This is probably the big news of the day, and the first time in hundreds of years for a Pope to resign. But now that I'm 80 myself, I can understand why he would do this. There comes a time when we simply aren't what we used to be, and they say it's a wise man who knows his limits. I wish him well.
Yet his papacy will be forever intertwined with the sex abuse scandal.
ReplyDeleteOver the course of just a few months in 2010, thousands of people in Europe, Australia, South America and beyond came forward with reports of priests who raped and molested them as children, and bishops who covered up the crimes.
Documents revealed that the Vatican knew well of the problem yet turned a blind eye for decades, at times rebuffing bishops who tried to do the right thing.
Benedict had firsthand knowledge of the scope of the problem since his old office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which he had headed since 1982, was responsible for dealing with abuse cases.
Jews were also incensed at Benedict's constant promotion toward sainthood of Pope Pius XII, the World War II-era pope accused by some of having failed to sufficiently denounce the Holocaust
Benedict was born April 16, 1927 in Marktl Am Inn, in Bavaria, but his father, a policeman, moved frequently and the family left when he was 2.
He hoped to be a pope of peace, like Pope Benedict XV, who reigned during World War I. But the first Benedict — St. Benedict of Norcia — was also an inspiration.The 5th and 6th century monk is a patron saint of Europe and inspired the creation of the Benedictine order, the main guardian of learning and literature in Western Europe during the dark centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire.
What if religion is a man-made invention aimed at achieving power and control, and what if God doesn't need it to communicate with us?
ReplyDeleteI don't want to begin an argument, I'm just suggesting another possibility...