Pope Benedict XVI waving to the crowd at Yankee Stadium at the end of the Papal Mass. (Photo by Hilton Flores)
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On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the ministry of Peter, and said that a “person is not the author of his own vocation.”
On Monday Benedict stunned the world by announcing his resignation from Peter’s chair.
The first pope to resign in 600 years, Benedict said he is simply too old, too tired to continue in the demanding role.
“In today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”
We should have a new pope by Easter, said a Vatican spokesman, who expressed surprise at Benedict’s sudden announcement.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was also apparently surprised, telling NBC’s Today Show, “I’m as startled as the rest of you and as anxious to find out exactly what’s going on.”
The pope’s brother, Georg Ratzinger, told the AP that Benedict had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips and had considered stepping down for months.
Let the legacy games begin.
The pedophilia scandal exploded during Benedict’s reign, the AP said, handing him the church’s biggest crisis in decades, if not centuries
Advocates for victims of sexual abuse say Benedict did not go far enough to rid the church of abusive clergy.
RNS has a roundup of reactions here. Please let us know if you see any other newsworthy statements.
What’s next for Benedict and his Roman Catholic Church? Stay tuned here for updates.
Irish Bookmaker Paddy Power already has odds on the next pope.
A lot of journalists will expend oodles of time and energy on smart articles about Benedict’s legacy and the future of the Catholic Church, and you know what post will get the most hits?
This slide show of the pope in funny hats.
Or maybe this HuffPost piece about what Benedict will do with all the presents he received during his papacy. I think Berlusconi gave him a big box of pizza.
Lo and behold, there was other news today. Let’s get to it, shall we?
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles took $115 million from a cemetery maintenance fund to pay a clerical abuse settlement, the LA Times reports.
Did Cardinal Mahony and Archbishop Gomez mend their fences?
Not all Catholic bishops seem ready to reject Obama’s contraception compromise, according to Commonweal magazine.
The Obama administration will soon file two briefs in a pair of same-sex marriage cases that will come before the Supreme Court this spring. That’s just the sort of thing that cheers Christian lefties.
Not cheered: James Dobson. The Focus on the Family Founder and newly minted novelist has a rather bleak view of the future.
Sixteen Amish sectarians (is that redundant?) were sentenced from one to 15 years in prison for their roles in the beard-cutting attacks.
A stampede killed 37 Hindus during a religious festival in India on Sunday. It seems like this happens way too often.
Amid a civil war, Syria’s Greek Orthodox Church enthroned a new patriarch in Damascus on Sunday, the AP reports.
An Egyptian court ordered the government to block access to YouTube for 30 days because it carried the video trailer for the movie “Innocence of Muslims.” Kind of like blaming the mailman for bad news, no?
Rose French examines the growth of Pentecostalism in Minnesota, where they need all the fire they can get.
Not much God at the Grammys last night, unless you count Frank Ocean and Jay-Z’s win for “No Church in the Wild.”
(Reader Liz Essley points out the Christian rapper Lecrae won a Grammy for best Gospel album. But he missed accepting his award because he was reportedly stuck on the red carpet.)
Speaking of wild, a Catholic moral theologian thinks young women should watch “Downton Abbey.”
The Forward catches the man who killed Spiderman.
We give you our heart and soul in these roundups, so please consider reciprocating the love by taking this brief survey.
Yr grtfl aggrgtr,
Daniel Burke
14 Comments
dj_spellchecka
“The Forward catches the man who killed Spiderman.”
not to go all geek on you, but there’s more than one spider-man…the one the bendis killed off existed in the ultimate universe [don't ask.....]
Daniel Burke
Article authorThanks, dj. You can’t outgeek a guy who enjoys writing a religion roundup, so thanks for the tip, it’s much appreciated.
dj_spellchecka
and if that’s not confusing enough, daniel……writer dan slott [also jewish] appeared to have killed off the “regular universe” peter parker in issue 700 with doctor octopus taking over spider-man’s body [don't ask...]
spoiler alert:
peter’s still alive
ps
there’s been a debate over peter’s religion…on the one hand he grew up in the very jewish forest hills queens neighborhood [he was both nerd and nebbish in his early years] while on the other hand his ancestry is irish, his aunt was identified as protestant and he’s been shown praying to god [his marriage took place at city hall and was officiated by a judge...so no clue there]…stan lee was, of course, famously jewish while spider-man’s co-creator, steve ditko, was an objectivist.
geeky!
John McGrath
The resignation of Pope B16 sets a good precedent. In the future popes can be pressured to resign for various reasons. The nonsense that the pope cannot resign because the Holy spirit won’t allow it is put to rest.
Why do i have this nagging feeling that some hidden scandal is forcing this resignation? I do not really believe this – at least rationally I don’t, but the church has become so untrustworthy in its secrecy that I just get this suspicion.
Mary
I’ve tried to fill in your survey but when I click it, it gives me a useless page inviting me to run a survey of my own.
Kevan Scott
Re: Survey, Mary is exactly right. As to Pope BenedictXVI I wish him well and hope that he can enjoy a few years of retirement. However, the other person here who said that he did not go far enough in the sex abuse sscandelS is right as well. I wish he would have taken a more firm and decisive tone in dealing with the offenders. Though it may not come from the Vatican there are still far too many stories about those in charge protecting the offenders.
Kevan Scott
Oh, as to Dobson’s cynicismI think a lot of that cynicism is just another way of saying to the massess ‘By my book.” Nothing more, nothing less.
Daniel Burke
Article authorThanks, Mary and Kevan, if you click on the graphic to the right of the roundup with the iPod mini, that should work. Thanks for your patience.
Kevan Scott
Daniel, I don’t have an IPOD mini. I’m blind and lucky to be able to have thhe accessible softwar and computer that I have. However, after I left this a.m.’s comment I went back tonight and tried to complete the survey and got to the second page upon which, when I clikcked on the “Next” button I was booted off the RNS site completely. Hopefully, it took what I had completed and if not, if you will send me an email with the questions I will be more than happy to complete the survey in full. But, I will tell you this, I very much enjoy the RNS site and the various writers and blogs!-Kevan
Patricia
Roman Catholic women priests believe that the resignation of Pope Benedict XIV is a positive sign that there is hope for renewal in the Catholic Church. Hope that the Church will truly become more inclusive, universal and diverse. Hope that it will truly become open and affirming of all Catholics, not just those espousing a particular kind of orthodoxy.
Women in the Church have had a difficult time during the reigns of Benedict XIV and John Paul II. Both popes excommunicated women ordained as priests and the male priests who support us, without due process. In addition, the two popes instituted policies mandating that anyone wishing to work in a Catholic institution must promise that, among other things, they do not/will not support the ordination of women. In fact, Catholics in good standing have been directed not to even speak about women’s ordination. Furthermore, Pope Benedict equated women’s ordination to the sexual abuse of little children in its degree of sinfulness. In effect, Catholics throughout the world have been told to “form” their consciences to include the hierarchical oppression of one half of the church.
In contrast, Roman Catholic women priests have been prophetically leading the way toward renewing the church. Our worshipping communities flourish because Catholic people have said enough is enough; they are ready for change. They want to see women priests and women in leadership roles in the church. They can no longer make sense of a Vatican hierarchy that has treated our religious sisters—the nuns—disrespectfully, has excommunicated or sanctioned our religious prophets, sanctioned many renowned theologians, and has continually covered up sex abuse scandals. Many people can no longer accept the antiquated dictates of a male hierarchy, that reflects the ancient patriarchy of Rome, and continues today in many parts of the world, regarding the ways modern women and men should live their lives. The people are ready for change.
It is our hope and prayer that the upcoming conclave of cardinals will exercise wisdom in choosing the next pope who will lead by listening to the sensus fidelium. A conclave and its pope that ignore the pastoral needs of women will, once again, slam the door in the face of all faithful women who conscientiously serve the church. The consequences for the church would be disastrous. May they be acutely aware of the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the voices of the faithful.
Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP) is an international movement within the Roman Catholic Church. The mission of Roman Catholic Women Priests-USA is to prepare, ordain in Apostolic Succession, and support women, primarily, who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to a renewed priestly ministry rooted in justice and faithfulness to the Gospel.
John McGrath
The Roman Catholic Church claims that it is directly guided by the Holy Spirit in its doctrines. Despite the facts of history it claims that a celibate male priesthood only is the doctrinal dictate of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the Holy Spirit does not agree. Perhaps in fact the Holy Spirit wants the catholic Church to disappear and thus is encouraging it to stick stubbornly – and blindly, of course – to its insistence on a male only priesthood which means fewer and fewer priests and no reason for many Catholics to stay Catholic.
Kevan Scott
I’m confused, and not Catholic. Could someone explain to me Patricia’s comments and if the Roman Catholic church accept’s, or not, women as priests? I always thought that the R. C. church was the more conservative wing of thhe church. Am I wrong?
Patricia
Kevan,
RCWP (Roman Catholic Womenpriests) is an international movement within the Catholic church that ordains women (and some men) to the priesthood. The movement began in 2002 when seven women were ordained by a male bishop in Europe. Today, there are approximately 150 members. The Vatican does not accept their ordinations, and, in fact, excommunicates them. Nevertheless, they and their communities are growing and flourishing. You might want to check out their website: romancatholicwomenpriests.org
Kevan Scott
Thanks, Patricia. Interesting times as the old Chinese proverb/curse says.