Most conspiracy theories are nonsense but I felt some reason to suspect that Pope Benedict XVI resigned because he wanted to be there so he could ensure the "right" successor. In fact, I thought that he might have already pre-selected one of “his” Cardinals.
But then the machinations of
Machiavellian conspirators are foreign to me. So I called my learned
brother, Joris, whom I much respect as a theologian, scripture
scholar and church historian. What follows comes out of conversations
with him.
Setting aside the possibility of some dark conspiracy, Pope Benedict XVI resigned for two main reasons: first, he is tired, plain worn down. He fears he is no longer up to the job of containing dissent and, secondly, he fears a repeat of what happened when John Paul II was dying.
Setting aside the possibility of some dark conspiracy, Pope Benedict XVI resigned for two main reasons: first, he is tired, plain worn down. He fears he is no longer up to the job of containing dissent and, secondly, he fears a repeat of what happened when John Paul II was dying.
The Pope's resignation is the story of
his aging. The Pope is old, tired and infirm, though not particularly
ailing. He sees his dream of restoring Europe to St. Benedict's
evangelism fading, and he probably cannot grasp the cockiness of the
American church, where, for example, nuns are replacing bishops as
moral leaders. These changes makes no sense to him. Why doesn’t
orthodoxy, his truth, shape the moral fiber of the Christian
West?
It has been hard for him to accept the quasi-revolutionary Catholicism of the Third World, both Latin America and Africa. As Cardinal Ratzinger he had silenced Leonard Boff and other Latin American liberation, and vaguely anti-clerical, theologians. Similarly, the Vatican did not accept the French "worker priests" after WWII, men who were experimenting with small communities, who lived among the laity, who wore non-clerical dress, and espoused “a looser orthodoxy.”
Benedict XVI, along with John Paul II, did their best to fight for their narrower view of orthodoxy, picking bishops almost 100% of the time from priests trained in Rome, rigid in their conformity and hard-line against even discussing any innovations in the church. He restored Latin to the Mass where he could, restored traditionalists to the fold (even if one of their leaders denied the Holocaust), and he kept people aware that Muslims are the un-peaceful enemies. He is now tired of fighting the unorthodox in the church and on the planet.
At one time he was a decent, conservative theologian who, as pope, had written competent theological encyclicals. And his "Life of Jesus" will stand for a while. But his position as John Paul II's rottweiler, and his activity, or lack thereof, in regard to pedophile priests was at best irresponsible. He clearly feels some guilt - a feeling that has been creeping up as he deals with the United States, Ireland, Australia, Austria and God knows where else. To his profound credit, he has acknowledged that the problem was not outside forces but "the reality of sin inside the church."
In some ways, Ratzinger was always out of kilter with the insiders at the Vatican. For instance, his efforts to investigate the “Legion of Christ" and its pedophile founder were thwarted by Cardinal Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals. The Italians were more institutional than he was, and hampered him in some ways about the abuses of such men as Cardinal Groer, the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, who was said to have "abused every young man he could.” It comes as little surprise that an insider, the Pope's butler, betrayed him.
The tenure of Benedict XVI has been a very traditionalist papacy. Like the people he picked to be “his” bishops and cardinals, he chose conformity over conscience, orthodoxy over truth and conservatives over anything else at all.
The Pope's second reason for resigning arose from his watching the deterioration and death of his predecessor and friend, the charismatic John Paul II. John Paul had a strain of toughness, vigor and intellectual strength that can be a bad combination with incipient dementia. That is what often comes with the Parkinson's Disease he had for the last 12 years of his life.
It has been hard for him to accept the quasi-revolutionary Catholicism of the Third World, both Latin America and Africa. As Cardinal Ratzinger he had silenced Leonard Boff and other Latin American liberation, and vaguely anti-clerical, theologians. Similarly, the Vatican did not accept the French "worker priests" after WWII, men who were experimenting with small communities, who lived among the laity, who wore non-clerical dress, and espoused “a looser orthodoxy.”
Benedict XVI, along with John Paul II, did their best to fight for their narrower view of orthodoxy, picking bishops almost 100% of the time from priests trained in Rome, rigid in their conformity and hard-line against even discussing any innovations in the church. He restored Latin to the Mass where he could, restored traditionalists to the fold (even if one of their leaders denied the Holocaust), and he kept people aware that Muslims are the un-peaceful enemies. He is now tired of fighting the unorthodox in the church and on the planet.
At one time he was a decent, conservative theologian who, as pope, had written competent theological encyclicals. And his "Life of Jesus" will stand for a while. But his position as John Paul II's rottweiler, and his activity, or lack thereof, in regard to pedophile priests was at best irresponsible. He clearly feels some guilt - a feeling that has been creeping up as he deals with the United States, Ireland, Australia, Austria and God knows where else. To his profound credit, he has acknowledged that the problem was not outside forces but "the reality of sin inside the church."
In some ways, Ratzinger was always out of kilter with the insiders at the Vatican. For instance, his efforts to investigate the “Legion of Christ" and its pedophile founder were thwarted by Cardinal Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals. The Italians were more institutional than he was, and hampered him in some ways about the abuses of such men as Cardinal Groer, the Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, who was said to have "abused every young man he could.” It comes as little surprise that an insider, the Pope's butler, betrayed him.
The tenure of Benedict XVI has been a very traditionalist papacy. Like the people he picked to be “his” bishops and cardinals, he chose conformity over conscience, orthodoxy over truth and conservatives over anything else at all.
The Pope's second reason for resigning arose from his watching the deterioration and death of his predecessor and friend, the charismatic John Paul II. John Paul had a strain of toughness, vigor and intellectual strength that can be a bad combination with incipient dementia. That is what often comes with the Parkinson's Disease he had for the last 12 years of his life.
As John Paul II’s health declined, his self-confidence misled him to hang on, to reject change, to misunderstand and to act, to be polite, eccentric, in ways that his retinue cleaned up, much like what was done for Ronald Reagan. But Ratzinger was there and it is reasonable that he doesn't want to go out that way.
In conclusion,
his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has done all he could to ensure the
continuity of a very conservative, traditionalist culture in the
Roman church. Part of him is giving up now just tired out from
all the fighting - and losing. In so many ways his opponents have
been" “winning"-the nuns here, the Irish there, the
Australians. All across the board, the lower-downs have been
out-maneuvering the higher-ups.
Despite all his efforts, the once
potent Roman hierarchy has lost prestige and moral authority. Because
he sees that, this Pope is acknowledging: "Let someone else try
to fix it."
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