Pope Benedict to Resign

[Solomon2]

It's a surprise only to those who don't know Benedict through even a passing acquaintance with his speeches and writings. He isn't the sort who believed a Pope should hold onto office until G-d takes his soul but only as long as a Pope can be effective in the Holy Office.

Though I can see why it was a shock: 600 years since the last pontiff did it, and that was under the pressure of the Great Schism, the Avignon Captivity.