The Pope’s Resignation–My View On This
On Feb. 11, 2013, the entire world and especially the Roman Catholic population were shocked to hear Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he’ll be resigning from the papacy on Feb. 28 due to advancing age which made him reflect that he wouldn’t be able to carry on the duties and responsibilities of his job.
This is a whole new thing for us since the last papal resignations were in 1294 by Pope Celestine V and Pope Gregory XII in 1415. Having a living soon-to-be ex-pope will be a new moment in this modern world. Too bad that we couldn’t consult with the folks back in 1294 and 1415 as to how they dealt with it. Would it be similar to ex-presidents for example who after leaving office, just quietly lead a private citizen’s life?
One thing’s for sure. The outgoing pope has set the stage for future popes, the option to resign if when the time comes that they can no longer fulfill ther duties as pope and let another one more able to continue the work of the papacy.
The coming weeks will be very interesting in terms of the conclave and the inauguration of a new pope. For sure, this coming Easter mass at the Vatican will be officiated by a new one!
Digressing a bit from this topic, I hope our politicians and officials who can no longer do their duties for their citizens can have the decency to resign instead of clinging to their government positions for various reasons(pride,greed,personal interests,etc). They really should do” a Benedict” in my opinion.
Just my thought on this matter!
Josie
josiesvoice 