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| In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI reads a document in Latin where he announces his resignation, during a meeting of Vatican cardinals, at the Vatican, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign Feb. 28 - the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. |
VATICAN CITY
(AP) -- With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict VXI did what no pope
has done in more than half a millennium, stunning the world by
announcing his resignation Monday and leaving the already troubled
Catholic Church to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by
Easter.
Not even his closest associates had
advance word of the news, a bombshell that he dropped during a routine
morning meeting of Vatican cardinals. And with no clear favorites to
succeed him, another surprise likely awaits when the cardinals elect
Benedict's successor next month.
"Without
doubt this is a historic moment," said Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, a
protege and former theology student of Benedict's who is considered a
papal contender. "Right now, 1.2 billion Catholics the world over are
holding their breath."
The move allows for a
fast-track conclave to elect a new pope, since the traditional nine days
of mourning that would follow a pope's death doesn't have to be
observed. It also gives the 85-year-old Benedict great sway over the
choice of his successor. Though he will not himself vote, he has
hand-picked the bulk of the College of Cardinals - the princes of the
church who will elect his successor - to guarantee his conservative
legacy and ensure an orthodox future for the church.
The
resignation may mean that age will become less of a factor when
electing a new pope, since candidates may no longer feel compelled to
stay for life.
"For the century to come, I
think that none of Benedict's successors will feel morally obliged to
remain until their death," said Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois.
Benedict
said as recently as 2010 that a pontiff should resign if he got too old
or infirm to do the job, but it was a tremendous surprise when he said
in Latin that his "strength of mind and body" had diminished and that he
couldn't carry on. He said he would resign effective 8 p.m. local time
on Feb. 28.
"All the cardinals remained
shocked and were looking at each other," said Monsignor Oscar Sanchez of
Mexico, who was in the room at the time of the announcement.
The
Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, said Benedict decided to
resign after his March 2012 trip to Mexico and Cuba, an exhausting but
exhilarating trip where he met with fellow-octogenarian Fidel Castro and
was treated to a raucous and warm welcome.
As
a top aide, Benedict watched from up close as Pope John Paul II
suffered publicly from the Parkinson's disease that enfeebled him in the
final years of his papacy. Clearly Benedict wanted to avoid the same
fate as his advancing age took its toll, though the Vatican insisted the
announcement was not prompted by any specific malady.
The
Vatican said Benedict would live in a congregation for cloistered nuns
inside the Vatican, although he will be free to go in and out. Much of
this is unchartered territory. The Vatican's chief spokesman, the Rev.
Federico Lombardi, said he isn't even sure of Benedict's title - perhaps
"pope emeritus."
Since becoming pope in 2005,
Benedict has charted a very conservative course for the church, trying
to reawaken Christianity in Europe where it had fallen by the wayside
and return the church to its traditional roots, which he felt had been
betrayed by a botched interpretation of the modernizing reforms of the
Second Vatican Council.
His efforts though,
were overshadowed by a worldwide clerical sex abuse scandal,
communication gaffes that outraged Jews and Muslims alike and, more
recently, a scandal over leaked documents by his own butler. Many of his
stated priorities as pope also fell short: He failed to establish
relations with China, heal the schism and reunite with the Orthodox
Church, or reconcile with a group of breakaway, traditionalist
Catholics.
There are several papal contenders
in the wings, but no obvious front-runner - the same situation as when
Benedict was elected after the death of John Paul. As in recent
elections, some push is expected for the election of a Third World pope,
with several names emerging from Asia, Africa and Latin America, home
to about 40 percent of the world's Catholics.
The
Vatican stressed that no specific medical condition prompted Benedict's
decision, saying he remains fully lucid and took his decision
independently.
"Any interference or intervention is alien to his style," Lombardi said.
The
pope has clearly slowed down significantly in recent years, cutting
back his foreign travel and limiting his audiences. He now goes to and
from the altar in St. Peter's Basilica on a moving platform to spare him
the long walk down the aisle. Occasionally he uses a cane.
As
early as 2010, Benedict began to look worn out: He had lost weight and
didn't seem fully engaged when visiting bishops briefed him on their
dioceses. But as tired as he often seemed, he would also bounce back,
enduring searing heat in Benin to bless a child and gamely hanging on
when a freak storm forced him to cut short a speech during a youth
festival in Madrid in 2011.
His 89-year-old brother, Georg Ratzinger, said doctors recently advised the pope not to take any more trans-Atlantic trips.
"His age is weighing on him," Ratzinger told the dpa news agency in Germany. "At this age, my brother wants more rest."
Benedict
emphasized that to carry out the duties of being pope, "both strength
of mind and body are necessary - strengths which in the last few months,
have deteriorated in me."
"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 the demands of being the pope, he told the cardinals.
In
a way, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Benedict himself raised
the possibility of resigning if he were too old or sick to continue.
"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," Benedict said in the 2010 book "Light of the
World."
But he stressed that resignation was not an option to escape a particular burden, such as the sex abuse scandal.
"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," he said.
Although popes are allowed to resign, only a handful has done it - and none for a very long time.
The
last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a
deal to end the Great Western Schism, a dispute among competing papal
claimants. The most famous resignation was Pope Celestine V in 1294;
Dante placed him in hell for it.
There are
good reasons why others haven't followed suit, primarily because of the
fear of a schism with two living popes. Lombardi sought to rule out such
a scenario, saying church law makes clear that a resigning pope no
longer has the right to govern the church.
When
Benedict was elected in 2005 at age 78, he was the oldest pope chosen
in nearly 300 years. At the time, he had already been planning to retire
as the Vatican's chief orthodoxy watchdog to spend his final years
writing in the "peace and quiet" of his native Bavaria.
On
Monday, Benedict said he plans to serve the church for the remainder of
his days "through a life dedicated to prayer." The Vatican said after
he resigns he will travel to Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat
south of Rome, and then live in the monastery.
All
cardinals under age 80 are allowed to vote in the conclave, the secret
meeting held in the Sistine Chapel where cardinals cast ballots to elect
a new pope. As per tradition, the ballots are burned after each voting
round; black smoke that snakes out of the chimney means no pope has been
chosen, while white smoke means a pope has been elected.
There
are currently 118 cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to vote, 67
of them appointed by Benedict. However, four will turn 80 before the end
of March. Depending on the date of the conclave, they may or may not be
allowed to vote.
Benedict in 2007 passed a
decree requiring a two-thirds majority to elect a pope, changing the
rules established by John Paul in which the voting could shift to a
simple majority after about 12 days of inconclusive balloting. Benedict
did so to prevent cardinals from merely holding out until the 12 days
had passed to push through a candidate who had only a slim majority.
Contenders
to be Benedict's successor include Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of
Milan; Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet,
the Canadian head of the Vatican's office for bishops.
Longshots
include Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Although Dolan is popular
and backs the pope's conservative line, being from a world superpower
would probably hurt his chances. That might also rule out Cardinal
Raymond Burke, an arch-conservative and the Vatican's top judge, even
though he is known and respected by most Vatican cardinals.
Monsignor
Antonio Marto, the bishop of Fatima in central Portugal, said
Benedict's resignation presents an opportunity to pick a church leader
from a country outside Europe.
"In Africa or
Latin America, there is a freshness, an enthusiasm about living the
faith," Marto told reporters. "Perhaps we need a pope who can look
beyond Europe and bring to the entire church a certain vitality that is
seen on other continents."
Cardinal Antonio Tagle, the archbishop of Manila, has impressed many Vatican watchers, but at 56 he is considered too young.
Cardinal
Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana is one of the highest-ranking
African cardinals at the Vatican, currently heading the Vatican's office
for justice and peace, but he's something of a wild card.
There
are several "papabiles" in Latin America, though the most well-known -
Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras - is considered
far too liberal to be elected by such a conservative College of
Cardinals.
Whoever it is, he will face a
church in turmoil: The sex abuse scandal has driven thousands of people
away from the church, particularly in Europe. Rival churches,
particularly evangelical Pentecostal groups in the developing world,
pose new competition. And as the pope himself has long lamented, many
people in an increasingly secular world simply believe they don't need
God.
The timing of Benedict's announcement was
significant: Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday, the most solemn
period on the church's calendar that culminates with Holy Week and
Easter on March 31. It is also the period in which the world witnessed
the final days of John Paul's papacy in 2005.
The
timing means that there will be a spotlight cast on Cardinal Gianfranco
Ravasi, the Italian head of the Vatican's culture office who has long
been on the list of "papabile." Benedict selected him to preside over
the Vatican's spiritual exercises during Lent.
And
by Easter Sunday, the Catholic Church will almost certainly have a new
leader, Lombardi said - a potent symbol of rebirth in the church on a
day that celebrates the resurrection of Christ.
