I understand the Holy Father is getting on in his age and his duties have become more difficult but look at the difficulties so many other Popes faced and they didn’t resign. In this world when next to no traditions are kept any longer it really doesn’t help matters for the Pope to suddenly resign, it sets a bad example regarding the value of tradition in the world today which is one of the main reasons the world is in the shape it’s in.
I wish I could better understand this situation and why it’s okay because to me it’s not okay.
I think we first have to accept that this is a surprise, because it has not happened in 600 years.
I think that what people need to understand is that whether the issue is one of vocation, as was the case with Celestine, Church politics as was the case with Gregory, or health and age as is the case with Benedict, the three situations are valid reasons for stepping down. It’s the validity of the reasons that should comfort us. This is not a man who is saying that he is fed up, that he hates his job or a man who has been driven out of office by scandals and heresies. This is a very serious, orthodox and intelligent man who has always been very disciplined about everything he does.
Stepping down about six weeks short of his 86th birthday is consistent with his character. A disciplined man can make one of two choices here. He can push himself until he drops, as was the case with Bl. John Paul or he can sacrifice his personal wish to remain in office for the good of the office.
Let’s stop and think about this. A pope who can no longer run around as popes do today, who can no longer work the long hours that the job requires, no longer stay on top of all the details of everyday administration, and no longer physically tolerate the many public, diplomatic and liturgical functions that modern popes face in one week is really a retired pope, even if he remains in office. In the end, he has to delegate to everyone else. He has to run the Church from semi-retirement, if you will. Today, more than ever, people want to see the pope’s face.
For good or for bad, Pope Paul and Pope John Paul spoiled the world. They were very visible popes. They were very much the bishops of Rome. They even celebrated weddings, baptisms, confirmations, ordinations and were actually involved in the running of the Diocese of Rome as well as the universal Church. They probably never had to deal with personnel assignments, finances, building campaigns and the many ministries in a diocese. But prior to them, popes did not do much hands-on-ministry for the people of Rome. These men did. Prior to them, popes did not travel around the world preaching. These men did that too. Most popes did not even know the bishops under them. That is a very new idea that came out of Vatican II. The bishops used to deal with papal legates. The idea of bishops sitting down with the pope to discuss their respective Churches is a new idea.
Then there are the Eastern Churches. For centuries, Rome virtually ignored the Eastern Churches, to the point that most Catholics erroneously began to profess faith in the one, holy, Roman, Catholic Church, which is not what the Creed says. But it’s how most Catholics operated day to day. The Eastern Catholics felt no connection to the Roman Catholics or to the pope. He didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother him.
Ven. Paul VI and Bl. John Paul broke out of that mode. They became very interested in Eastern Catholicism. Pope Benedict was always interested in Judaism and Islam. This interest cannot exist without paying special attention to the Churches in the Islamic world. Those Churches are truly suffering persecution. We complain about Western governments violating our religious rights, try to be Catholic in a Muslim country.
With this picture in mind, try to imagine the toll that it takes on an 86 year-old man and the focus that it requires. Can he really handle all of the above? Absolutely not. Can he show his face in all of these situations? No. Just look at the SSPX affair. How many people on these very threads have expressed frustration because the pope has not become personally involved, but has left the CDF to do the work and he gets reports, the same with the LCWR and the sex abuse issues and so forth. Everyone wants the pope to personally attend to the cause that is important to them.
A pope who is no longer strong enough to keep up with that pace will have to “retire” in office. In other words, he will issue commands and others will execute them. At times, he won’t even know what’s happening, because he can’t stay on top of so many people dealing with so many situations. Catholics would not be happy with that at all.
Another beautiful thing is the pope’s plans. I’m not privy to anything. But based on what I’ve read and what I’ve heard on EWTN, it sounds as if the pope is going to become a religious. He’s not joining a community or making any kind of vows, but the life that he plans to lead: prayer, penance, and study is very much the life of a Benedictine monk. That may be a vocation within a vocation. It’s not unheard of. Just as a monk can become pope, why can’t a pope become a monk?
