[War Admiral]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21409149

[Pony Fixer]

Health reason my eye. Countdown to pedophile scandal in 3...2...1...

[jr]

God bless. Surely a hard decision, and courageous on his part.

Oh, and not all priests are pedophiles pony Fixer. Surely not the time for that little quip....classless

[2bayboys]

Very interesting decision, as he is now likely to have considerable influence over the choice of his successor.

[Adamantane]

Raises the question of what his status will become, as very few popes ever abdicated, fewer still, voluntarily. Presumably he will revert to his prior status as a cardinal. Will he participate in the conclave?

It may well be that the recent church scandals are not so much a problem for him in terms of his contamination by having been part of the monolithic wall of cover-up, as that he lacks the stamina to do what remains to be done to get it worked through.

[Coanteen]

He's already weathered the cover-up storm, it's unlikely to have anything to do with that. And he pretty much looked like the walking dead back when he was chosen, so I'm not surprised he's having a hard time fulfilling his duties.

Teevee tells me there's only been 1 previous pope who resigned.

[marianne]

Well, give credit to the man if he recognizes that his health is not great and he may not do the best of jobs. Let's not bash him if he is wise enough to do this. Paul VI and John 23 and John Paul II all had last years of poor health and of course died in office. The last time a Pope abdicated was about 600 years ago and only about 10 have done this. Hopefully this will get a younger more forward thinking cardinal in place.

[Louise]

I'm afraid that there is not much chance of a younger, more forward thinking cardinal taking over. The present pope and his predecessor have pretty much seen to that with their appointments of more conservative cardinals.

I heard an interesting comment on the news just now. When asked about the possibility of an American pope, the commentator replied that the American church is not looked at with much favor these days and that America is looked at more as a source of money than as the source of a new pope. Time for an American Reformation? We already have a formerly Catholic church here in our community that was banished, or whatever it's called because of their stand on women as priests.

[Pony Fixer]

God bless. Surely a hard decision, and courageous on his part.

Oh, and not all priests are pedophiles pony Fixer. Surely not the time for that little quip....classless

I've lived through a sex scandal at my catholic high school (luckily not involving me personally), so you'll have to forgive me if I'm judgey/no love lost for any of them. One way or another (directly or via cover up), the leaders of that organization are involved.

[Adamantane]

Of course there's no telling what might happen. Everyone still scratches their heads trying to account for the totally improbable election of Pope John Paul I, who was perhaps the least 'political' pope in centuries. Such a shame he died within weeks. He seemed like someone who might well have made the RCC more relevant and less of an anachronistic barnacle.

[jen-s]

PF--I <3 you. But I just snorted HOT coffee through my nose. My sinuses are protesting. Mightily.

[Chief2]

The appointments have pretty much stacked the deck towards the replacement of the Pope's choice. I don't have a care either way, but I do think more of them should retire rather than die on the cross, so to speak. Makes for great drama, but not a great decision business-wise. It's all political. I hope he lives out his life as he wishes to.

[AffirmedHope]

Oh look people cracking pedophilia jokes about the Catholic church even though nothing has come out about this particular situation to indicate this scenario, how original.

[Mosey_2003]

I have a hard time understanding why people want a more 'forward thinking' or 'progressive' Pope/bishops/clergy in the Catholic church. The entire point of the church is that it is stable and conservative. Which is why there are so many *other* Christian religions. Why not just choose a more forward-thinking church instead of trying to change the original? There are many choices: Protestant, Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, etc. and so on.

I am rather pleased to see a Pope resign due to health issues rather than struggle on in office until he dies, though. Not that I'm glad he has health issues, ya know what I mean...

[Windsor1]

I thought this was great--SNL's "Papal Securities:"

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/17/...d-even-dances/

[SillyHorse]

Sort of raises the bar with respect to what you're willing to give up for lent.

[carolprudm]

I have a hard time understanding why people want a more 'forward thinking' or 'progressive' Pope/bishops/clergy in the Catholic church. The entire point of the church is that it is stable and conservative. Which is why there are so many *other* Christian religions. Why not just choose a more forward-thinking church instead of trying to change the original? There are many choices: Protestant, Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, Nazarene, etc. and so on.

I am rather pleased to see a Pope resign due to health issues rather than struggle on in office until he dies, though. Not that I'm glad he has health issues, ya know what I mean...

I would like to see a more forward thinking catholic church for several reasons. The most important to me is the church's stand on birth control and condom usage, particularly in Third World countries where women are having more children than they can care for.

The catholic church also likes to brag that in some communities they provide the only hospital services. However their services are limited by church policy. This not only affects reproductive services but end of life decisions as well. In a smaller community the very existence of the catholic hospital means that a secular hospital cannot be built, no certificate of need will be issued

[Mosey_2003]

I appreciate your position, carolprudm. But that's a whole 'nother, very large discussion I think.

[LauraKY]

I suspect this may have something to do with his resignation:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...usaolp00000009

And "As The New York Times reported in 2010, the Milwaukee case uncovered documents showing that Benedict, then known as Cardinal Ratzinger in his role presiding over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (a Vatican office that arose out of the Inquisition), was sent two letters in 1996 about the pedophile priest who is a key figure in Gibney's documentary."

http://www.americanlawyer.com/PubArt...20130118132758

[AffirmedHope]

And it took him three years after those letters were discovered and a year after the case was dropped for him to resign? Please.