Update 2 - Shock as Pope announces he will resign
Update 2 - Adds full resignation announcement. Conclave expected in March
Pope Benedict, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, said today he will resign on February 28. because he no longer has the strength to fulfil the duties of his office, becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to take such a step.
The 85-year-old German-born Pope, hailed as a hero by conservative Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, said he had noticed that his strength had deteriorated over recent months.
His papacy has been beset by a child sexual abuse crisis that tarnished the Church, one address in which he upset Muslims and a scandal over the leaking of his private papers by his personal butler.
In a statement, the Pope said in order to govern "...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 recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.
"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," he said according to a statement from the Vatican.
A Vatican spokesman said the pontiff would step down from 1900 GMT on Feb. 28, leaving the office vacant until a successor was chosen to Benedict who succeeded John Paul, one of history's most popular pontiffs.
Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005 when he was 78 -- 20 years older than John Paul was when he was elected -- he ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.
But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.
Before he was elected Pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known by such critical epithets as "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues.
He will be remembered by the Maltese for having canonised Dun Gorg Preca and for having visited Malta two years ago.
A conclave of Cardinals will be held to elect a new Pope. It is expected to be held in March.
THE RESIGNATION ANNOUNCEMENT
The following is the text of the speech that Pope Benedict delivered in Latin to members of a concistory, or church council, announcing his planned resignation. It was distributed by the Vatican in a statement:
"Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
"I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, 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 Saint 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.
"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, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.
"Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff.
"With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer."
The Pope seen in Malta.
Pope Benedict in Malta - April 2010
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Carlo D'Amico
Mar 7th, 07:57
Paise the pope guys, he managed to pull out before he finished the job :) ^^
John Azzopoardi
Feb 12th, 11:57
And that is what anti catholism is.....grow up you haters. That is not what a democracy is all about. When you offend someone else by your hate toward the church you are offending and it is not freedom of speech. It is hate.
Julien Catania
Feb 12th, 15:15
Read what the Ugandan parliament are doing about homosexuality....punishable by death....and there he is blessing the Speaker of Parliament, a proponent in this, just days later. Offend somebody? I tell you what- you be gay, experience what I have to listen to from him and his church., and then see what a 'hater' is. Democracy? I didn't 'elect' Catholic clergy to legislate, that's what govt's for.
John Azzopoardi
Feb 13th, 01:14
Mr Catania, enough of your drama please .........and we are not in Uganda..............thank you. WE are in malta. You are getting very emotional for nothing.
Reggie Aquilina
Feb 18th, 10:19
Julien, the issue is not intolerance to gay people - the issue is that marriage truly represents a union between two opposites who pro-create. Hating Christianity just because of unChristian decisions by the Ugandan parliament and other intorlerant people is not the way. We have to learn to love and accept one another but Truth is not relative and the sacrament of marriage cannot be usurped
John Azzopoardi
Feb 11th, 23:26
let us wish the Pope well.........I am shocked though at some comments made below by some people against the pope.....shame on you for being so nasty. The pope duty is to speak up for the church teachings, if you don't like them, then don't follow them, but to spew so much nastiness is very unbecoming of people residing in Malta - whether you are maltese or foreigner.
H Zammit
Feb 11th, 19:35
Let us pray that the next Pope will be like the previous ones.
No Pope can change scripture. It,s all in the Holy Bible. God bless.
<a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBdZHIbF2BA >download video from youtube</a>
Joseph Aquilina
Feb 11th, 19:15
He is an example to us all. This act was done out of pure love; for the Church and for us Christians; The Pope put himself aside because he felt that was for the best of us Christians and not only Christians; a real example for us all.
Joseph Aquilina
Feb 11th, 19:05
I invite everyone to show some respect; not just to the Pope, nor to the spiritual leader of more then 1.5b, but to the person himself. Let us all remember that a person who dedicated all his life to the Church would not have taken such a drastic decision unless for very valid reasons. At the moment we can just assume what is the reason behind this decision.
Joseph Galea
Feb 11th, 18:45
A Pope requires plenty of energy, apart from all the other obvious 'qualifications'. I believe a new Pope should not be older than mid 60's when appointed. I am convinced that Pope Benedict has done a lot of good during his rather short time as Pope, but I am sure that he could have done much more given the required strength.
joyce darmanin
Feb 11th, 18:09
get well soon
Joseph Galea
Feb 11th, 18:49
This is not a matter of 'get well soon'. As the Pope himself declared, it is just 'due to advanced age'.
Joseph Aquilina
Feb 11th, 19:09
Joseph Galea I hope you are right; regardless, however I still wish our Pope the very best. In general I can only respect a person who after a life dedicated to the Churh, resigns, for the love he has for the Church.
Nenu Cassar
Feb 11th, 17:48
Christ said to his disciples; "I am sending you out like lambs among wolves" and in another instance: "if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you". The world has hated and shunned Truth since time immemorial and it will continue to do so till the end of Time.
J Galea
Feb 11th, 17:46
Obviously the Pope is well respected and deservedly so. He is also a great stategist in leading the Church. Being alive at the time the next Pope is chosen may be a strategic advantage in anointing a successor.
John Xuereb
Feb 11th, 17:10
qabel nigudikaw ejjew insaqsu lilna infusna "Li kieku kont jien imexxi Knisja ta 1.2 biljun ruh bir-responsabilitajiet kollha li iggib kariga bhal din, bil-problemi kollha ta' sahha li jista jkolli bniedem ta 84 sena, jien x'kont naghmel? Gwanni Pawlu II ghazel li jibqa sa l-ahhar, Benedittu XVI ghazel li jcedi postu. Ejjew inhallu f'idejn ALLA, ahna min ahna biex niddettaw lil Alla x'ghandu jsir?
RONALD ARRY
Feb 11th, 18:22
allura kif ma jazlux wiehed li ma jkollox daqsek zmien milewwel ??vera mandux tbatija fil kariga ta papa ax isib kollox lest , imma jkollu certu impenji li fil fehma tieghi trid tkun bsahhtek u mux ta certu eta biex tizvolgijom
Andrew Azzopardi
Feb 11th, 16:38
@Francis Saliba. md
Look who's back spreading his knowledge! I note that you are still quoting your degree. Does that help you feel more secure?
On to more important matters, Ratzinger is an intellectual and proved his humility by stepping down. Well done to him. Lets hope the Church learns from his virtues as well as from his mistakes.
Claudio Cilia
Feb 11th, 16:31
Of course the pope resigns .. Bet it has become such a difficult position to fill with all this protesting and controversy, where being Catholic isn't 'cool' anymore .. You need to be strong to face all this. Lets hope the new one will narrow the gap between modern society and the church!
Kevin Camilleri
Feb 11th, 16:21
The Human's mind is too small to understand God's path. Let us leave him work and pray so that we have a great Pope to lead the church in such difficult times.
Anthony Paul Naudi
Feb 11th, 16:32
Mr. Camilleri,
You couldn't have put it better . God our Father works in many ways which we will never understand and His ways are just magnificent
W. Cassar
Feb 11th, 20:57
But the human mind is small enough to create him.
Victor Pulis
Feb 11th, 16:20
Ratzinger never wanted to become Pope by his own admission. When John paul II died Ratzinger was mentioned as the next Pope before the conclave and it was so. There is a saying that who enters as pope (in the conclave) exits a cardinal. In Ratzinger's case this did not happen. His predessesor was a tough act to follow.
C Busuttil
Feb 11th, 18:26
tough act ? Ratzinger had to deal with the problems his predecessor left under the carpet. He had to face those problems and he managed in a dignified manner taking on his shoulders that burden.
Ratzinger is a Great man who realized that he could not go any further and in doing so he showed great courage to admit it infront of the whole world and great love towards the Church.
Denis Pace
Feb 11th, 18:45
Nothing to do with all these hypotheses......The Pope is gravely sick (according to Italian Media)
Alfred Gatt
Feb 11th, 16:11
I wonder how perfect you are?
A M Bonello
Feb 11th, 16:10
Not a progressive pope at all.Lets hope the next one moves on with the sign of the times.
Joe Xuereb
Feb 11th, 16:00
@ Dr. Francis Saliba M.D.(Today, 13:47). Doc, respectability, which way is presented, is only a facade, transparent as gossamer. Didn't you know this?
@Francis Saliba M.D.(Today, 13:55). Do you have to make it so obvious that this issue is, perforce, out of your depth?
People who pontificate resign for all sorts of reasons. Private matters are just that and should be respected.
Francis Saliba M.D.
Feb 11th, 22:40
Please try to understand that this blog is about Pope Benedict's decision to resign because of an infirmity due to his age. It is not about me and still less about your worthless judgement about me.
Julien Catania
Feb 11th, 15:48
Good riddance. Children dying of HIV related diseases in the Third World and still preaching the immorality of contraception. Voicing negative opinions about homosexuality and then seen blessing the Speaker of the Ugandan parliament who wants to enforce a 'Kill the gays law'. Talking about the materialism of the world whilst sat on a gold throne and much more. If this is faith...no thank you.
Mario Buhagiar
Feb 11th, 17:35
agreed!
C Busuttil
Feb 11th, 18:32
Nispera li jkollok l-istess kuragg quddiem Gesu Kristu meta jigi l-mument u tista mhux tghidlu li ghax hekk u hekk ghax mieghu mhemmx skuzi u tidwir mall-lewza.
Kristu tkellem car u tond u l-Papa ghandu l-ispirtu s-Santu jghinu fuq affarijiet ta' fidi u tghid mhux ha jigi wiehed bhalek jew bhali jghallem L-Ispirtu s-Santu
Carmel Serracino-inglott
Feb 11th, 19:53
I humbly pray for you brother.
Julien Catania
Feb 11th, 20:25
I don't need your prayers...pray for the victims of the child abuse scandals centred within a church which still hasn't launched a thorough investigation and held men and women to count. Pray that these people receive compensation to try and rebuild lives. Pray for the parents and children in Spain, separated after the Catholic Church broke up families and adopted the children. That may help.
Mario Buhagiar
Feb 11th, 21:51
kieku l-papa ma kellux il-kuragg biex isir papa, kieku l-ideologiji tieghu kien imaqdarhom kulhadd. Pero apparentament, titla fuq it-tron tal poter jinbidel kollox. hallina Busuttil. Gwanni pawlu kien papa tajjeb ghax kien ixandar l-inteligenza u l-imhabba lejn kulhadd. Dan kollox bil-kontra ghamel
Justin Borg Saywell
Feb 11th, 15:33
News bulletins are calling it brave- no way is it brave, the exact opposite in fact. I can't believe this news - the more I listen to news bulletins, the more disappointed with Benedict I become.
Joseph Aquilina
Feb 11th, 18:57
do you even know why he resigned? Someone who gave his life for the church does not simply resign if not for the love and in respect of such church. Therefore I invite you to keep a level of respect not just to a Pope but to a human person just like you and me. A human person which we yet not know what might have pushed him to take such a decision.
Joe Xuereb
Feb 11th, 15:26
@paul camilleri(Today, 13:14). Between 28th Feb. and March, Malta will be a popeless, hopeless state. Now THAT is shocking!
@twanny borg(Today, 14:36). Twanny, the poor are always with us and always will be, regardless of whichever Pope is in situ. This in spite of, OR BECAUSE OF, the wealth that is the HOLY Roman EMPIRE (ie, the need to seem powerful - so read between the lines).
Ms.D. Galea
Feb 11th, 15:09
New Easter, New Pope,New Era.
God works in mysterious ways.
twanny borg
Feb 11th, 14:36
Decizjoni tajba jaghmel post ghal xi hadd izghar jahdem kontra t-theddida tal-faqar tal-gisem u tal-mohh li waslet biex teqred il-bniedem u d-dinja.
David Ellul
Feb 11th, 14:35
http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/762735/dimissioni-papa/
David Ellul
Feb 11th, 14:34
There are a few theories that circulate in the network based on the prophecies of Malachi. For some Benedict XVI would be the penultimate, waiting for "Petrus Romanus"
Some believe it may be "the ' last of the Popes of the Catholic Church . " Or before that, before the " Petrus Romanus "required by the prophecy of Malachi .
John Benner
Feb 11th, 14:32
I am stunned by this but perhaps he remembered the final years of Pope John Paul and how he suffered with Parkinson Disease and what that did to his papacy in the latter years . Without being disrespectful to the present Holy Father a new Pope has to listen to his congregation because on so many issues the Vatican is aloof to their views and opinions and church pews are emptying ,vocations are low
David Smith
Feb 11th, 14:25
I pray that the Catholic Church will have a Pope who is not afraid to say the truth - that marriage is for life and consequently divorce is wrong, that marriage is between man and woman and that therefore marriages between homosexuals is a grotesque representation of the marital state, that abortion is wrong.
Carmel Serracino-inglott
Feb 11th, 20:02
David I agree with you to pray but only to have a holy man. Who elects a pope. ? The Holy Ghost , not true? Therefore who ever is Pope is there by the power of the Holy Ghost and so be it LONG LIVE THE POPE
Joseph Borg
Feb 11th, 14:22
After reading all posted comments I came to understand why the nation of Malta remained behind other nations.
Carmel Serracino-inglott
Feb 11th, 20:04
I beg to differ. Malta is not behind but well placed not because of political differences but because most Maltese love God truly.
M Darmanin
Feb 11th, 14:22
Well done and thank you for your ministry Pope Ratzinger. Praise God for your hard and effective work.
Simon Ciantar
Feb 11th, 14:19
I believe the Church should remain firm on key issues but should modernize itself with regards to image , learn to market itself better and remove its culture of secrecy which has shown to backfire in the end. However it should not make the mistake that the church of England in my opinion has done by becoming "liberal" The world needs a voice of reason which calls black , black and white , white
Joe Borg
Feb 11th, 14:12
If st malachy was correct the next pope will be peter the roman and he will be the anti christ. Its time to reflect.
Paul Caruana
Feb 11th, 13:43
A bold and wise move: the concept that the pope has to stay on until he dies, even if he becomes manifestly incapable of effectively administering the church has long been due for an overhaul. Hopefully, this sets a precendent for the future.
Joseph Camilleri
Feb 11th, 13:36
This shows how serious His Holiness is. He is not stuck to his seat. He was brave enough to call it a day. He has done what others never dared. He is a conservative a stickler to values. This Pope will go down in history as one of the greatest popes The Catholic Church ever had. God Bless you Pope Ratzinger.
Darren Micallef
Feb 11th, 13:36
tell me i'm naive but I'd like to have once again another conservative Pope. Liberalism has brought the world to the state which is actually in.
Efrem Gatt
Feb 11th, 14:05
I
share your same views. One look at even d quite recent past and living
in the present makes it easy to reach a same conclusion
J Schembri
Feb 11th, 14:18
you are naive :)
have a nice day
Luke Lanzon
Feb 11th, 15:12
You're naive, yes we live in a less religious Europe, but compared to Europe of the past when it was extremely religious and extremely violent I would rather live in the liberal Europe of today.
Mario Buhagiar
Feb 11th, 15:42
yes naive. Compare Scandinavian countries, Germany, UK, Netherlands, France, Canada (liberals & atheists) with Middle Eastern countries, Africa, Latin Americans (conservatives, religious). I'm sure you prefer living under the talibans (conservatives) rather than sweden or france (liberals) *irony*. haha
Bill Khan
Feb 11th, 15:42
@ Luke Lanzon
The last two wars in Europe had nothing to do with religion. Yet more than 60 million europeans were killed. millions each year are murdered in the wombs of their mothers across liberal europe that we live in.
Hence liberal europe continues to bring violent death to millions who are are without a religion and unable to speak.
Mario Buhagiar
Feb 11th, 15:55
Bill Kahn, liberalism has nothing to do with it. There was no war because 2 countries didn't share the same ideology on IVF, gay marriage and divorce. On the other hand there are a number of wars due to religion (cursades there were 7), Israel vs palestine, WW2 genocide, Armenian genocide... not to mention wars due to lack of liberalism (French rev, Russian Rev, Afghanistan war)
Bill Khan
Feb 11th, 18:43
@ Mario Buhagiar
The israeli/palestinian conflict is about territory not about religion. The WW2 genocide of the jews and the gypsies and much of the europeans was about reducing the population of europe and weaken it for control and place it under huge debts. Armenian genocide was not about religion but territorial control. The church of secularism wants to destroy all other religions.
cesco di luigi
Feb 11th, 13:22
recognising that it's time to step down is not a sign of weakness...on the contrary,
E Zammit
Feb 11th, 13:20
As much as people say that he was a conservative, it took a lot of courage for him to resign. This in itself is a progressive step. It hasn't happened since the middle-ages. May God keep him healthy and strong enough to deal with everyday life. He has steadied the Church in its basic teachings and in the core of the real and correct beliefs.
Let's keep him in our prayers.
paul camilleri
Feb 11th, 13:14
popes have rights to resign there posts too. but as a tradition we have come to expect popes to remain in office till death least of all to show and prove their devotion to God. while one can understand this Popes reasons because one must be mentally capable in this post, but again like Kings, Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers the pope has advisors that would advise the pope on matters.
Joseph Micallef
Feb 11th, 12:56
He took the church to the middle ages..
B Ellul
Feb 11th, 13:21
And it seems that you're from that period as well
Efrem Gatt
Feb 11th, 13:21
and many others, feeling wiser than the Pope, try to push the church over the cliff... we do need to go back to our roots and to the authenticity of our religion.
Joseph Micallef
Feb 11th, 14:10
@ B. Ellul,
Yeah, that's where we know each other mela
@ Efrem Gatt,
Why don't we setup a 'holy army' once again and go back to the crusades so that whoever believes anything which is not inline with the church jaqlahha?
halluna bi kwietna
Mario Buhagiar
Feb 11th, 15:13
Ellul & Gatt, sure. He preached stupidity (the condom and anti HIV issues) as well as the anti-homosexual crusade he did. Thank god he resigned. Let's hope the next one will be more like John Paul II who actually preached love
W. Cassar
Feb 11th, 12:44
Im glad to hear it, the church deserves a more moderate person who unifies.
Joe Pavia
Feb 11th, 13:12
Very stupid remark mate. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Bill Khan
Feb 11th, 13:12
@ W. Cassar
I hope by 'moderate' you do not imply some one who would allow the first gay marriage in the St. Peter's sqaure and the legalisation of killing innocent babies ('abortion'). Perhaps the Pontiff did not not wish to be the one to allow such a change in the catholic church. Wish him well and good health.
R. Balzan
Feb 11th, 13:31
Agree with you 100 per cent. The Roman Catholic Church needs to be purged from its ultra-conservative elements in order to start a unification process embracing all mankind. God is great.
Silvan Said
Feb 11th, 13:58
You mean who accommodates individualism, selfishness, perceived "rights" and liberals' desire to dehumanize society and turn it into a society of me first and feeble excuses for "rights".
david attard
Feb 11th, 12:43
The Pope did give his best, one has to remember that he was already helping the late Pope John Paul 2 in the Vatican, so at an age of 84 years he has a right to retire and live his remaining years in peace.The world needs an energetic person to fulfill the void. Jesus Christ was 30 years old when he started his public life of preaching to the people and had no modern utilities.
Lawrence Fenech
Feb 11th, 12:43
I do not blame the Pope his fatigue started to show for quite some time now.
Stephen Florian
Feb 11th, 12:38
He does indeed have health problems. He is taking a very wise decision. The last similar renounciation took place in the 12th century.
Efrem Gatt
Feb 11th, 12:38
St Malachy said that Pope Benedict could be the Pope before the last and this is quoted of St. Malachy... In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.
Marcel Ellis
Feb 11th, 13:50
and here come all the doomsday prophets.... pffff enough already
Mr Ernest Vella
Feb 11th, 14:19
Infatti fid-9 ta Marzu jekk jitla l-lejber il-profezija ssehh...ghalinqas ghal Malta!!!
A.f Ellul
Feb 11th, 14:35
According to St.Malacy's prophesis has wrote that the next pope will be Petrus Rumanus and is the last pope,Next Jesus will take the command (Peter's chair) and there will be 1000 years of peace.
william cauchi
Feb 11th, 12:36
The BIG question is who will replace him, and where will the church be now heading in 2013.
Will we have a more liberal Pope? Will we have women priests? Will we have a much younger Pope?
So many drastic changes are needed to bring the church into this millennium.
Bill Khan
Feb 11th, 13:27
@ william cauchi
Rather than waiting for the catholic church to become liberal, would it not be better to join other churches which already are. For instance the Anglican church allowing women and gays in to its midst and also has no problem with abortions.
M Mifsud
Feb 11th, 13:48
@ Bill Khan:
Are you saying that there are no gay priests within the Catholic church?
Joseph Aquilina
Feb 11th, 12:36
I cant but feel sad about this news as I can only imagine what might have pushed our Pope to take such a drastic action. I hope and wish good health to this person who has dedicated his life to God and all of us.
Emanuel Farrugia
Feb 11th, 12:36
Pope Benedict: He is a great writer and a great theologian.
Emanuel Farrugia[TARXIEN] former student Faculty of Theology & FEMA UOM
Anthony Grech
Feb 11th, 12:35
Thank you Holy Father, you are a great man indeed. God be with you.
Kurt Waschnig
Feb 11th, 12:31
What a great news! He should have done that some years ago. Perhaps The Church will undergo a renewal and transformation, a radical transformation. I do not believe in that.
The coming weeks and months will be very interesting to follow the developments within this hierarchical institution.
Carmel Serracino-inglott
Feb 11th, 20:20
Yes PROFS?
George Attard
Feb 11th, 12:27
i don't believe it is due to ill health. there is so much more to this than we know but will never know. Pope John Paul II was riddled with illness and was nearly immobile and continued on with his work. to believe anything else than some kind of conspiracy into this resignation is laughable.
Nicholas Borg
Feb 11th, 12:39
This island must have a higher quota of conspiracy theorists than the rest of the world. Unbelievable!
R Casha
Feb 11th, 12:41
You have all right to believe what you want...but you don't have a right to say such a statement, instigating doubts as if he did anything wrong. Pope John Paul 2 was in such in position since he was very young, he was very well used to such stress. Pope Benedict was already old when he became Pope.
Yasmine Tabone
Feb 11th, 12:22
I don't know why resigning is such a big deal for the Church, then again, anything is a big deal for the Roman Catholic Chuch. If he's unwell, there's not much anyone can do about it, let the man live in peace !
Alan Deidun
Feb 11th, 12:21
This should be an excellent opportunity to vote in a non-European Pope at last, possibly from Africa, South America or Asia
Alan Cordina
Feb 11th, 12:28
why is that ? ..... I am not against it, but why is this, the opportunity ?
Nicholas Borg
Feb 11th, 12:38
I agree - the Church is much more relevant in Africa and South America than it is in Europe where materialism and consumerism reigns supreme.
Mr Andrew Camilleri
Feb 11th, 12:43
I think because Popes have always come from Europe. Its time to show the rest of the Catholic world that even they can partecipate in the leadership of the Church. It would also give the Chruch a fresh and new dimension.
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Feb 11th, 13:03
The Church is less relevant in Europe because Europeans have taken the time and have had the time to educate themselves and not to believe in all this nonsense.
Mr charles azzopardi
Feb 11th, 12:21
To say the truth even Pope JP2 would have better done the same . Other than the religious work , there is a lot of image to display to the world . This is a responsible decision to be respected .
Anthony Bonell
Feb 11th, 12:42
...matter what. And because of this he will be respected for many years to come.
On the other hand if his Holiness Pope Benedict thinks he is not anymore fit to guide the church for whatever reason, his decision must be respected by everyone.
R. Balzan
Feb 11th, 12:20
Many people, including myself, will be not be too sorry to hear about the Pope's decision to resign. Simply because we anticipate it is time to have a younger, more progressive Pope who will remove all the cobwebs and renews the building of a living church that embraces all human creations irrespective of colour, creed and sexual orientation. You cannot have this renewal with an 86 year old Pope.
Francis Saliba M.D.
Feb 11th, 12:32
You are bound to be disappointed if you hope that the Cardinals in conclave would select a pope with progressive ideas about "creed and sexual orientation". The Pope's mission, and the Church's mission as a whole is to continue embracing and spreading Christ's good news gospel that the Church does not consider to be "cobwebs".
E Schembri
Feb 11th, 12:47
I agree with you except for the sexual orientation part..
Sexual orientation, as is marriage, and the family model based on the sacred family of Nazareth is a pillar stone of the Roman Catholic faith.
I don't see how a young pope will make any difference with this respect.
Not all progressiveness is for the good and the church will not be change its core just to appease to progressiveness.
Matthew Grima
Feb 11th, 12:52
Is that why it changed a lot of its thinking Francis? Like what it thought about Galileo's work?
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Feb 11th, 12:58
I have to agree with Francis on this one. The Conclave is full of bitter old conservative men. No progressive pope will be elected. If he will, it will indeed be a miracle. That is why the Church has become totally irrelevant but I do suspect that there is more than meets the eye here.
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Feb 11th, 13:01
Forget about Galileo. The early followers of Jesus as led by James, did not believe that Jesus was divine. They were simply Jews waiting for the Kingdom of God to materialise during a period of Hellenisation. Sadly, Paul corrupted the religion of Jesus, turning it into a religion ABOUT Jesus. That is why the Catholic Church puts so much emphasis on belief.
Francis Saliba M.D.
Feb 11th, 13:47
@JosephCarmelChetcuti
Please do not keep on piling more evidence of your pride in not caring for respectability.
Francis Saliba M.D.
Feb 11th, 13:55
@MatthewGrima
I am not going to repeat once more the historical truth about the heliocentric dispute. Galileo was condemned for breaking his earlier promise not to publicise that theory as if it were a proven fact at a time when it was still being hotly debated freely in academic circles by scientists/theologians without any ecclesiastical censure.
Emanuel Curmi
Feb 11th, 16:22
Dear Mr. Saliba. Hope never dies. Jesus was deemed very progressive by consorting with sinners and should a pope with a similar trait is elected and decrees inclusion of all minorities in a tolerant church it might turn out to be the biggest mission of all.
Julien Catania
Feb 11th, 17:21
R Balzan, how refreshing to read your comment!!
K Camilleri
Feb 11th, 12:18
"The last Pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII (1406–1415)" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_resignation
That's a solid throne... only 1 resignation in 600 years
V. Cauchi
Feb 11th, 12:15
No worry whatsoever. God will always stand by His Church.
John Brown
Feb 11th, 13:36
All churches are God's churches,not only the Roman Catholic one.
Luciano Chetcuti
Feb 11th, 14:36
@ John Brown
All churches... that is except those which preach revenge, wars, hatred towards those who do not follow their beliefs and anything else that goes against Human Nature.
Carmel Serracino-inglott
Feb 11th, 20:30
Yes very true. I do not know why some people say a lot against the Pope when the pope IS there by the power of the Holy Spirit.
alfred magro
Feb 11th, 12:14
Meta laħaq dan il-Papa dieġa kien anzjan sewwa,u mill-ewwel deher li saħħtu kienet batuta, għamel sewwa li se jirtira u jħalli postu għal min huwa aktar vjabbli
Alexander Genuis
Feb 11th, 12:14
Jien kont nisma li l-qdusija Tieghu il-Papa ma jistghax jirrezenja,Jmut fil-kariga bil-fors jrid,hekk minghalijjsa,issa ma nafx,pero hekk kelli l-impressjoni,dan bhall l-Qdusija Tieghu Gwanni Pawlu t-tieni,kien marid ghall ahhar u still ma rrizenjax.
J. Grima
Feb 11th, 12:26
Ta' Gwanni Pawlu II nahseb li kienet decizjoni tieghu fil-fatt li jibqa' Papa.
Leslie Darmanin
Feb 11th, 12:35
What are you suggesting then, the Pope doesn't even know the Vatican's own rules and has made a mistake?
What your "heard", Mr Genius (no pun intended here), is irrelevant. The "impression" you had is irrelevant.
But you are right on one thing when you said "issa ma nafx".
Enough said, for heaven's sake (literally).
E Schembri
Feb 11th, 12:53
@Leslie
Cool it, it was an honest question. Why are we so aggressive with each other?
@Alexander
It was John Paul 2 own decision to continue his ministry till his last breath, however, it is not a must and up to the pope's wisdom to decide so.
K Camilleri
Feb 11th, 12:13
Hmm cool... so many elections in just 15 days Italy, Malta and now the Vatican City.
Luciano Chetcuti
Feb 11th, 14:38
Looks like a change is needed in these states...
J Galea
Feb 11th, 12:11
One welcomes a timely retirement like this. The Pope sets a good example.
J. Grima
Feb 11th, 12:10
Ghalkemm ma kontx sorpriz ghall-ahhar b'din l-ahbar, xorta wahda nghid li jiddispjacini. Bit-tajjeb u l-hazin kollu tieghu, dejjem ammirajt lil dan il-Papa ghall-imhabba li ghandu lejn il-liturgija u l-arti.
Dalghodu kont qed nara servizz tal-ahbarijiet u rrealizzajt kemm deher batut. Kelli x-xorti li narah mhux biss waqt iz-zjara f'Malta imma wkoll f'Lourdes fl-2008.
D Hamilton
Feb 11th, 12:06
Even John Paul II was sick but still died as a Pope !!!
Ms C Bartolo
Feb 11th, 17:01
Do you really think he was still fit to lead and guide the Roman Catholic Church in the end? I believe Pope Benedict took a brave and wise decision which Canon Law allows.
A. Borg
Feb 11th, 12:03
I always was with the impression that Popes cannot resign.
Anthony Scicluna
Feb 11th, 12:00
Now that's a first (I think) - it must be terribly serious. Sympathies
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