that the Pope has resigned.  Why would he do that?

I only learned about this afternoon. It surprised me. I wouldn't start off with speculation of all sorts as it's too early and always futile.

The simplest explanation is that he's aged and tired and would rather retire. The Vatican has been rocked by many internal scandals recently that involved people that he trusted very much. The Vatican has always been noted for its mysterious court intrigues. One might imagine that these intrigues have taxed and deluded this Pope.  

His announcement has caught the cardinals by surprise. With the possibility of the Pope's death in the near future, given his age, the backroom manouevering was already underway. This move has thrown a wrench into the works.

Now that the tacit pact between the Poles and the Germans has been honoured- a story that dates back to before WWII- the Church can perhaps elect a youngster. Certainly, Wojtyla and Ratzinger nominated very conservative cardinals and essentially blocked any movement to modernize the Church, so one cannot expect an innovative Pope. We will have to see how much smoke will come out black to get an idea if there will be a transitional old Pope, maybe an Italian, so that the cardinals can jockey for the one after, or if they'll surprise us with a young Pope. Things do not always go as planned as Pope John XXIII was one of those compromises: in his few years he attempted to change the Church by shaking up its foundations. Every Pope after has been under the sign of the Counter-reformation.

He watched his predecessors drawn out dying closely and concluded that it wasn't a dignified spectacle for the church. Even with a popular pope and he has to know he isn't popular.

So now he goes as long he can still stand on his on feet. Thinkin this is the best move for the church.

Thanks for posting. Looks like no one was around to diary this. I was offline all day.

So comment away, folks, this is the Pope diary.

so a man who appears to have been neck deep n the cover up of clerical abuse of children has gone, presumably to be replaced by another.

And I should care how ?

keep to the Fen Causeway

Does the pope resign in the woods?

What's missing today is leadership. Or, more probably, I simply have no respect for almost any of the so-called leaders around the world. One assumes that a leader should have not only a passionate relationship with all democratic human rights, but also have a skill in communicating that passion, and ensuring that all decisions are shared.

But then again, I'm as biased in my view of gestaltic reality structures as anyone else.

You can't be me, I'm taken

What about coins? Can the Vatican rip off coin collectors by issuing a second series of "Sede Vacante", or a they required to reuse the last design?

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

Postet this in the OT, but I think it fits better here.

Apparently this picture was taken tonight at the Vatican.

I suppose we could speculate about scandals coming, but is anything that might surface really any worse than what we already know and suspect?

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

My catholic relatives say this is exciting for a number of reasons. Popes never retire, so that is in itself pretty radical. There are plenty of people (on both sides of various arguments) mad at him, and they all hope that the new Pope will move the church's position in the direction they favor. With many scandals on the books, its always possible that one might be positioned to blow up at any moment--which is probably not why he's retiring, but it could happen in the aftermath or possible turmoil that could take place now in the selection process.

According to this we won't have Popes to kick around much longer.

Downside is we're all gonna die and burn in Hell for all Eternity.

:-)

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

Copied from Bibel!
Ratzinger loses pope title.

The small text on the book reads "childhood stories" which I think is a nice touch.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

Pope Benedict Resigns And Stuns The World

"Last time, there was a lot of speculation that it was time for the first black Pope. What Pope Benedict has done in recent years is to pack the ranks of the Vatican with lots of Europeans."

The last Pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants.

There are several Papal contenders but no obvious front-runner to take over, which was also the case when Pope Benedict was elected Pontiff in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II.

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has been installed as favourite for the job.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

Daily Kos: Opus Dei in Charge - For Now

All bets are off, however, if the International Criminal Court at The Hague agrees to act on the case brought before it by the Church's victims and charges Pope Benedict and other Vatican officials with crimes against humanity. This is something even Opus Dei can't overcome.

One way or the other, however, this is the end of the line for the Vatican and its men around the world. The current regime can no longer sustain itself under the pretense of being a religious organization. The pact with the devil made by Pope John Paul II to ally with the global plutocracy in return for Polish freedom from communism is reaching its inevitable demise.

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

Dear Zell "Christocrat" Miller: Be Careful What You Wish For « The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Rarely is there even a hint as to how much money is controlled by the bishops and/or the Vatican. Last week, supporters of a Philippine reproductive health bill which would make contraception available and denounced by the bishops, "challenged the Catholic Church to release to the poor" some of the $381 million in stocks owned by just the Archdiocese of Manila.  "If the [Roman Catholic Church] truly cares for life, why isn't it at the forefront of fighting infant and neonatal mortality? Why isn't it taking care of children of parents who are so poor that their children's education, health and well-being are sacrificed? What is the Roman Catholic Church doing with its billions? Why does it continue to ask for donations from the poor? Isn't this selfish?'' asked Elizabeth Angsioco, national chairwoman of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines.

That $381 million is just stocks owned by only one Philippine diocese and does not include all the assets owned by the Church in the entire country whose GDP is only 2% of the US GDP.  In addition to the bishops, there are hundreds of religious orders of priests, brothers and nuns with their own investment portfolios. Also obedient to the pope are lay associations like the American Knights of Columbus (not to be confused with the ancient Knights of Malta whose membership was restricted to European nobility until American moguls became rich enough) which, as of 2007, claimed assets of over $14 billion.

Does it not boggle the mind to think what all the Catholic Church assets must be in this country, or in Italy where the Church is entrenched in all finance, industry and real estate, or the rest of Western Europe and around the world?

wtf?

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

ET receives the EHF press release:

EHF welcomes a brave decision of the ex-pontifex

Let's be fair, Joseph Ratzinger's resignation announcement proves the courage of a man who has become aware of its limitations. We must now hope that Catholics - at least those who still pay attention to the voice of the pontifex maximus - will be guided with more inspiration in the future.

Joseph Ratzinger used his influence to impose dogma and faith as the bases of common life. He tried to disqualify homosexuality and ethical progress by pronouncements ignoring the evolution of society. Fortunately, the influence of the Vatican continues to reduce in general and certainly in Europe. Today, believers are more likely to live their faith independently, without subscribing to the orders of leaders who covered the paedophilia outrages within the clergy and brought revisionist and fundamentalist bishops back in the "family".

The European Humanist Federation encourages them to continue in this direction by increasing their independence and critical thinking towards an institution increasingly disconnected from its time and its human issues.

It's not just Dawkins and Bono:

The long-shot candidates, Richard Dawkins carries 666/1 odds at PaddyPower, Bono stands at 1000/1 at both PaddyPower and Coral, Madonna and Oprah both return 2000 dollars for a one dollar bet at Coral, Silvio Berlusconi is a 2500/1 dark horse candidate at StanJames and Lance Armstrong is a 10,000/1 bet at Coral.

But what about Blair?

Resigning Pope No Longer Has Strength To Lead Church Backward | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Citing his advancing age and deteriorating health, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the papacy Monday, saying he no longer possessed the strength and energy required to lead the Catholic Church backward.

According to the 85-year-old pontiff, after considerable prayer and reflection on his physical stamina and mental acuity, he concluded that his declining faculties left him unable to helm the Church's ambitious regressive agenda and guide the faith's one billion global followers on their steady march away from modernity and cultural advancement.

"It is with sadness, but steadfast conviction, that I announce I am no longer capable of impeding social progress with the energy and endurance that is required of the highest ministry in the Roman Catholic Church," Benedict reportedly said in Latin to the Vatican's highest cardinals. "While I'm proud of the strides the Church has made over the past eight years, from thwarting AIDS-prevention efforts in Africa to failing to punish or even admit to decades of sexual abuse of children at the hands of clergy, it has become evident to me that, in this rapidly evolving world, I now lack the capacity to continue guiding this faith back centuries."

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty