On February 11th 2013, Pope Benedict XVI made a decision which shocked and surprised all believers and non-believers around the world. in announcing his voluntary resignation, which will come into play at the end of the month by which time a select group of cardinals under the age of 80 will nominate a successor.
Since he took on the role in 2005 he has proved to be an outspoken and radical leader of the Catholic Church, maintaining the Church’s stance on abortion, euthanasia and gay partnerships as “not negotiable”. He has also had to demonstrate continuous defence of his Church and its beliefs whilst numerous scandals have broken, that of sex abuse being the most prominent in our minds. He has been criticised for how he handled this crisis of faith in his religion, as victims of abuses around the world feel that he was both complicit, and worse still, when he made poor apologies for it all.
There have been unconfirmed physical and mental ill-health reports about the outgoing Pope, the Vatican’s silence about the matter makes it almost more certain that there is something underlying. The Pope and his brother, Georg Ratzinger, have been open that at the age of 85 and with doctor’s advice it would be a risk to travel and continue making public appearances, “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.” In the 21st century, Pope Benedict has indeed been faced with many modern challenges which is to be expected with a vast 1.3 billion people following who demand attention and leadership – both religious and administrative. Perhaps, we should be giving our respect to a man who came into the role of one of the biggest politico-religious positions at the age of 78 and has decided to give the proper consideration to his faith.
The word amongst fellow students on the breaking of this news was primarily, “is this even possible?”. Surprisingly, it is perfectly acceptable it just seems that it shouldn’t and couldn’t be because none of us were around the last time it happened! Under the Catholic Church’s governing code, Canon Law, the only conditions of a resignation are that it be made freely and properly published. We may not feel the immediate effects of this Papal resignation here in Exeter, but over the coming months if we, (as we should!), pay attention to current affairs, this is undoubtedly a defining moment in history for all faiths and ages.
Image Credits: guardian.co.uk