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VATICAN CITY Pope Benedict XVI said on Monday that he planned to step down at the end of this month because of his deteriorating physical strength, a move that hasn't happened in the Roman Catholic Church in centuries and that is likely to pave the way for a new pontiff by Easter.
In a speech in Latin to cardinals, the 85-year-old German pontiff, who has been in office since April 2005, said that leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics was a job that required strength of both mind and body. But the pope said that his strength had "deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."
A papal spokesman added during a briefing with reporters that Pope Benedict had been thinking about the move for some time, saying it wasn't due to an illness. Father Lombardi, the spokesman, said the pope would retire to a life of prayer and writing. He also said the pontiff had "no fear" of any potential schism in the church as a consequence of the pope's resignation.
The surprise resignation, which the Vatican said would take place as of 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, will give way to a conclave, a gathering of cardinals who will elect the new pope. Normally, after a pope dies, there is a nine-day mourning period before the selection his successor. This time, the process can begin right away, said Greg Burke, the Vatican's media adviser. "This means we'll have a new pope by Easter," he added. The holiday falls on March 31 this year.
Pope Benedict, a leading theologian, garnered praise for his extensive writings, which covered subjects ranging from the world economy to the nature of love. However, his eight-year papacy has also been controversial. Since the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took over after the death of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican has been buffeted by a wave of allegations that priests around the world sexually abused children. The pope condemned the abuse and issued a raft of measures aimed at preventing any future abuses and making it easier to discipline and defrock priests. In 2006, the pope sparked anger across the Muslim world for a controversial speech in which he cited a 15th-century Byzantine emperor's description of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman." And over the past year, his administration has been swept up in a leaked-documents controversy that exposed infighting among cardinals.
In his declaration to cardinals, the pope said he was "well aware of the seriousness of this act," and added that he was renouncing his ministry "in full freedom."
"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," he added.
A handful of popes have resigned over the centuries. Celestine V, a hermit elected at age of 80, stepped down at the end of the 13th century because he felt exhausted by the office. His successor threw him in prison, and the poet Dante consigned him to hell in the Divine Comedy.
"Most modern popes have felt that resignation is unacceptable," said Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center. Paul VI, pope during the 1970s, considered the possibility of a resignation, but ultimately ruled out the move.
"Paul feared setting a precedent that would encourage factions in the church to pressure future popes to resign for reasons other than health," Father Reese said.
That view was widely held to be the final word on papal resignations until Pope Benedict contradicted it in a book-length interview with a German journalist, Light of the World.
"If a Pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign," the pope said.
At the time of the interview in 2010, the pope said the tumult within the church was too strong for him to resign.
"When the danger is great one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign. Precisely at a time like this one must stand fast and endure the situation. That is my view. One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say someone else should do it," he said.
Pope Benedict XVI to Resign - WSJ.com
In a speech in Latin to cardinals, the 85-year-old German pontiff, who has been in office since April 2005, said that leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics was a job that required strength of both mind and body. But the pope said that his strength had "deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."
A papal spokesman added during a briefing with reporters that Pope Benedict had been thinking about the move for some time, saying it wasn't due to an illness. Father Lombardi, the spokesman, said the pope would retire to a life of prayer and writing. He also said the pontiff had "no fear" of any potential schism in the church as a consequence of the pope's resignation.
The surprise resignation, which the Vatican said would take place as of 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, will give way to a conclave, a gathering of cardinals who will elect the new pope. Normally, after a pope dies, there is a nine-day mourning period before the selection his successor. This time, the process can begin right away, said Greg Burke, the Vatican's media adviser. "This means we'll have a new pope by Easter," he added. The holiday falls on March 31 this year.
Pope Benedict, a leading theologian, garnered praise for his extensive writings, which covered subjects ranging from the world economy to the nature of love. However, his eight-year papacy has also been controversial. Since the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took over after the death of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican has been buffeted by a wave of allegations that priests around the world sexually abused children. The pope condemned the abuse and issued a raft of measures aimed at preventing any future abuses and making it easier to discipline and defrock priests. In 2006, the pope sparked anger across the Muslim world for a controversial speech in which he cited a 15th-century Byzantine emperor's description of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman." And over the past year, his administration has been swept up in a leaked-documents controversy that exposed infighting among cardinals.
In his declaration to cardinals, the pope said he was "well aware of the seriousness of this act," and added that he was renouncing his ministry "in full freedom."
"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," he added.
A handful of popes have resigned over the centuries. Celestine V, a hermit elected at age of 80, stepped down at the end of the 13th century because he felt exhausted by the office. His successor threw him in prison, and the poet Dante consigned him to hell in the Divine Comedy.
"Most modern popes have felt that resignation is unacceptable," said Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Woodstock Theological Center. Paul VI, pope during the 1970s, considered the possibility of a resignation, but ultimately ruled out the move.
"Paul feared setting a precedent that would encourage factions in the church to pressure future popes to resign for reasons other than health," Father Reese said.
That view was widely held to be the final word on papal resignations until Pope Benedict contradicted it in a book-length interview with a German journalist, Light of the World.
"If a Pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign," the pope said.
At the time of the interview in 2010, the pope said the tumult within the church was too strong for him to resign.
"When the danger is great one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign. Precisely at a time like this one must stand fast and endure the situation. That is my view. One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say someone else should do it," he said.
Pope Benedict XVI to Resign - WSJ.com
