Pope Benedict Officially Resign
Could this be the beginning of the end of the world? The leader of the Catholic Church steps aside today!!
Pope
Benedict XVI rode on his helicopter into the sunset this evening, on his final
day as head of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict will officially step down at
8 p.m. Rome time, but he already headed for the papal Summer residence, where
he will stay until his Vatican apartment is ready. Before leaving, the pope
addressed the church's cardinals, saying, "Among you is the future pope,
to whom I promise my unconditional reverence and obedience." After his
resignation, Benedict will continue to wear white and will be addressed as
"his holiness" and "pope emeritus."
Cardinals
will begin meeting soon to choose the successor. The hope is also that the new
leader will not have a shady connection to the child sex abuse scandal.
Controversy has surrounded the church leadership up until Benedict's final
days. Italian newspaper La Repubblica recently reported about a "gay
lobby" within the Vatican and alleged a series of scandals involving sex
and money sparked Benedict's decision to resign. The Vatican denied the story
as deplorable gossip.
After
causing an uproar for saying condoms don't help HIV prevention during a trip to
Africa, for example, he changed course and said contraception is a "first
step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living
sexuality." Some hope the pope's successor will be more open-minded about
social issues like gay marriage and sexuality. But since the cardinals who will
choose him were all appointed by the very conservative Pope Benedict XVI or
John Paul II, the next pope will likely share their conservative doctrine.
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Author: Kingsley the Analist
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