Tag Archives: Resignation

Pope Benedict XVI’s Farewell Speech Transcript

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Pope Benedict XVI. gave his final General audience address in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Wednesday, just a day before his voluntary resignation.

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Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood!
Distinguished Authorities!
Dear brothers and sisters!
Thank you for coming in such large numbers to this last General Audience of my pontificate.

Like the Apostle Paul in the Biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart that I have to especially thank God who guides and builds up the Church, who plants His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His People. At this moment my heart expands and embraces the whole Church throughout the world and I thank God for the ‘news’ that, in these years of my Petrine ministry, I have received about the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for the love that truly circulates in the Body of the Church, making it to live in the love and the hope that opens us to and guides us towards the fullness of life, towards our heavenly homeland.

I feel I ought to carry everyone in prayer, in a present that is God’s, where I recall every meeting, every voyage, every pastoral visit. I gather everyone and every thing in prayerful recollection, in order to entrust them to the Lord: in order that we might have full knowledge of His will, with every wisdom and spiritual understanding, and in order that we might comport ourselves in a manner that is worthy of Him, of His, bearing fruit in every good work (cf. Col 1:9-10).

At this moment I have great confidence because I know, we all know, that the Gospel’s Word of truth is the strength of the Church; it is her life. The Gospel purifies and renews, bearing fruit, wherever the community of believers hears it and welcomes God’s grace in truth and in love. This is my confidence, this is my joy.

When, on 19 April almost eight years ago I accepted to take on the Petrine ministry, I had the firm certainty that has always accompanied me: this certainty for the life of the Church from the Word of God. At that moment, as I have already expressed many times, the words that resounded in my heart were: Lord, what do You ask of me? It is a great weight that You are placing on my shoulders but, if You ask it of me, I will cast my nets at your command, confident that You will guide me, even with all my weaknesses. And eight years later I can say that the Lord has guided me. He has been close to me. I have felt His presence every day. It has been a stretch of the Church’s path that has had moments of joy and light, but also difficult moments. I felt like St. Peter and the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. The Lord has given us many days of sunshine and light breezes, days when the fishing was plentiful, but also times when the water was rough and the winds against us, just as throughout the whole history of the Church, when the Lord seemed to be sleeping. But I always knew that the Lord is in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, not ours, but is His. And the Lord will not let it sink. He is the one who steers her, of course also through those He has chosen because that is how He wanted it. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. And that is why my heart today is filled with gratitude to God, because He never left—the whole Church or me—without His consolation, His light, or His love.

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“Will remain in the service of the Church” – Pope Benedict XVI’s last general audience

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 Always perceived the presence of God

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Pope Benedict XVI. said good bye to the faithful in Rome: he held his last general audience in front of 250,000 pilgrims and tourists. The Pope promised to all who came and watched via TV, that he will remain in service for the Church.

“The Lord gave us days of sun and of light breeze, days in which the fishing was good. There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds,” the pope said.
“But I always knew that God was in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, is not ours, but is his and he will not let it sink,” the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics told the cheering crowd.

Decision after intense reflection

Benedict XVI. said he had taken the decision of his official resignation after deep consideration, after he had felt that he no longer had the strength to fulfill the ministry. He made this decision for the good of the Church. The Pope thanked the faithful who had received his resignation with respect and understanding.

“I will continue to accompany the Church with prayer and reflection.”

Benedict XVI also asked for prayers for the Church and for his successor. “Often we speak of a demise of the Church, but she proves that she is alive,” assured the Pope. Several times, his words were interrupted by applause of the crowd.

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Moved to St. Peter’s square

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Benedict called “Emeritus Pope” after resignation

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The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, said on Tuesday, that Benedict will be called “His Holiness Benedict XVI., Emeritus Pope”. The pope’s title and what he would wear have been a major source of speculation ever since Benedict stunned the world and announced he would resign on Thursday, the first pontiff to do so in 600 years.

After his resignation on Thursday, Benedict XVI. is to be called “Emeritus Pope” (Papa emerito) or “Roman Pontiff Emeritus” (Romano Pontefice emerito). But one may also address Joseph Ratzinger with the title “Your Holiness”, Lombardi added.

pope-benedict-windowAs on how the outgoing Pope should be addressed in the future, had been discussed over and over again. “Emeritus Bishop of Rome” was a hot favourite. Lombardi also said, the 85 Ratzinger will wear a “simple white cassock” after February 28. While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico, and given to him during his 2012 visit.

However it remains open, even after the question of the title is apparently resolved, what role the “Emeritus Pope” will play regarding his successor and the Vatican.

No longer protected by the Swiss Guard

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Pope Decree allows early conclave

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Pope Benedict XVI has issued a decree today which allows to bringing forward the Conclave to determine his successor. According to the rules of 1996, the conclave had actually to begin between March 15 and 20.

With this Decree (motu proprio), the Pope grants the Cardinals to bring forward the start of the conclave, as soon as all papal electors have arrived in Rome, said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. Recently there had been speculations over an earlier meeting of the Conclave, after several cardinals had apparently voted for it.

The bringing forward of the Conclave, to the first half of March, will allow Benedict’s successor to better prepare for the Holy Week starting on March 24, and Easter which is on on March 31. There had been speculations in Rome now for days about a conclave beginning on the 10th or 11th of March. The date of the beginning of the Conclave is expected to be announced by end of Benedict’s pontificate.

Benedict XVI. announced his resignation for the upcoming Thursday – February 28. The rules which had been defined by Benedict’s predecessor John Paul II. in the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” in 1996, provided that the conclave has to start between 15 and 20 days after the Holy See has become vacant. The timeframe should allow the Cardinals from around the world to go to Rome. This time however, numerous Cardinals have already gathered in the Vatican to bid farewell to Benedict.

Lombardi had recently declared, the rules for the meeting of the conclave were designed for the case that a pope dies. With the resignation of Benedict XVI., the situation is different, and “it is possible to interpret the rules differently”. It is crucial that all Cardinals are gathered, and with the resignation announcement they had more time to do so.

The 117 Cardinals eligible to vote, which may not be older than 80 years, will hold their Conclave in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel. According to current knowledge, two eligible Cardinals will not participate in any way in the election – Cardinal Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja from Indonesia and the retired Scottish Cardinal O’Brien.

Open questions after “Vatileaks” and Pope’s resignation

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Vatican insiders wonder whether the scandal surrounding the unfaithful butler Paolo Gabriele has moved Benedict XVI. to resign. Many questions remain unanswered after the “Vatileaks” affair.

According to journalists and Pope biographer Peter Seewald, the “Vatileaks” affair was not the reason for Benedict XVI’s resignation. The betrayal of his long-time servant Paolo Gabriele had neither thrown the Pope off track, nor tired of office, Seewald reported after a conversation with Benedict XVI. at the summer residence in Castel Gandolfo last August. BBut the case of the stolen papal documents that have partly publicly accessible, is one of the most spectacular scandals in the entire history of the Vatican.

Rumours about reasons for Pope resignation

So far, there has never been faced a that close collaborator of the Pope with such serious allegations. Therefore it cannot be ruled out, that the bitterness in consequence of the scandal, as well as the factional infighting among the Cardinals in the Curia have encouraged the Pope in his decision to resign. On Thursday the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” wrote, that some Cardinals might be susceptible to blackmail, referring to a secret report regarding the “Vatileaks” affair, that three Cardinals had presented to the Pope on December 17 2012.

The report of the three-member Cardinal Commission about the scandal continues to be officially kept secret. Therefore it is still not known through which of the many duplicate letters and reports the Pope might have been susceptible to blackmail. Further there are circulating speculations, that the Italian intelligence service had obtained the material.

Open questions

After the imposition of a mild 18-month prison sentence against Gabriele and his pardon before Christmas, there remain many unanswered  questions about possible accomplices and the motives that may have led the 46-year-olds to the systematic theft of confidential documents of the Pope.

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Vatileaks: Ex-butler obliged to silence

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The former Valet of the Pope, Paolo Gabriele, who is been convicted of document theft to 18 months imprisonment, then pardoned, is committed to silence.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported, the 46 Gabriele has signed a document in which he committed to the confidentiality of all the information from his time in the service of Pope Benedict XVI. The document was written by the lawyers of the Vatican.

Even after the pardon Benedict had kept in touch with Gabriele. He had him and his family “proven interest and paternal closeness” it says from Vatican sources. Gabriele has started to work this week as a clerk in the Vatican’s Children’s Hospital “Bambino Gesu”, a hospital in the Trastevere district of San Paolo.

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Sentencing in October, pardon in December

The Pope had pardoned Gabriele on December 23. Thereupon he was allowed to leave the cell where he was detained since the conviction in October. Gabriele was convicted on October 6 by a Vatican Court, because he had copied confidential documents in the so-called  „Vatileaks“ affair and passed on to the journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi. Nuzzi published them in his exposé. According to investigations, Gabriele sent Nuzzi numerous copied letters and secret documents from the home of the Pope.

When the documents were published, observers speculated intra Vatican infighting had been the real cause of the breach of trust, one of the targets was Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. Nuzzis book had made worldwide headlines in the past few months.

Only one resignation so far

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Resignation is possible under Canon Law

Pope Benedict XVI. is only the second pope, who is retiring in about two millennia of Church history. Coelestin V. had previously resigned in 1294, after only a few months in office voluntarily. He died in captivity in 1296 .

A pope is elected for life, but according to canon law, a resignation is also possible . The head of the church does not even require to give reasons. Also, no one needs to accept the resignation specifically. It is crucial, however, that the decision to withdraw is entirely voluntary. The in 1983 by John Paul II reformed Canon Law (Can. 332nd Clause 2) states: “If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.”

However, before Pope Benedict XVI there is known only one voluntary resignation. Pope Coelestin V. left office Voluntarily on December 13 1294 after only five months. He was overwhelmed. Church historians speak of an unprepared and uneducated hermit who could barely speak Latin. The Cardinals had just elected him pope, because in nearly two years of struggle they could not agree on another competent candidate. Coelestin retired to a monastery after resigning.

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