Scottish Catholic Observer

After examining his conscience, Pope Benedict XVI said that ‘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.’ He made the statement on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the World Day of Prayer for the Sick.

Many have spoken about the courage, humility and intelligence of the Holy Father in his admission that the responsibility and challenges of the modern Papacy must be met, not allowed to suffer by the limitations of human frailty. Indeed, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he witnessed first hand the courageous struggle of Blessed John Paull II in his declining years. And while the resignation of a Pontiff is not without precedent—Pope Celestine V’s 1294 resignation established law allowing popes to resign freely, but the last to resign was Pope Gregory XII (1406-1417)—Pope Benedict has set a new precedent in his Pontificate, one his successors may embrace from this point onwards.

Pope Benedict has carried his burdens lightly for almost eight years and has shouldered the weight of the modern Papacy with courage for as long as he could. Now 85, he has not only carried the responsibility of leading the world’s Catholics, he has been faced with the marginalisation of Christianity in certain part of the globe, the secularisation of our society and the clerical abuse crisis. He has been open about the problems in and faced by the Church, and set about tackling them in constructive ways such as the current Year of Faith, New Evangelisation and strictly enforced procedures regarding abuse.

Let us not forget that this is the Pope who won over a hostile, secular Britain and turned around media negativity during his visit in 2010—which began in Scotland and reached a crescendo at Bellahouston Park—thanks to his gentle humility, his great theological and human insight and his strong Faith. This theologian leaves the Church stronger for his leadership, his reform of the Liturgy and his understanding of the trials we all face.

Although we are saddened by the news that the gentle, intelligent man we know as Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be our Holy Father, we pray for the Pontiff in his remaining years and the challenges that still lie ahead for him.

As Catholics, we realise the announcement of a new Pope by Easter could indeed herald a new spring for the Catholic Church.