The pope is not stepping down, he’s just stepping back. He’s keeping his name, he’s given himself the title of Pope Emeritus and will still be addressed as ‘his holiness’, he is going to live in a building behind the Vatican, he will still wear white garments, and the secretary of the Pope will be under the new Pope by day, and with Benedict/Joseph at night. He’s losing his ring and his red shoes and ducking the responsibilities of a church in scandal. Seems more like an infallible form of cowardice to me. Wonder what was in the 300 page report only he and the new pope will be allowed to see.This is one reason why I hope there is life after death. I want to see all of these people who do evil in the name of God explain themselves.I just hope God is loving like Jesus said he was; merciful and compassionate as Muslims say he is; and forgiving enough to judge people by the love they showed others rather than believing and following the cruel rules laid down by religious leaders of too many congregations/faiths. A love that doesn’t care if a person was unable to believe in God, as long as that person showed love, compassion, and charity to the lives around them. A God who doesn’t care if we believe in him, as long as we live a life He can believe in.As I think of Benedicts predecessor’s final days, bent over and racked with infirmaties, the excuse Benedict gives shows he shares one quality with Congress – an unwillingness to face the difficult choices that come with the office he has accepted.
The pope is not stepping down, he’s just stepping back. He’s keeping his name, he’s given himself the title of Pope Emeritus and will still be addressed as ‘his holiness’, he is going to live in a building behind the Vatican, he will still wear white garments, and the secretary of the Pope will be under the new Pope by day, and with Benedict/Joseph at night. He’s losing his ring and his red shoes and ducking the responsibilities of a church in scandal. Seems more like an infallible form of cowardice to me. Wonder what was in the 300 page report only he and the new pope will be allowed to see.This is one reason why I hope there is life after death. I want to see all of these people who do evil in the name of God explain themselves.I just hope God is loving like Jesus said he was; merciful and compassionate as Muslims say he is; and forgiving enough to judge people by the love they showed others rather than believing and following the cruel rules laid down by religious leaders of too many congregations/faiths. A love that doesn’t care if a person was unable to believe in God, as long as that person showed love, compassion, and charity to the lives around them. A God who doesn’t care if we believe in him, as long as we live a life He can believe in.As I think of Benedicts predecessor’s final days, bent over and racked with infirmaties, the excuse Benedict gives shows he shares one quality with Congress – an unwillingness to face the difficult choices that come with the office he has accepted.
Respectfully,C.