A few months ago, Vatican reporter John Allen gave a presentation to fellow NCR staff and contributors about his current predictions for the next pope. I should have taken better notes.
I found out about the pope's resignation announcement this morning the way I find out about most major, breaking news -- from my sister, who gets up way earlier than I do. She texted me a simple sentence, which was quickly confirmed by a scan of my Facebook feed.
Bob Keeler, the former religion reporter and editorial writer for Newsday, offers a cogent reflection on the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, which captures how many people feel about it. Keeler also captures the unadulterated admiration for the pope as he came to, and made, the decision to retire. It's worth the read.
Responding to news of the resignation of Pope Benedict, several organizations which represent U.S. LGBT Catholics have asked that whoever is chosen as his successor listen to their concerns.
I was a bit sleepy this morning when NPR announced the news: Pope Benedict XVI is resigning effective Feb. 28. That news jolted me to full consciousness. Wow! Resigning? When was the last time that happened? (Answer: 1415 with Gregory XII.)
The Vatican announced that the pope's health (and by implication, his aging -- he is 86) are the reasons for this resignation. And that's a service to the church. When the church (or any similar body) is solely dependent on an absolute monarch for conducting business, ill health keeps even essential functions from being done.
NCR Today: Both tribunals of signaturas and congregations at the Vatican have suspended meetings and decisions for the time being, common protocol after a pope dies.
U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are extending "appreciation and prayers" to Pope Benedict after news of his pending resignation.
"On behalf of Americans everywhere, Michelle and I wish to extend our appreciation and prayers to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI," President Obama said in a statement.
From the moment he was elected pope at the age of 78 in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI has kept a schedule that appeared light compared to that of Blessed John Paul II, but busy for a man who had wanted to retire to study, write and pray when he turned 75.
Announcing Monday that he would resign at the end of the month, Pope Benedict said, "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."
The lead cardinal of the Roman Catholic church, a man who will play a key role in the selection of a new pope, has said the cardinals have received news of Benedict's resignation "with a sense of loss and almost disbelief."
"You have said that you will always be near us with your witness and your prayer," Cardinal Angelo Sodano said in a statement released by the Vatican. "The stars always continue to shine and so will the star of your pontificate always shine among us."
John Allen in Rome: Benedict's decision to resign has both won wide praise and raised a whole rafter of questions.
Pope Benedict's decision to resign the papacy at the end of February marks a significant shift in Catholics' understanding of the role of the pope, one prominent theologian who studies church authority has said.
For Catholics used to identifying the pope as a specific person, Benedict's move shows that the pope is also an office, states Brian Flanagan, a professor at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., who also serves as an officer for the College Theology Society.
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