that the cardinals would be looking for an “articulate voice” for the church and would keep in mind Benedict’s tradition.
“He has called all of us to focus on the spiritual mission of the church, proclaim the gospel and once again begin this personal relationship all of us are capable of having with God back to the foreground,” he told reporters at St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected April 19, 2005. He was the 265th pope and the successor to John Paul II, who had served since 1978 and was wildly popular among the faithful.
Born in 1927, he had been conscripted into the Hitler Youth during World War II, but he never joined the Nazi Party, and his family opposed the regime of Adolf Hitler, Reuters reported.
Ratzinger, before being elevated to pope, headed the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees church doctrine. His strict approach to theology earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler.”
NBC New Vatican analyst George Weigel gives his thoughts on Pope Benedict XVI's announcement of his resignation, and explains how a new pope will be selected.
He sought to rekindle the faith of Catholics and bring them closer to the teachings of the church. He worried that too many had strayed, and said in 2005 that the parts of the world suffered from “a strange forgetfulness of God.”
During Benedict’s papacy, thousands of people came forward to report that priests had raped or molested them as children and that bishops had covered it up.
It was Benedict’s old office that dealt with abuse cases, yet Benedict never admitted failure himself or of the Vatican, and never punished bishops who ignored or covered up the abuse.
“He could go around and minister to victims, which he did, and I think that was a brave and profound thing to do, but he couldn’t change the definitive elements of the Catholic Church that enable abuse,” said Michael D’Antonio, author of “Mortal Sins: Sex, Crime, and the Era of Catholic Scandal.”
“He would have had to pick up the church and drag it into the 21st century, but you know he could have,” he said. “He might have died trying, the stress of that might have been even more profound, he would have faced tremendous intrigue and opposition but I suspect that instead he may go down in history as a caretaker, an interpersonally kind pastor who made no mark when he had the chance to.”
Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League, said that Benedict had tackled the abuse problem much more aggressively than John Paul II, who he said had let the issue languish.
“Nobody clearly did more to counter this problem in the Catholic Church” than Benedict, Donahue said. “I think history will treat him very well in terms of dealing with the problem.”
Benedict continued the outreach to Jews of his predecessor, John Paul II, and was the second pope to enter a synagogue. His relationship with Muslims, however, was much more complex.
He generated outrage among Muslims when, in 2006, he gave a speech in Germany and quoted a Byzantine emperor who had characterized some of the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings “as evil and inhuman.”
Benedict also stirred an uproar in 2009 when, en route to Africa and discussing the AIDS epidemic with reporters, he said that the distribution of condoms “increases the problem” rather than preventing the spread of the disease.
A year later, in an interview, he said that a male prostitute who used a condom to avoid passing HIV to his partner might be taking a step toward more responsible sexuality.
James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, which claims 40,000 members and wants the church to focus more on social justice and poverty, praised the abdication as a “sign of humility from the aging Holy Father” and encouraged the church to reflect on the “challenges of this papacy.”
He suggested that the church open itself to a pope from Latin America or Africa.
Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Look back at his life from childhood through his papacy.
NBC News staff writer Miranda Leitsinger, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
'Heavy heart but complete understanding': Pope's resignation stuns leadership
Archbishop Dolan of New York: I'm startled, anxious at pope's resignation
From prisoner of war to pontiff: A timeline of Benedict XVI's life
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OVU, no one appears to be suppressing you from small minded comments. You feminism seems secure.
All i had to see to know that this comment section would be filled with empty venomous hate would be the word Catholic. Everyone automatically point fingers and wag tongues. You bigoted hypocritical so called "enlightened" hate mongerers make me sick. The man could be suffering from alzheimers or dementia, which would make him unable to make the important decisions necessary to lead in these trying times. The disdain and apathy for your fellow man is shameful. Call me a hypocrite or a bigot or whatever one of those crutch words you all fall back on but hey, Jesus was perfect, I am not.
Catholicism is a satanic disease, and all who have eyes see it -
you call us bigoted and hypocritical and in the next sentence you say "hypocrite" and "bigot" are crutch words.
Sorry - you can't have it both ways.
If you are just trolling us, bravo! - well done. But, I'm afraid you are being sincere.
I.
Left 50, drop 50, fruit in the open, all batteries fire for effect.
serve satan long enough... he will take you out before the time he promised. The biggest obstacle in the history of the Christian missionary calling - the disease of Catholicism. Worship the virgin Mary and second-rate the Savior. God tells us to "Call no other man Father than myself". When a woman cried out to Jesus "blessed is the woman who gave you birth and nursed you" Jesus replied "N0 ! - blessed rather are those who hear my commands and obey them" The Catholic church has been given over to the spirits of pedophilia and homosexuality for their disobedience to God. The Catholic church is the spirit of the Harlot who rides the Beast.
"upon this rock i will build my CHURCH and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" the rock being Peter and eveyone who succeeded him. i rest my case
the "rock" was not Peter - it was the reality that Jesus is Lord and Savior - the Son of the Living God - it was the conceptual reality, NOT a man...
"simon i shall call you peter which means rock and upon this rock"
try another translation - you are "pre-schooling" God's Word, dude....
to you Peter i give the keys to the kingdom of heaven whatever you bind on earth shall be bound whatever you loose.....shall i go on?
gotta love it - 2 catholic apologists fighting it out
i dont think jeremy has ever been in a catholic church
wouldn't know since I haven't either and don't speak the language
but you throw out the statement they are both catholic apologist , people love to talk bad about things they know nothing about and get upset when called out on it. ie put a fork in it.
yet why does the only person who seems to be upset is (ta-dah) YOU. I don't really care what you say, who you think you are or what you do. The kindergarten comments of "did not...did too" are at the core, mumblings of 2 mice fighting for the same scrap of cheese (squeak squeak)
I don't think he is suffering from anything. He just wants to get out while he still can and disassociate himself from those things that he is accused of. I believe he is one smart cookie to make his escape now.
I agree with Max 108 the committee had no business from the beginning selecting this Pope. A Pope is needed that will continue to follow, lead and encourage Catholics around the world to follow the path of God's Holy Will. Granted there are men and women who are totally commited to giving their lives to God and carry the message of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost to His people, also there are men and women in the Catholic Church have been called by God but they fall in love and have to leave the church or step down as Priest and Nuns/Sisters. This is where Deaconship Ministry in the Catholic Church needs to step up and build this Ministry. There is the need to select a Pope who is clear on what the Will of God is, that means having a clear knowledge of the the Holy Bible, experienced in different nationalities worldwide, as the church follows it's order of service yet allowing Catholics to implement their culture of worship into the service and having special services, gospelfest, celebrating their patron saints, holding seasonal/yearly revivals and workshops for the various ministries in the church for example: musc minitry, religious teaching ministry, School of Pastorial Leadership. Fellowshipping and encouaging churches to fellowship and become sister churches nationally and worldwide. Get a Pope who does not indulge in alchoholic beverages or has a drunk driving record and who will also work with the police in dealing with former priest who are "retired, living in board and care homes or dead" child predators. Do thorough investigations of the case. I'm sorry the church needs to stop paying out these millions in settlements, if we pay out to former victims then let's consider paying out to rape victims, child molestation family victims. In 2005 before I left the Catholic Church the Pastor who's at my former church home in the Bay Area was accused of moleting this woman when he was a "young priest" after the investigation by the police department, the archdiosese and a private investigator she lied. In Oakland a young man attempted to lie on a priest whose the coach of high school team, well it turned out the young man was claiming he was 11 at the time and the priest was 19 and he hadn't even gone into seminary, the young man lied because other men claimed rape by priest in the past so he thought he would do it too. Granted there have been priest who definitely took advantage of by some priest, but many Catholic Schools and Churches that had nothing to do with these horrible crimes have been closed down to help with these huge pay-offs. I went to Catholic school in the BVHP, the school , and both convents(Sisters of St Joseph and Marist Sisters) were sold to great organizations. But the point is schools and churches should not have to brunt the financial burden of what priest did somewhere else.
I'm an thankful that the Pope has stepped down. I have always thought that he was a poor choice to lead us Catholics, and he failed, as well as the rest of the Vatican, to admit that the Vatican led to the culture of secrecy on abusive priests. I'm one Catholic who hopes that the next Pope is more independent than Pope Benedict of the powers behind the scenes. We need a Pope who will state emphatically that the Vatican has failed in its leadership by covering up the abuse of children and protecting the guilty. We need a Pope who will come out and say yes, we are guilty of moral and criminal acts against children. Will it happen? Not sure, but I will be hopeful that we will have prorgress with the next Pope, instead of the lack of leadership and progress by Pope Benedict.
Probably another cover up. One dirty little secret that the church doesn't want anyone to know is that pope John Paul I was murdered by the church. He was pope for about a month. Dig deep into history to find the truth.
Are you also a birther?
OR A "TRUTHER"?
Kudos to Pope Benedict for stepping down now. Usually eldery popes fall into a coma and there is a long sad death watch.
I'm putting my hat in the ring to be the next Pope. I'm not Catholic but I know a good thing when I see it. And hey, I'll take a new Popemobile for openers.
I will concede that there could be an undisclosed illness that could bring about this choice.
However, I listen strongly to my instincts. What my instincts are telling me is that when all other popes in the past 800 years stay in until death..then something does not smell right.
The whole ordeal with his butler was very strange and was wrapped up and brushed under the rug very quickly. Maybe there is something there.
Maybe he just found an altar boy that really caught his eye.
Whatever the case, I'm finding it hard to believe it is simply old age as the cause of the resignation.
Good for him. Now if the Catholic Church will just do the same because of advanced age.
History will remember him for aiding, abetting, supporting and defending the rape and abuse of children worldwide... one of the most widespread crimes against humanity in all history. Maciel, Murphy, Soldano, these monsters were not only facilitated in their crimes by Ratzinger, they were defended zealously by him. This, whatever else he has done, will be his legacy.
The Vatican state, created by Mussolini, is the shield behind which this man coordinated the defense of an incredible devastation to children across the world, and Ratzinger took more use of that illegal immoral shield than perhaps any other man. Eventually the full degree of his complicity will be known, as the illegitimacy of this fraudulent state is exposed.
It's hard to live with guilt of this magnitude. Of course he quit, because his motivation was not, I believe, anything but political, and that may make it the hardest crime to live with of all... he did it to curry political favor. I'd love to be there to see him explain himself to God... good luck with that, Ratzinger. See you in Hell.
Does this make way for "Peter the Roman" ---- The LAST OCCUPANT of the Vatican according to the Apocalyptic prophecy of Saint Malachy ???
Why doesn't he just pray for more energy?
WOW! I hear there isn't much of a retirement plan for retired popes?
He's not resigning -- He's abdicating.
Selfish of him -- He's only giving them two weeks notice.
So now we get to watch another Vatican Circus on TV until a new pope gets settled in.
It was a slow news time anyway -- Only a few very remote wars.
bicfi, what is the point of your post? Some Pope's don't give any notice when they die. If you think it's a circus and you don't like it, don't watch, no one will think any less of you.
jrl...
And the point of your point is to point out that maybe my point was to get your response.
Well, you did make your point, and my point was successful.
And I'm in the middle of this BBC documentary about Benedict and somewhat shocked by some of the scenes: #!h&V=fTmuav-Uk9s&N=Benedict_Trials-of-a-Pope-Documentary
Charlie, take a look at who the really old Senators are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_Senators_by_age
May be the ones that are older than McCain should be gone first.
As if the guy who selected that brainless Palin as his VP running mate has any right to question others as he sits there in rightous indignity on Senate committees? He is an old, pot-calling-the-kettle-eblack hypocrite of the highest order. Boot the obstructionist, camera-loving oaf out of office. He serves nothing other than his fragile ego.
So, as soon as you list the brainless idiots in the Senate, both Dems and Reps, that should be out of office, I'll be glad to listen. If you only want to play partisan politics, you have little credibility.
yo - this is a "religious" thread.
put- sorry, your right. The comment I responded to was to foolish to ignore.
Apples'n Oranges: homosexuality is not a choice it is a mental disorder, chosing to have gay sex is a choice, instinct does not compell us to homosexual acts...
So, you're saying that Priests make a conscious decision to rape and molest children? Bingo. Men of the cloth can be sickos. If there is a Hell, it will be choked with Priests and Evangelicals who rip off people on radio and TV by praying for them for a fee (or is it "love gift?") What they believe I guess is that their prayers are more powerful because they're closer to God? Again---unmitigated b*llsh*t. People who take money for prayers are on the same level of immorality with all the pedophiles.
its widely accepted that the protestant reformation is satan steering the church away from God, he couldnt destroy it in the persecution so he tries to take the reins and steer it off course,only in protestant faiths do you find ppl like benny hinn with magic healings and love gifts. "many will come in my name and mislead even the elect" many is not the one church the catholic which means universal, but all the self induldged brands of protestant faiths. and to reiterate on the priest thing, theyre are alot of pedofiles in the world, some of them use the priesthood to get at children, but there are alot in our schools and every where else, you only hear about priests because every one wants to attack the catholic church,and id suspect half the accused are innocent
Just one Pope left...
Petrus Romanus, qui paſcet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus tranſactis ciuitas ſepticollis diruetur, & Iudex tremẽdus iudicabit populum ſuum.[71] Finis.
268
112 Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The end.
Unknown
Unknown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes
When the sepulchre of the great Roman is found,
The day after a Pontiff will be elected:
Scarcely will he be approved by the Senate
Poisoned, his blood in the sacred chalice.
century: 3, quatrain: 65
http://nostradamus2012.com/quatrain_centurie_keyword_finder.php#showquatrainsearch
one NUTCASE or another, eh?
Let those who read this verse consider it profoundly,
Let the profane and the ignorant herd keep away:
And far away all Astrologers, Idiots and Barbarians,
May he who does otherwise be subject to the sacred rite.
century: 6, quatrain: 100
http://nostradamus2012.com/quatrain_centurie_keyword_finder.php#showquatrainsearch
ding ding ding ding... WE HAVE A WINNER (or is that whiner?)
Your lack of intelligence is showing again!
he makes a good case for evolution, ie descended from apes
If Saint Malachy and the Prophecy of the Popes is correct, the next Pope will be our last Pope, who will reign during the end of days as brought about by the third antichrist. Technically, that would mean that the antichrist is already in position as a world leader.......who do you think it is???
beats me - this is another of those fool's errands like the Mayan end of the calendar (just buy a NEW ONE, already)
obama, wait till he removes the term limit so he can become the first dictator of the usa