Unlike popes in history who resigned to escape duty, Pope Benedict XVI
cited his age and waning health. The 85 year-old German pontiff,
noteworthy for his devotion to religious conservatism in the face of a
rapidly changing, increasingly secular European social landscape,
delivered his resignation in Latin to a small, private body of the
Vatican Monday, 11 February: “I have had to recognize my incapacity to
adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,” he said, adding, “for
this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full
freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome,
successor of Saint Peter”. Pope Benedict’s resignation comes at a time
when more European countries, like France and Britain, are proposing the
legalization of gay marriage while banning crosses in the workplace and
prayers at council meetings, while the Church remains shaken by
accusations of clerical sex abuse.
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