Pope Ratzinger resigns

This reggae music video on the papacy is called Bafflin’ Smoke Signals – Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Pope Benedict XVI announced today that he will resign soon. Dutch NOS TV said that he wants to continue to live in the Vatican, however.

It is very long ago that a pope resigned.

In 1294, Pope Celestin V resigned. Some people say that resignation was not voluntary: his successor Pope Boniface VIII is said to have pressured Celestine, and subsequently had him murdered.

I am not sure whether this time, pressure by a rival played a role in the resignation of Benedict XVI Ratzinger.

Ratzinger’s papacy was tainted by many things. By cover-ups of sexual abuse of children; by homophobia; by appeasement of anti-Semitic Holocaust denial and of Islamophobia; by Vatican bank scandals.

But, maybe as a positive note among negative notes: it seems that, at least, Pope Benedict XVI did not want to hold on to big power at all costs. I hope that other heads of state and prime ministers who have done much wrong will follow his example and resign.

One should hope that Ratzinger‘s successor will correct what went wrong under Benedict XVI. But I don’t have a crystal ball. So, I cannot predict the future.

Related articles

• Nazi bishop Williamson wants consecration without pope’s consent
• Milwaukee archdiocese miffed at art depicting pope with condoms settles child molestation case for $21 million
• ‘Bishop Bling’, after German palace scandal, Italian penthouse scandal

• Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation comes out of the blue (itv.com)
• Pope Benedict XVI to resign having ‘no strength to continue’ (rt.com)
• Pope Benedict XVI: The diehard traditionalist who resigned his post (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• First Argentine pope elected (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation and Possible Prosecution for Abetting Child Rape and Obstruction of Justice (liberalvaluesvoter.wordpress.com)
• The Skeletons in Benedict’s Closet: A guide to the sex abuse scandals under Pope Benedict XVI’s watch (syracuse.com)
• Two popes, two resignations: Benedict XVI and Celestine V (newsinfo.inquirer.net)