The Pope has resigned, (page 4)

cantleave

Pixel - in reality Henshel was booted by the "restructure"...

I do wonder if this pope on rope is being booted too?

prologos

There are parallels: a few centuries ago another german clergy resigned , Martin Luther, he, because

he advocated new, lighter light, and married a nun. so our speculation:

Benedict, to put himself in a better light suggested, threatend he would officially abolish the clergy-celebacy rule (teaching of demons). new light.

He has a sweetheart half his age and wants to start a legitimate family before her menopause sets in, so he had to resign because they would not let him do it for all the clergy.

No open romance in Rome.

PS: not far fetched, we know of a brother who is in his eighties, close to the pope's age and raises a baby right now.

BluesBrother

Put me in the camp with those saying that something fishy is happening here - there must be more to it. They do not retire gracefully , they leave the job in a box.

NB It makes a mockery of the claim that he was called and chosen by God or Jesus for the role. If so he would not have the option to just quit when he felt tired. If resigning is a human decision then his appointment must have been human too.

MeanMrMustard

I am not so sure why this is a big story... there will be another Pope...

Glander

"Let's ride boys... eee hah!"

OnTheWayOut

B.I.T.B.: cantleave >>> In that picture he looks so gay.

Borrowing a Seinfeld reference:

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

If not a woman, I am all for a gay pope. Maybe he could get to the bottom of these pedophile priests.

(Did OTWO actually say that? It's a joke, people.)

Think About It

Rumored front runner for the open Roman Catholic Pope job.

Band on the Run

I was raised to be antiCatholic. Many of us were. Some elements of the church attract me but not the entire picture. When I first saw the threads relating to the pope's resignation, I thought it was a silly joke here. When I checked the New York Times, I could not believe how large the headline was. It seems the same size as on 9/12. The article was fairly anti-Benedict. This surprised me. I read some reader comments and was shocked.

Times have changed. People within the church were putting him down. The sexual abuse scandal and rigid administration were detailed.

I receive a Catholic cable channel. My hunch is that the coverage there will be markedly different.

He did things I despised but I do respect his leaving if he is too infirm. Also, he was designed to only be a caretaker pope.

I think an American is out of the question for political reasons. An African would be a good pick. An African-American president and an African pope.

Do you realize you can have far more freedom as a Roman Catholic priest than as a Jehovha's Witness? There will be far more transparency concerning the election of the new pope than elevation to GB member.

raymond frantz

He is planning to become a JW ,his cousin is one and he wrote a letter to her some years ago to congratulate her ,because JW get to fill their churches unlike to Catholics .if he only knew...

The Pope has resigned,