Heck, if he can still write books (as reportedly he will continue to do) he can sure continue writing those 'bulls' that included one he issued more than a decade ago where he reportedly instructed all churches in the US not to report cases of paedophile to the police. When reporting this 10 years ago, the LA Times also reported that more than 90% of US churches had alleged cases of paedophile!
Health is not the reason. Something else is happening inside that oldest con-house in history. Recently, the Vatican Bank was accused of money laundering.
Yesterday, a KL friend Hong said it is a ponzi scheme and had told his children to be aware of the sleaze in the organisation and 'decide if they want to help change it from inside' (then I know he is a 'member'). I corrected him with the points below.
Those people are not running a ponzi scheme. In a ponzi scheme, sharper members who realise that it is just a scam can at least withdraw what they put in plus some interest and leave before the proverbial shit hits the fan. But in this oldest con scheme in history, suckers pay 10% of their income and will never get anything back even if they want to leave!
And don't even think of 'changing it from the inside'. Those who know history knows they have no qualms killing off competitors. The head of the Vatican Bank was murdered about 20 years ago amid some money laundering allegations (again).
I did not tell that friend that there is another thing - a Chinaman has no place at the top end of that organisation, not to say change it. Only a half-child chinaman would harbour that thought.
Look behind the door and one will find the master bedroom of the supposedly 'house of god' occupied by some devil - CCK
Pope Benedict XVI to become first pope in 600 years to resign
In a surprise announcement revealed at a meeting of cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI has said he will resign at the end of the month.
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will step down on Feb. 28 due to failing health, stunning the world's 1 billion Catholics by becoming the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the office.
The German pontiff, 85, made his surprise statement to cardinals during a Vatican concistory on Monday, saying “my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” a reference to his duties as leader of the church.
Speaking at a ceremony held to canonize three new saints, Benedict said he would step down at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28. Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said a conclave of cardinals would be held in March to elect a new pope in time for Easter.
The German pontiff, 85, made his surprise statement to cardinals during a Vatican concistory on Monday, saying “my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” a reference to his duties as leader of the church.
Speaking at a ceremony held to canonize three new saints, Benedict said he would step down at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28. Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said a conclave of cardinals would be held in March to elect a new pope in time for Easter.
Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano, the dean of the College of Cardinals, said Benedict's announcement was a "bolt out of the blue."
Describing his decision as being “of great importance for the life of the church,” Benedict told cardinals that “in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary.”
His strength, he added, “has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”
Vatican insiders have noted that Benedict has become more frail in recent months; he requires a moving platform to transport him down the aisle at St Peter’s Basilica during services and has slowed during his walks in the Vatican gardens. His private life was recently exposed to public scrutiny after his butler was convicted by a Vatican court for leaking papal correspondence.
Lombardi said Benedict had not been persuaded to step down by a particular illness, but said "he had become more tired and fatigued than in the past."
Benedict’s decision, which he described as being "of great importance for the life of the church," marks the first papal resignation since Pope Gregory XII reluctantly stepped down in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy. The last pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months.
FULL TEXT: Pope Benedict XVI's announcement
Benedict told cardinals he wished to “devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.” Lombardi said the pope would transfer from his papal apartment to live in a building in the Vatican’s gardens formerly occupied by nuns. The pope, who has recently finished a series of three books about the life of Jesus, could continue to write books, Lombardi said.
Beyond giving details of the coming conclave, Lombardi said the Vatican was entering unchartered waters with a pope set to replace a living, former pope. “We are heading into an unknown situation,” he said at a hastily called Vatican news conference.
Describing the moment the pope made his announcement, Lombardi said “the pope sat down, took the microphone and read his statement shortly after 11:30,” adding “he said it in Latin so not everyone understood immediately.”
Lombardi said he had no fear that Vatican officials -- unaccustomed to sharing the Holy See with a former pope -- might continue to defer to Benedict. “This is recognized by canon law, there is no risk of confusion,” he said.
Lombardi said the German pontiff, who was elected in 2005 at age 78, had shown “courage, a humble spirit, responsibility and a desire that the church be governed in the best way,” adding that he had met the pope recently and found him “serene.” The pontiff’s decision, he said, “did not completely surprise me.”
Benedict has previously suggested that a pope could break with tradition and step down if he no longer felt able to carry out his duties.
In a book-length interview, "Light of the World," with the German journalist Peter Seewald, Benedict responded to a question about whether a pope could resign: “Yes. 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.”
The pope’s decision will trigger weeks of speculation about who will take his place as the Vatican recovers from the scandal of pedophile priests and seeks to retain believers as the church challenges rights to abortion and gay marriage.
Asked if Benedict had set an example for future popes to resign instead of dying in office, often after debilitating illness, Lombardi said: “This is not intended to influence successors,” but he added, “Next time [it happens], it won’t be the first time in centuries, it could be an approach to the problem.”
One Vatican expert said Benedict had probably been mulling his decision to resign since his election eight years ago. “When he took over the church had been through the suffering from illness of his predecessor John Paul II,” said John Thavis.
“It will have put in his mind questions about the governance of the church if the pope becomes incapable,” he said.
Scandal, speculation surround past popes who resigned
February 11, 2013, 1:02 p.m.
This post has been updated, as indicated below.
The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign is a reminder of some colorful and controversial moments in Roman Catholic Church history.
The last pope to resign was Gregory XII, who gave up the papacy reluctantly in 1415 to help end a dispute between rival popes known as the Great Western Schism. The competing claims to the papacy had riven the church for nearly four decades before Gregory stepped down, a second pope was excommunicated and the church elected a new pope.
More than 100 years earlier, Celestine V resigned in 1294 after only five months, saying his decision stemmed from “the desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience, the deficiencies of his own physical strength, his ignorance, the perverseness of the people, his longing for the tranquillity of his former life.”
PHOTOS: Pope Benedict XVI to step down
The former pope became a hermit before being captured and imprisoned by his successor in the castle of Fumone, where he died within a year. Some speculate that he is the nameless “shade” described by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem "Inferno," described as the one “who by his cowardice made the great refusal."
[Updated, 3:28 p.m., Jan. 11: Later accounts have challenged that unflattering image of Celestine. “I actually think he was pretty courageous and followed his conscience,” said Jon M. Sweeney, author of “The Pope Who Quit.” “He didn’t know how to function in a world that was dominated by canon lawyers, bureaucratic systems and issues of power. He must have thought, ‘In order to save my soul, I need to not be pope.’”]
Earlier popes stepped down amid scandal. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls Benedict IX, who resigned in 1045 after selling the papacy to his godfather, “a disgrace to the Chair of Peter.” Some accounts say he gave up the papacy so he could marry, only to change his mind after failing to marry the bride he wanted. The new pope, Gregory VI, was accused of paying for a holy office and ended up resigning a year later.
FULL TEXT: Pope Benedict XVI's announcement
Other popes were believed to have been exiled or forced out, though historical records are murky. Any such decision is controversial. Paul VI, who was pope from 1963 to 1978, compared it to paternity. He said it could not be resigned.
Yet since at least 1917, church law has allowed for a pope to resign, according to Woodstock Theological Center fellow the Rev. Thomas J. Reese. Experts say a pope must not be induced to step down through fear or fraud, and must be of sound mind when he makes the decision, Reese wrote.
[Updated, 3:28 p.m., Jan. 11: Nearly four years ago, Pope Benedict XVI visited the basilica in L'Aquila where the remains of Celestine V are kept, and left a garment at the tomb.
“He never explained to the media or anyone else observing why he did this,” Sweeney said. “It was an unusual gesture of some kind of affinity for Celestine, a hint that he had respect for this figure from the past.”]
It's cash only at the Vatican
Police in Rome exhume gangster's body in 29-year-old cold case
The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign is a reminder of some colorful and controversial moments in Roman Catholic Church history.
The last pope to resign was Gregory XII, who gave up the papacy reluctantly in 1415 to help end a dispute between rival popes known as the Great Western Schism. The competing claims to the papacy had riven the church for nearly four decades before Gregory stepped down, a second pope was excommunicated and the church elected a new pope.
More than 100 years earlier, Celestine V resigned in 1294 after only five months, saying his decision stemmed from “the desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience, the deficiencies of his own physical strength, his ignorance, the perverseness of the people, his longing for the tranquillity of his former life.”
PHOTOS: Pope Benedict XVI to step down
The former pope became a hermit before being captured and imprisoned by his successor in the castle of Fumone, where he died within a year. Some speculate that he is the nameless “shade” described by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem "Inferno," described as the one “who by his cowardice made the great refusal."
[Updated, 3:28 p.m., Jan. 11: Later accounts have challenged that unflattering image of Celestine. “I actually think he was pretty courageous and followed his conscience,” said Jon M. Sweeney, author of “The Pope Who Quit.” “He didn’t know how to function in a world that was dominated by canon lawyers, bureaucratic systems and issues of power. He must have thought, ‘In order to save my soul, I need to not be pope.’”]
Earlier popes stepped down amid scandal. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls Benedict IX, who resigned in 1045 after selling the papacy to his godfather, “a disgrace to the Chair of Peter.” Some accounts say he gave up the papacy so he could marry, only to change his mind after failing to marry the bride he wanted. The new pope, Gregory VI, was accused of paying for a holy office and ended up resigning a year later.
FULL TEXT: Pope Benedict XVI's announcement
Other popes were believed to have been exiled or forced out, though historical records are murky. Any such decision is controversial. Paul VI, who was pope from 1963 to 1978, compared it to paternity. He said it could not be resigned.
Yet since at least 1917, church law has allowed for a pope to resign, according to Woodstock Theological Center fellow the Rev. Thomas J. Reese. Experts say a pope must not be induced to step down through fear or fraud, and must be of sound mind when he makes the decision, Reese wrote.
[Updated, 3:28 p.m., Jan. 11: Nearly four years ago, Pope Benedict XVI visited the basilica in L'Aquila where the remains of Celestine V are kept, and left a garment at the tomb.
“He never explained to the media or anyone else observing why he did this,” Sweeney said. “It was an unusual gesture of some kind of affinity for Celestine, a hint that he had respect for this figure from the past.”]
It's cash only at the Vatican
Police in Rome exhume gangster's body in 29-year-old cold case
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