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How will Pope Benedict’s resignation impact the Catholic Church?
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Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he lacks the strength to fulfill his duties and on Feb. 28 will become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. The announcement sets the stage for a conclave in March to elect a new leader for the world’s 1 billion Catholics.
The 85-year-old pope announced the bombshell in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals, surprising even his closest collaborators, even though Benedict had made clear in the past he would step down if he became too old or infirm to do the job.
Benedict called his choice “a decision of great importance for the life of the church.”
Indeed, the move allows the Vatican to hold a conclave before Easter to elect a new pope, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn’t have to be observed.
It will also allow Benedict to hold great sway over the choice of his successor. He has already hand-picked the bulk of the College of Cardinals — the princes of the church who will elect the next pope — to guarantee his conservative legacy and ensure an orthodox future for the church.
What are your thoughts about the pope’s announcement? How will it impact the Catholic Church into the future?
It will be a very bad precedent if Pope Benedict influences the choice of his successor. It will also be bad if the retired Pope speaks out on any policy matter, perhaps undermining his successor. He needs to go into seclusion for the remainder of his life.
PB16 was to PJP2 as HGW Bush was to Reagan: a placeholder head of state charged with continuing unchanged the policies of his immediate predecessor.
PJP2 was widely admired even by non-catholics, probably for his personal charisma, unusual origin (he was from a soviet satellite country) and his ability to bounce back after nearly being gunned down. However, he was an extremely conservative pope with respect to church doctrine and PB16 continued his policies for the most part.
It not being all that long since the last pope was installed, I wouldn’t expect the membership of the college of cardinals to have significantly changed. So, if you liked the last pope, be prepared for … more of the same!
Maybe he’ll follow the lead of US Congress/men/women (and members of their staffs) who are voted out of office or choose not to run — he’ll become a lobbyist (for his church) (if he can get work permit).
Why would any of those who call themselves Catholics expect any change with a new Pope when little has changed in the nearly 400 years since Christians of good faith came to these shores to escape persecution from that same Throne in Rome? Wouldn’t they be better off keeping that throne vacant and letting the word of God speak though his children?
Yeah, I know. Leaving the throne empty isn’t going to happen. There’s too much money involved in keeping that church the way it is.
Mr Williams,
I believe the assignment was to discuss “How will Pope Benedict’s resignation impact the Catholic Church?” not “Recycle 400 years of anti-Catholic bigotry in the United States”
I thought this kind of talk was done with when Kennedy was elected president. I’m very disappointed to find that there are still people out there who think the Inquisition is still up and running.
Williams, when you get time, check out the history of the State of Maryland. In the 17th century it was the one colony where British Catholics could freely practice their religion. The colonies were not havens of religious freedon and tolerance and which religion you’d be forced to pretend you practiced would depend on where you lived. Like don’t be a Baptist in Boston