Pope Benedict XVI is the first Pope to abdicate since 1415, and the first one to do so voluntarily since 1294.
Certainly his health has something to do with it - he's 86 years old. And the Cardinals who elected him in 2005 did so with the tacit understanding that, being an old fart, he'd be gracious enough to die rather quickly. Pope John Paul II reigned for 27 years, and most of those who wear the furry red-and-white thought that was entirely too long.
Still, Popes are supposed to rule until God chooses to take them home, the logic being Her will be done. So methinks there's a story here. Beyond the physical health.
Is he getting senile, and wants to quit before he gets too zonked to know it? Is a new and even more damaging Sexual Molestation scandal about to break? As head of the Roman Catholic church is he about to be required to appear in court in one of those cases? Will the Vatican itself be sued?
It's useless to speculate, but Benny is too much of a traditionalist to buck the the-yoke-till-you-croak protocol. And it's something more than just not feeling like getting out of bed in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment