Catholics After Benedict XVI: Your Reaction to Pope’s Resignation?

As reported by The Associated Press, Pope Benedict XVI on Monday announced his resignation before cardinals at a ceremony to name three new saints.

According to a posting on Poynter.org:

Many news organizations have reported that Pope Gregory XII was the last leader of the Roman Catholic Church to resign, in 1415. However, in this clip NBC Vatican analyst George Weigel says it’s been “717 years” since the last pope abdicated, by which he probably means Celestine V, who resigned 719 years ago, in 1294.

Gregory was not the pope for whom was named the Gregorian calendar (that was Gregory XIII) or Gregorian chant (Gregory the Great or Gregory II, opinions differ). XII resigned so the church could unite under a single pope after a schism. He died in 1417. Here’s some background on papal resignations.

His papacy began in 2005 and will end on Feb. 28, he announced this morning at the Vatican in Italy.

Here is the pope's announcement, translated into English:

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. 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.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

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 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 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.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

Bay Area religious communities are reacting with "surprise" and "shock" to this morning's announcement.

Thomas Cattoi, an associate professor of Christology and cultures at Santa Clara University's Jesuit School of Theology, said it is within the pope's jurisdiction to resign at any time, but that a sitting pope hasn't made the decision to step down since 1415.

Before that, a pope resigned in 1294.

Brother Charles Hilken, a history professor at St. Mary's College in Moraga, said five popes have resigned in the history of popes, which dates back to the first century.

"Everyone is completely stunned," Cattoi said. San Francisco archdiocese spokesman George Wesolek said the local reaction has been "surprise and even shock." "There is some sadness because he is leaving," Wesolek said. "People here ... regard him with great affection."

He said the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, considers the pope's decision an "act of boldness and great humility." Although the news is unexpected, Cattoi said, the pope had previously said in public that if he felt he had to step down, he would do so.

He called the pope's resignation a "modern decision," with centuries of history seeing popes serve until death.

"This is going to cast a different light on his legacy," Cattoi said.

Cattoi said he thinks the aging pope saw the deterioration of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II — who served for 27 years as pope before he died in 2005 at the age of 84 — and does not want to become a frail leader.

Pope Benedict's successor has yet to be named, but Cattoi said the next 17 days will give the College of Cardinals ample time to discuss candidates to elect as the Bishop of Rome at the March papal conclave in Rome. The church has said there will be a new pope before Easter on March 31, he said.

Cattoi listed the archbishop of Milan in Italy as a frontrunner for the post, while other viable candidates may be religious leaders from the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil or Canada.

Wesolek said there is some speculation that because the main growth of the church is in the developing world, the new religious leader could hail from Latin America, Asia, or Africa. Hilken noted that in naming a new pope, "the biggest determining factor is the personal esteem this person holds."

Here are what folks on Facebook are saying in response to the Pope's resignation:

• "Finally , I think it's smart and I appreciate a person in power stepping down because they decide they no longer can do the job. I think it's a bit ludacris when tradition trumps sense and above all morals coming from a religious organization such as theirs."
• "Doesn't so much depend on his departure, but upon who his successor is! The last time around there was thought the first South American pope would have been chosen. As I recall he was even more conservative than the current pope. Should that come to fruition this time around, it wouldn't surprise me to see some sort of schism within the Roman Catholic church between those of traditional views and more liberal thought."
• "Maybe the question should be why do the cardinals pick someone who is 'getting up there'? I say let him do what he wants...85 years old and doing the job of the Pope is likely not that easy. I think it's better than if he pretended any longer to do the job. More power to him for being faithful to his innner soul."

How do you feel about the Pope's resignation? Tell us in the comments section below.

Bay City News contributed to this report. Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.