Originally Posted By Mr X Wow...that's pretty shocking to say the least. Not precisely unprecedented, but you'd have to go back to the middle ages to find any other examples. I wonder if it's really true (advanced age as the reason), it's not as if they haven't dealt with advanced aged Pope's before, they certainly know how to handle it.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Anybody who thinks this isn't a result of the child abuse scandal is kidding themselves.
Originally Posted By FaMulan I saw that headline on aol this morning. He's the first Pope to resign in 600 years. I think it will take quite a bit of time to have a Pope who is more honest and contrite about the sex abuse scandals. But this is a step in the right direction.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Well SPP, I guess I'm kidding myself. I think the reason he is leaving it pretty much what he stated. He has always kind of done his own thing and I think this is one more example of that. He felt that regardless of tradition, when he felt he was no longer physically and/or mentally up to the job, he should step aside. I do think the abuse scandals had something to do with it in that he realizes some difficult times and decisions are facing the church and he felt he just wasn't up to the task. Supreme Court Justices are also appointed for life, but many step aside as their age advances. I don't know why it should be any different with Popes.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^I suppose that he'll just become Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger As for who replaces him. I think it would be interesting if a candidate from the underground church in China (as opposed to the official "Patriotic" Chinese state Catholic church) was selected.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>So what do you call an ex-Pope?<<< Usually "The Late Pope (whatever)" I truly doubt that he will be around much longer either. The end of this month didn't give anyone much time for transition. We will see, I guess!
Originally Posted By TomSawyer "Supreme Court Justices are also appointed for life, but many step aside as their age advances. I don't know why it should be any different with Popes." It's different because Supreme Court justices are just supposed to be regular people chosen by other regular people to do a job. Popes are (supposed to be) chosen by God through the College of Cardinals, who are also chosen by God. The process of discerning who the next Pope will be is supposed to be a process of determining God's will on the matter. A Supreme Court justice can quit because they are just human. A Pope is supposed to be God's direct representative on earth. A Pope that resigns suggests that fallibility is inherent in their system, which goes against everything they say about the office. <a href="http://i.imgur.com/W83fxtc.jpg" target="_blank">http://i.imgur.com/W83fxtc.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By SuperDry << Supreme Court Justices are also appointed for life, but many step aside as their age advances. >> Not just Supreme Court Justices, but *all* federal judges. We had one of our local ones a couple of years ago sent away to federal prison for 3 years in a sex abuse scandal (Judge Kent). The thing is, after he was convicted and arrived in prison, he was *still* a federal judge collecting a paycheck and benefits, although he had been relieved of his caseload. There are only three ways to end a federal judge's tenure: death, resignation, or impeachment. It became clear that Congress was going to impeach him if he didn't resign, so he resigned. Can a sitting Pope be impeached or otherwise removed from office? What happens if you get a really bad one that won't step down?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Apparently some odds makers are thinking that Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson from Uganda has a better-than-even shot at being the next Pope. An African Pope makes some sense since Christianity is growing there and is on life support in Europe, and even though Uganda's stance on homosexuality makes St. Peter's look like Greenwich Village on Halloween I have to wonder how an African Pope would be accepted among the more conservative elements of Catholicism. I gotta say that I would love to see the third movie in Tarantino's revisionist history series be about a black Pope played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer "What happens if you get a really bad one that won't step down?" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_murdered_popes" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L...ed_popes</a>
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<Anybody who thinks this isn't a result of the child abuse scandal is kidding themselves.>> Agreed: <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/03/the_great_catholic_coverup.html" target="_blank">http://www.slate.com/articles/...rup.html</a>
Originally Posted By Tikiduck He is just a man. He is burned out and tired, and there is no great puppeteer in the sky to pull his strings for him. He is saving himself the misery and humiliation that John Paul endured in his later years, as he was propped up and displayed while drooling all over himself.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer I always thought that the Pope had to be thrown down an elevator shaft by his apprentice in order for there to be a new one. I might be confusing things.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>I always thought that the Pope had to be thrown down an elevator shaft by his apprentice in order for there to be a new one. I might be confusing things.<<< I think that might be Dr. Drake Ramoray.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Whoa...dating yourself with a Friends reference there. As sorry as it is for me to say this the Church has dealt with serious problems like the priest scandal in the past. I don't think it is the reason for Benedict to be stepping down. His leaving is less of a story than whoever might be replacing him.
Originally Posted By ecdc I also don't see how this is related to child sex abuse cases. I'm certainly open and interested in the arguments of why, but I don't see it. In 2001, Ratzinger convinced John Paul II to assign all abuse cases to his office, then the Council for the Doctrine of the Faith. Ratzinger's history with the abuse cases is tricky. To an outsider, it looks (and is) appallingly weak, and continued to be focused on the harm to the church, the harm to the priesthood, etc. But inside the church, he was far more progressive than anyone else that high up in trying to make changes, and he seems to have been genuinely appalled at what he saw.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>So what do you call an ex-Pope?<< Honestly, I think it's the "antipope," which is just awesome.
Originally Posted By ecdc My favorite Twitter joke: "Dick Morris: Romney will be new Pope in a landslide."
