Why is benedict xvi resigning

Benedict XVI shocked the world in February when he became the first pope to resign in almost years. But attention shifted quickly to the succession, and the election of the new Pope, Francis. Amid the drama, one question was never fully answered - why did Benedict quit? Pope Benedict's official resignation statement offered his waning physical and mental powers as the explanation, but it's long been suspected there was more to it. And my inquiries have confirmed that.

He's one of the most senior figures in the church and knows the Vatican like the back of his hand. He was even, for a short time in March of this year, mooted as a possible successor to Pope Benedict. And he was one of the select handful of senior church officials who were in the Pope's Apostolic Palace when he broke the news to them personally. I raised the subject of the scandals that had preceded the Pope's bombshell decision and, in particular the Vatileaks affair in which the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, had leaked confidential documents exposing Vatican power struggles.

Could that have been a factor in his resignation? His answer was unexpected. It could be one of the reasons," he told me. It can be one of the reasons. For someone once bestowed with the luxury of infallibility, former Pope Benedict XVI is having a unique retirement. Two years after his unprecedented withdrawal from the papacy—well, unprecedented for the last years at least—the erstwhile Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's resignation remains the subject of speculation.

Two years ago this week, Benedict's announcement that he was stepping down for health reasons shocked the Catholic Church and much of the world. It also loosed conspiracy theorists who believe Benedict was forced to resign.

Pius X. Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications in as a first step toward beginning formal talks aimed at reconciliation with the group. However, there was widespread outrage at revelations that Bishop Williamson had denied the gassing of Jews in Nazi concentration camps. Corriere described the retired pope as alert, even though it was difficult to understand his speech at times.

But Benedict has stuck to his original explanation, with a documentary, Benedict XVI: in Honor of Truth , providing supporting evidence that the pope emeritus felt he could no longer publicly lead the 1.

Meanwhile, he lives out his days writing and praying in the solitude of the Vatican's Mater Ecclesiae monastery, the full extent of the circumstances and struggles that drove him from the apex of his calling likely shared only with his Savior.

As Benedict's successor, Francis' liberal and minimalistic beliefs are a stark contrast from Benedict's more traditional practices. The president divided the international community and angered a contingent of American athletes with his attempt to punish the Soviet Union. Unable to recite his new work on a blindingly bright day, the poet improvised to deliver a memorable moment for the incoming president.

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