Yesterday was the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Soon after finishing my midday Eucharist at Mater Dei Hospital, one of my colleagues at the chaplaincy broke to me the shocking news: “The Pope is going to resign!” His perspiring, whitish face reflected the shock of the whole Church and I dare say, of the world.
Announcing his decision in Latin during his meeting with cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI qualified his resignation “as a decision of great importance for the life of the Church”.
He said his decision was firstly due to his age and secondly because his strength was rapidly declining. He declared: “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. 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 April 19, 2005, in such a way that as from February 28, 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.”
In his interview with Peter Seewald turned into a book entitled The Light of the World, Pope Benedict answered with the utmost sincerity to the question of whether a pope could resign: “Yes. If a pope clearly realises that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.”
However, Pope Benedict XVI did not favour resignation merely because the burden of the papacy is huge. “When the danger is great one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign. Precisely at a time like this one must stand fast and endure the situation. That is my view. One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say someone else should do it.”
The decision to resign from the Petrine ministry is in complete adherence to the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Canon 332 No. 2, states that “If it should happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that he makes the resignation freely and that it be duly manifested, but not that it be accepted by anyone.”
Pope Benedict XVI is not the only Pope who has resigned. Church history reveals other papal resignations such as those of Clement I (92?-101), Pontian (230-235), Cyriacus Marcellinus (296-304), Martin I (649-655), Benedict V (964), Benedict IX (1032-45), Gregory VI (1045-46), Celestine V (1294) and Gregory XII (1406-15).
Pope Benedict XVI will certainly leave an astoundingly rich spiritual, jurisdictional and ecumenical legacy. He has contributed immensely to the life of the Church particularly by his teaching and leadership within the Sacred Liturgy, weekly catechesis and moral theology.
The three main encyclicals that mark his Petrine Ministry are Deus Caritas Est, Spes Salvi and Caritas in Veritate.
Under his leadership the Catholic Church celebrated the Pauline Year and initiated the current Year of Faith. He squarely faced paedophilia within ecclesial circles. Within the ecumenical domain he welcomed those Anglicans who willingly entered into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict XVI will be greatly missed. May his successor build on what he has managed to do under the direction of the Holy Spirit.