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German Catholic News Agency KNA via Getty Images file
Joseph Ratzinger gives a theology lecture at the University of Freising in Germany during the summer semester in 1955.
Published at 5:21 p.m. ET: Pope Benedict XVI always said he was first and foremost a teacher and a writer, and in his retirement he intends to pick up where he left off before he was called to church leadership, the Vatican said Monday. But is that a realistic expectation for a man universally known for his restless and questing intellect?
Roman Catholic Church law doesn't extensively account for a pope's abdication — among the hundreds of thousands of words in the Code of Canon Law, there's just one sentence: "If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone."
And since that hasn't happened in almost 600 years (or in more than 700 years depending on how you interpret history), there's no precedent for just what role, if any, a living ex-pope plays in the church.
What little is known came in a brief statement Monday from the Vatican, which said that when he leaves the papacy on Feb. 28, Benedict would move to Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer residence in the Alban Hills a few miles south of Rome. Eventually, he will take up residence in a former cloistered monastery in the Vatican. What he will do there hasn't been clarified, but when he was elected pope in 2005, he said the job had interrupted his plans to retire and spend the rest of his life writing "in peace and quiet."
Beyond its obvious authority, the papacy is unique within the Catholic Church because of its temporal status — it doesn't come with the equivalent of tenure. So the moment he steps aside, Benedict will return to being just Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, with no special authority or official prerogatives.
"This is all very new territory," said Donald S. Prudlo, a historian at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and scholar of theology and church history at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College in Front Royal, Va. "No set of guidelines exist for an ex-pope, even including where he should live, what he should be called and what liturgical role he would play."
It's not even certain that Benedict will resume being an active cardinal — that would be up to the new pope. Prudlo told NBC News he thought it was "unlikely," saying he expected Benedict would want almost no public visibility in his declining years.
Even if Benedict, 85, does resume life as Cardinal Ratzinger, he's beyond the cutoff age of 80 to be eligible to vote, meaning he'll be locked out of the room when the College of Cardinals elects his successor as the leader of more than 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world.
But that doesn't mean he won't have influence should he choose to exercise it, and that could be tricky for his successor, said John Thavis, Rome bureau chief of Catholic News Service.
"The church has not really had a situation of two popes in many centuries," Thavis told NBC News from Vatican City.
One reason is that the church has historically discouraged papal abdication out of concern about divided loyalties. Benedict's predecessor and mentor, John Paul II, declared that "there cannot be an 'emeritus pope.'"
"It is going to be hard for people to forget that Pope Benedict is still alive and he is still perhaps writing, still perhaps expressing himself," Thavis said. "I think it's going to fall to his successor to find a way to utilize this kind of expertise perhaps in a way that does not create new difficulties for the church."
But George Weigel, a Catholic theologian at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a nonprofit religious research foundation, said Benedict "understands there is not room in the church for two popes."
"He will be very discreet about even writing new books," Weigel told NBC News.
Prudlo also predicted a smooth transition — perhaps the most orderly in centuries — because Benedict will be there to give the new pope the lay of the land.
"A new pope is often left flummoxed by the ins and outs of the office, usually taking years sometimes to gain a foothold," Prudlo said. "Having a 'senior pope,' for lack of a better word, would prove invaluable to easing into the throne of Peter."
Tracy Connor of NBC News contributed to this report.
Related:
- Pope Benedict XVI, citing deteriorating strength, will step aside Feb. 28
- Who's next? 8 cardinal contenders who could succeed Pope Benedict
Now that Pope Benedict has stepped down, it's unclear who will replace him or even how Pope Benedict will be addressed in the wake of his departure. New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan is the only American so far being considered to possibly replace Benedict. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
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This pope was one of the worst in my lifetime. He defiantly knew about the abuse and I believe he assisted in the cover up. He elevated people who were in positions to make changes and didn't. He should have removed, EX cardinal mahoney the patron saint of pedophiles, but left that to a bishop. The catholic church is losing followers by the droves. Their teachings are so antiquated that they are in the dark ages. Forbidding followers to use birth control. When 97% of catholics use birth control. They would rather gods children die in Africa than to allow them to use birth control to prevent HIV deaths. More births more catholics is the ONLY reason for this man made rule. Not only is that morally wrong, it is plain dumb. In Ireland a women died because it was against the churchs man made rules for a woman to have an abortion when her health was at issue. Her death was directly caused by the pope, the cardinals, the bishops failure to intercede. More births more catholics is the ONLY reason for this man made rule. The Vatican Banking Scandal is still in the news. The pope laundered MAFIA monies and took a cut and brought very expensive EU property and collects very high rents to this day. Criminal money!!! The church is engulfed in criminal activities, and still some of the flock just keep on donation to this organization. ex catholic here.
He wants to retire, it's all due to his background he is running from.
He is retiring (running) from his past.
I am surprised to see that you can retire from God"s duty just like working in government or other business.
Who cares,aint like its GOD himself,saying F all those stupid people.He is just a man like the rest of us,and that means,calling it quits from the biggest magic act in human history.I never did fall for the half billion dollar mansion he lives in,and the jewelery he wears that would choke the average hippo.Let me guess,God is mad at me,and i have to go to church to beg for gods forgivness,and i owe him money,right.Go F..K yourself.If those are the people of god(not to mention, all the kid touchers)then i hope to go to hell,no one on that side wants to F..k my kids,and digs through my pockets.I believe God is everywhere,and promising to do good for my fellow man and kids from my own living room, it's just as good.Oh and instead of money,i let him know im willing to work off some of my wishes,when i get there............He's ok with that.
He never wanted to be Pope. He never wanted to be Prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine and Faith. He wanted to retire back then he has had a mild heart condition all this time. We are going to have to figure out how to have an Emeritus Pope because people live longer but the stresses of the job are greater than they were. If anybody can set the precedent Benedict XVI can. I and the rest of the Catholic world do not care what the rest of you think especially the you who call yourself Christian but could drive me to atheism if there wasn't a Catholic Church with your sectarian hatred. The job is to bring souls to Christ not drive them away with your hatred.
I pray for you people commenting about the catholic church and the pope that your forgiven for your ignorance, your comments about something you know nothing about saddens and sickens me. if you knew anything about how beautiful the catholic church really is you wouldn't be saying these things. I pray for you and the conversion of your hearts
LOL
Angel...I hate to say it but have you read the papers or seen the news lately?
The Catholic church is in dire straits over the molestation issues. The church, read politics/leadership of the church, is what is in trouble while the religion background itself, the Catholic faith, may be what you are referring to.
I really fail to see what the purpose of a pope is, I mean really. Him leaving impacts my life not one bit, so I could care less.
Your experts are way behind the times. We have all figured out that Benedict XVI becomes what any retired bishop becomes the Bishop Emeritus of Rome. That actually is his liturgical office Bishop of Rome. He will live after they finish the renovation at a small monastery on the grounds of Vatican City until then at Castel Gondolfo the papal summer residence. We all still love John Paul II also but it doesn't confuse us and neither will this. You people are all so silly.
Good thing the "Holy Father" quit before he got FIRED! Maybe he prayed to Mary or some other Saint and was told to quit. You know, it is probably just as good as praying to God--NOT!
You see, God is not at the head of the Catholic Church; the Pope is. If God were at the head, the Pope would have said so. Instead, the Pope is leaving by means of his own reasoning (he does not mention God). True prophets not only know the Master, but speak of Him frequently, giving Him all the credit and praise.
If the next pope is smart he will asign this scourge on humanity to a monestary with a vow of silence and no contact with the outside world. It would be a blessing to the world
I think the media needs to leave the Pope alone - so he is unable to complete the job -BIG DEAL?? the church has had a great deal of sad scandal in the past ten years which they have been trying to deal with - this is not even worth making a big deal over - let him retire....IN PEACE !! -
Concerned - Past ten years? Try a hundred or maybe 500 let's start with the Castrateas -1500 where young men were castrated - survival was 20%
The Catholic Church's
position on castrati:
According to Rotten.com, in the late 16th century,
"Pope Clement VIII became smitten with the sweetness and
flexibility of their voices. ... While some Church officials suggested it would
be preferable to lift the ban on women singers than to continue endorsing the
castration of little boys, the Pope disagreed, quoting Saint Paul, 'Let women
be silent in the assemblies, for it is not permitted to them to speak.' ...
since it was illegal to perform castrations, ... all castrati presenting
themselves for the choir claimed to have lost their genitals through tragic
'accident'."
"After the Pope’s official acknowledgement and acceptance of castrati, the
number of these "accidents" increased dramatically. Parents seeking
upward mobility towed their little lads down to a barber or butcher who
separated them from their testicles for a fee. 5
One source estimates that, during the 17th and 18th centuries,
three to five thousand boys per year in Italy were castrated . Castration was
forbidden under canon law. The church condemned the practice and occasionally
excommunicated the person responsible for the surgery. 6 But
the church simultaneously created a market for castrati by hiring them for its
church choirs. By about 1789, there were more than 200 castrati in Rome's
chapel choirs alone. 7
AH ! Paul the real mysogynist who decreed women were unclean because of their menses and had to cover their heads while in church!
As a survivor of priest rape and torture I often have questions no
parishioners can ever seem to want to answer. The biggest is how
should I understand that you parishioners hold a proven gang of
pedophile pimps and rapists among your midst in such high esteem and
call them all holy, worthy of heaven and adoration? I mean to be
truly repentant of your sins, you must do all you can to correct the
harm done. To be truly forgiven of your sins, you must totally repent
for them. The leaders of the RCC have only given show, not true
repentance for the evil that was done to us as children.
I have been writing a book about what happened to me called Our
Father Who Art in Hell. In it I describe what happened to me in great
detail. I tell about the rape and what that priest did that night to
take my heart, soul, mind and body. I am also having a second section
to this book, it involves all of the research I have done since I
found my courage and came out of the priest abuse closet, out of the
darkness that had controlled my life for 38 years, through horrifying
nightmares, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide attempts, prison stays,
my utter and complete hatred for the God and Jesus Christ I once
followed and for the church I once loved with all of my heart as a
child growing up in the Roman Catholic Church.
Yes I was a troubled young teen and I had run away from an abusive
foster home only to be put into St Thomas More parish, where for one
night, a priest there who was supposed to keep me safe from all harm,
to protect me, spent the night committing evil upon me no one should
have had to endure. Just because I was a troubled young teen gave
this perverted degenerate no right to perpetrate upon me the crimes
he did that night. This crime still haunts me to this day, and those
who did this evil should pay.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition states:
2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy
of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply
wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to
which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark
the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver
still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those
responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them.
I wonder if this "resignation" has anything to do w/ his prior responsibilities, before he was pope, in the case of all the pedophilia on those deaf children in Milwaukee from the HBO documentary: Mea Maxima Culpa that had just recently aired. His actions were deplorable and unforgivable and unbelievably shocking. If you get a chance, do yourself a favor and watch it.
Letterman: "He just wants to spend more time with the wife and kids."
Colbert: "He wants to imitate Dubya and paint self-portraits in the shower and tub."
The last pope was a decent guy and had many people in his term that respected him, but this guy was just a guy with a big hat.
I really don't care for all these hats and stuff so that's my view on it.
Atheist proud of it.......no hat required.
If you wish to know more about what he should know, yet does wish to know? If you know what I mean go and read this one, but you will only see a tip of the iceburg to come. Wow
Catholic Church enslaved 30,000 Irish women as forced unpaid labor in Magdalene Laundries until 1996
I guess they will not let me post the link, just research the above on google
They did a lot more bad things in there time.....very sad state of affairs I'm afraid.
All those damn hat people can't stand them anymore.
Actually - the last "good pope" in my lifetime was Pope John the XX111 - read up on his lifetime and how many Jews he saved - given so many awards in his service - hard to count
A humble man with a heart as big as the world - a life cut too short - you will be amazed to find out what one man can do
He was ready to change the thinking of the Catholic Church - and died of perotinitis due to cancer? Many questions still exist as to the timeliness of his death
I sincerely hope they find a "NEW JOHN" - the Catholic Church cannot survive with the hate that they have brought upon themselves, by greed, secrecy, and most of all not recognizing the need for new leaders who recognize fear and promise of heaven is not enough! My thoughts!
He should be retiring to a jail cell. There is evidence that this Pope and John Paul before him new about the sexual abuse of children. They did nothing.
I'm sure he just wants to get out before he's indicted as part of that on-going cover-up that his aide took the fall for.
One thing is for certain, there will probably be some rules wirtten up for when a Pope steps aside; from what I have read, since the action is so foreign, half of the problem with this is that there is nothing written as to how it is actually handled.
Here is a question however. Why can't the resigning pope remain until the new one has been sworn in? I would think it would be, telling, for the resigning pope to issue the new oath to/preside over the service for, the one newly elected. Granted, since it has been so long since this has happened it may be addressed later.
mr benedic. are you gonna stept out of the chariott without given all of those child molesters names to the public. or are you a participant w/ them . you are as guilty as all of them .you know whom they are ,but forgetten them who can not talk for there lifes ,hoping and praying that they to get the courage of coming out and speak for them .since i know you will not .
As a survivor of priest rape and torture I often have questions no
parishioners can ever seem to want to answer. The biggest is how
should I understand that you parishioners hold a proven gang of
pedophile pimps and rapists among your midst in such high esteem and
call them all holy, worthy of heaven and adoration? I mean to be
truly repentant of your sins, you must do all you can to correct the
harm done. To be truly forgiven of your sins, you must totally repent
for them. The leaders of the RCC have only given show, not true
repentance for the evil that was done to us as children.
I have been writing a book about what happened to me called Our
Father Who Art in Hell. In it I describe what happened to me in great
detail. I tell about the rape and what that priest did that night to
take my heart, soul, mind and body. I am also having a second section
to this book, it involves all of the research I have done since I
found my courage and came out of the priest abuse closet, out of the
darkness that had controlled my life for 38 years, through horrifying
nightmares, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide attempts, prison stays,
my utter and complete hatred for the God and Jesus Christ I once
followed and for the church I once loved with all of my heart as a
child growing up in the Roman Catholic Church.
Yes I was a troubled young teen and I had run away from an abusive
foster home only to be put into St Thomas More parish, where for one
night, a priest there who was supposed to keep me safe from all harm,
to protect me, spent the night committing evil upon me no one should
have had to endure. Just because I was a troubled young teen gave
this perverted degenerate no right to perpetrate upon me the crimes
he did that night. This crime still haunts me to this day, and those
who did this evil should pay.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition states:
2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy
of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply
wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to
which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark
the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver
still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those
responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them.