A Season Comes to an End

by Donald Prudlo on February 11, 2013 · 5 comments

I have no insight into the reasons for the Pope’s decision, though I fear that rapidly declining health is at the head of the list.  How blessed we were to have a man who inherited the hardest job in the world, at an age where others feel the bitter decline of old age.  For eight years he has governed the Church with a steady hand, righting the bark of Peter so inundated by the forces of the world.  Perhaps he was fearful of manipulation by those who so often surround the centers of power.  He refused to let his bodily weakness be a vehicle for damage to the Church.  For all of these we are profoundly grateful.  His legacy in doctrine, liturgy, and theology far outstrips the relative brevity of his pontificate.  He is truly a worthy successor to St. Benedict, Father of monks and patron of Europe, to Benedict XIV -the shining light of learning, and to Benedict XV – the great Pope of Peace.

Perhaps in our initial shock we may have neglected to think of some of the advantages of this development.  Benedict will be able to advise his successor, ensuring a continuity of governance that will be unparallelled in the recent history of the Church.  He will be available for consultation and advice, and will be able to give the new pope “the lay of the land.”  In this way Benedict helps to disintermediate various curial interests which, like any bureaucracy, make it difficult to begin a reign.  I believe this will be the most orderly transition of authority witnessed in historical memory, even in an age of peaceful conclaves.  I offer one final thought: Benedict has offered us a witness of the exceptional sovereignty of the pope.  Truly he is the successor of Peter who has freely manifested his resignation, which can be accepted by no power on earth.  Such a demonstration of papal authority is astonishing in its constitutional implications.  St. Peter pray for us and for your successors!

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By Donald Prudlo

Donald S. Prudlo, MA, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at Jacksonville STate University in Jacksonville, AL.

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  • wbarquez

    Benedict XVI never wanted to be the Pope and we have to understand that the pressure and stress of the pastoral office is already taking its toll on the aging Pope. Perhaps he thought that it would be unjust and unfair to continue serving as the Pastor of the Universal Church with the creeping incapacity that comes with age.
    In 1997, Cardinal Ratzinger asked Pope John Paul II to allow him to simply become a librarian at the Vatican Library and sought to resume his academic career and write his masterpiece (whatever that is, but his three volume work on the Life of Jesus of Nazareth is already a magnum opus on its own). But the Pope did not accept the Cardinal’s offer. But of course we cannot quell the conspiracy theories and the wild imaginings that comes with the dubious distinction of being the fifth Pope in history to have resigned from office. And of course electoral excitement is in the air. Will it be the Italian Cardinal Tettamanzi, the African Cardinal Arinze or the Latin American Cardinal Maradiago? Will the future Pope assume the name Benedict XVII or John Paul III? Meantime, let us continue to pray for the health of Pope Benedict the XVI and wisdom for the leaders of the Church.

  • Orlando ,

    I am struggling with this decision. The Chair of St. Peter is not a political office that one can relinquish at will. It was the work of the Holy Spirit that placed Cardinal Ratzinger in that Chair. He can not just give it up because he is tired. Jesus too was tired and suffered greatly. He to wanted to give up, even asking the Father to spare him while in the Garden of Getsemany. But He didn’t quit. Further when he told Peter that he was the rock that He would build his Church on, He did so because He knew that the struggles would be great and the suffering unbearable but knew that Peter, and by extension all future Popes, could handle it , precisely because the Holy Spirit would guide them. This does not feel right and I pray that it is not a foreshadowing of very dark days to come for the Church.

  • JMC

    Sadly, we are all too aware of the political corruption that has long infected the beaurocracy of the Vatican; perhaps one factor in the Pope’s resignation is that, because he wasn’t playing the game their way, they made his life so miserable that, in his failing health, he could no longer endure it. Perhaps the overriding intention of his subsequent life of prayer will be for his successor. I know that’s where mine will be, as it was with Benedict.
    I was sitting in a college classroom the day he was elected; while we were waiting for class to start, some of us were browsing the Internet. There on the screen, in the bright red strip that MSN uses for “breaking news,” was the announcement that Cardinal Ratzinger had been chosen to fill the Chair of Peter. From the back of the room, one of my classmates uttered a very loud, heartfelt, “YESSS!!!” Of course, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he was already very well known for his firm stance (the MSM called it “hard-line”) on many issues, and Catholics of a more traditional bent had been hoping he would be chosen, so it seemed an answer to prayer when he was. Now, however, except for those who follow events in the Vatican closely, I suspect most of us have no clue who most of the possible “candidates” are, which is closer to the usual state of affairs. Many are hoping that the new Pope will be more lenient about the hot-button issues, as explained in another article on this site today. Boy, are they in for a BIG surprise.

  • JMC

    Canon law does permit the resignation of a Pope, and he himself said that he only made the decision after months of prayerful consideration. The responsibility of the pontificate is not one a man takes up lightly, nor does he set it aside easily. I sincerely hope you can set your mind to rest on this issue; my prayers are with you.

  • QuoVadisAnima

    Not only is it certain that Pope Benedict’s aging body is betraying him, but it is also possible that he may have learned that he is in the early stages of a form of dementia or something of equal gravity which would more than impede his ability to lead. We must pray for him & our Church – & trust in God Who promised us that the gates of hell would NOT prevail! :)