From the Holy Father:
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.
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Okay, I'm going to say it: the Prophecy of St. Malachy. If it's true, we're in for an insane next few years. Pray, pray, pray!
ReplyDeleteI feel so sad, but what respect I have for him! What a great pope he's been!
ReplyDeleteIs it unprecedented for a Pope to resign rather than die in office?
ReplyDeleteAlso, open question: If the Pope is infallible but resigns, is he no longer fallible? And what happens if the new Pope and Benedict disagree on church doctrine does the new Pope claim infallibility and tell people to ignore Benedict since he is no longer fallible? Or, in a very confusing scenario if the living but retired Pope is still infallible and he disagrees with the new Pope, who the heck do we listen too?
Wow, this is so sad. Thank you for sharing, Leila.
ReplyDeleteCitizensunited you may want to take a look at some of Leila's older posts, specifically in regards to infallibility, and Doctrine vs. Discipline.
Shocked (!). But I know the Lord will take care of us.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable! But I'm certain this wasn't done lightly. I'm praying Cardinal Burke will be elected next. My husband used to work for him in LaCrosse, so I've already told him (my husband) that we should plan to go if Burke is elected. It's about the only thing that would get me to go through airport security on my own will. Homeschool is taking a segue towards research and discussion on the Pope today.
ReplyDeleteI am going to do a new post soon, and will answer as many questions as I can, and give my thoughts! Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteAnd citizensunited, once the pope officially resigns, he is no longer head of the Church, and his charism of infallibility is not in effect anymore. The official pope, and only the official pope (i.e., the actual Bishop of Rome), is protected from teaching error from his office.
The pope was not infallible as a man...he is and was and always will be a man. When the pope declares doctrinal teachings on faith and morals, those are considered infallible and unchanging. This is why it is so ridiculous that the media is asking the question of whether or a not a more "progressive" pope will come in and make it ok for Catholics to use birth control, etc.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Leila, God bless Pope Benedict! I love his letter.
"Today God showed us what we'll all be giving up for Lent"-Scott Hahn
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Definitely sad over this news...what next? :-) On the other hand, the Pope is well within his rights. I will miss him though.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. He is such a great man. But I understand.... Prayers for Pope Benedict and his successor.
ReplyDeleteHeartbroken, but profoundly grateful for Pope Benedict's years of service.
ReplyDeleteThis was shocking to me, and yet you kind of had to wonder if it was coming with his most recent appointing of cardinals. He has been a good pope for us, and will certainly be missed.
ReplyDeleteWe will always have his books and his encyclicals. An amazing gift to the Church and to the world. God bless Pope Benedict.
ReplyDeleteShocked. This came out of nowhere for most if us.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Cardinal Burke. He was he bishop of my diocese growing up and I met him...it would be awesome to say I met the pope back when...
I am sad over this news. But the dear man was planning to retire when he was elected Pope. It would be selfish of me to expect him to work till his dying day. God bless him for his years of amazing service.
ReplyDeleteHe mentioned three canonizations. Who was canonized???
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sad Pope B16 is retiring, but we will hold it together until we get a new pope.
A wonderfully solid theologian and leader. A sad loss. Scott Hahn's comment resonates inside us all. Ref St Malachy prophecy ... my understanding is that these were declared false by the Church. Have it got that wrong?
ReplyDeleteI mean, 'have I ' ... must wear specs next time .... :)
ReplyDeleteI think surreal describes today pretty well. I feel so sad we are losing such a great Pope. He is such a great teacher. I understand about the health issues and I hope we have many more years with him around.
ReplyDeleteI was just in shock all day. This is such a huge thing and the timing right before Lent. Everyone at work was just going about their day (most aren't Catholics) and I'm thinking "People, this is HUGE!"
God Bless Pope Benedict.
As for Scott Hahn's comment- If I revisit my idea of giving up soda pop for Lent (I'm addicted to that stuff so I thought I wouldn't last very long) do you think I can NOT give up Pope Benedict? Sorry, silly joke. I know we can't bargain like that but I am really going to miss him.
Almost burst into tears on my way to work this morning when I heard this news on the radio. God bless Pope Benedict. He has served the Church well.
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