Pope Benedict to Resign 28 Feb

[JasonPratt]

Another advantage of retiring now is that a new Pope can be voted in by the end of March (unless there are deadlocks). Waiting until he dies imposes a mourning period, delaying new leadership.

I doubt they'll vote in someone young; for the past few centuries they've tried to reform from being overly politicized by voting in someone who has management and doctrinal experience, and who is generally respected by the bishops and cardinals for what he has accomplished already.

A Latin American or African or Oriental Pope, if a Cardinal or Archbishop can be found with sufficient management experience, would be a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if the RCC finally votes one in this... um... term? (I don't know the technical word.)

[mirth]

^if you listen to his speech in Latin carefully (he have a Latinum certificate from highschool ;D) ...you know that the Grogardis are behind it ....again  ;)

We caught him reselling bibles online that he had received for free.

[bayonetbrant]

{chuckle}

[Martok]

What I keep wondering is:  Why is he quitting so suddenly? 

From what I've read so far, it sounds like even the cardinals that were in the room when Benedict made the announcement had no idea what he was about to say, and were completely stunned by the news.  You'd think he would've given them at least a little advance notice. 

[undercovergeek]

As for the length of time it has taken for a sitting Pope to resign - my first thought was to turn to Undercovergeek for some Crusader Kings II insight.

hell, everytime i assassinate one, another one just pops up - im a big fan of the anti-pope option

[Centurion40]

According to Nostradamus, Benedict is the last pope before Armageddon.  Sure hope he's wrong.

Why?  Is the next one supposed to be the Anti-Christ, or something?

[Longdan]

^if you listen to his speech in Latin carefully (he have a Latinum certificate from highschool ;D) ...you know that the Grogardis are behind it ....again  ;)

We caught him reselling bibles online that he had received for free.

Oh that is so priceless.

[LongBlade]

What I keep wondering is:  Why is he quitting so suddenly? 

From what I've read so far, it sounds like even the cardinals that were in the room when Benedict made the announcement had no idea what he was about to say, and were completely stunned by the news.  You'd think he would've given them at least a little advance notice.

He's old. He looks old. IMHO he's the first pope in six centuries to be wise enough to quit before he lost it completely. Good for him.

[Gusington]

A real Pope would have just rolled with it and given us all another 10-15 years of bizarre behavior to chuckle about. Amateur.

[Longdan]

We didn't want to see him wearing his depends over his Papal robes.
I retired and I am a damn sight younger than him.

[mirth]

Give him a break, he was at the end of his rope.

[airboy]

On a serious note, I've heard in the news that he is planning to retire to a cloistered order and spend the rest of his days in prayer after he steps down.  As a Catholic, this is exactly what I would expect him to do.

At the age of 85, he does not have a vote in the College of Cardinals.

[Longdan]

We need a maximum voter's age as well.

[Gusington]

Mirth did you just type the Pope was at the end of his rope...on purpose? Jenius[tm].

[mirth]

Mirth did you just type the Pope was at the end of his rope...on purpose? Jenius[tm].

Nobody gets me but you.