Is the Pope's resignation the result of one of the scandals?

[yellowcanine]

Pure speculation but there is a lot of stuff going on - from pedophilia scandals to financial chicanery, any one of which Benedict could be tied to. In particular, the timing in relation to developments in the LA scandal with Cardinal Mahony seems a bit suspicious. Wasn't Ratzinger the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith when Mahony's cover up and others were going down? Hard to believe he was not aware of what was going on at some level. The first Papal resignation since the 1400s would seem to have more pushing it than ill health as the precedent is for Popes to serve until death.

[morningfog]

1. A geriatric pedophile-protecting ex-Nazi.

So many reasons he should go. Too bad it won't be the end of appointing "perfect" popes.

[Mnemosyne]

2. His brother reported he was ill when he took office. No surprise. nt

[RKP5637]

3. It's a good way for them to reset the entire playing field, brush away the status quo, and bring in

new ... basically a major paradigm shift. Then again, he could be developing Alzheimer's disease, dementia or something like that ... or just in more bad health than disclosed.

[niyad]

8. the last time a pope was chosen like that, he died within a month--john paul I

you mean like the 30-day pope, john paul I?


(read david yallop's book, "in god's name" for a very mind-blowing account of his death)


Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I died alone in September 1978 only a month after his election to the Papacy. The suddenness of the death, and the Vatican's difficulties with the ceremonial and legal death procedures such as issuing a legitimate death certificate have resulted in several conspiracy theories.
. .

Rationale

Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of the events surrounding John Paul I's death — its inaccurate statements about who found the body, what he had been reading, when and where and whether an autopsy could be carried out, produced a number of conspiracy theories, many associated with the Vatican Bank, which owned many shares in Banco Ambrosiano.

Some conspiracy theorists connect the death of John Paul (in September 1978) with the image of the "bishop dressed in white" said to have been seen by Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto during the visitations of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917. In a letter to a colleague, John Paul had said he was deeply moved by having met Lucia and vowed to perform the Consecration of Russia in accordance with her vision.
Conspiracy
David Yallop's book

David Yallop's book In God's Name proposed the theory that the pope was in "potential danger" because of corruption in the Istituto per le Opere Religiose (IOR, Institute of Religious Works, the Vatican's most powerful financial institution, commonly known as the Vatican Bank), which owned many shares in Banco Ambrosiano. The Vatican Bank lost about a quarter of a billion dollars.

. . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_I_conspiracy_theories

[RKP5637]

10. Interesting!!! Thanks!!! n/t

[niyad]

11. read the book if you get a chance--as someone observed in another thread, the political

machinations make the pukes and dems look like amateurs.

[bemildred]

4. Who can say?

He has been a disastrous and reactionary Pope for The Church. But he is also very old and very unwell. And as someone else said, this may well be about arranging for a "suitable" replacement.

[longship]

5. I think he just is old and doesn't feel competent to continue.

However, all the scandals have to be wearing him down. Maybe he just sees that resigning now will give the Vatican a better chance to get above the scandals, as you suggest. Or, he thinks it would be better for the church.

But I would not think he was forced out. He might have been advised, but the Pope could pretty much say screw you I am staying, if he wanted. I would imagine.

I think the most likely reason is a combination of things like the above, but not "forced". The latter strikes me as CT.

[yellowcanine]

7. I think part of the deal of being Pope is no one can advise you to resign.

A lot of Popes have been old when appointed. It could be that the thinking was this time is that he was a "placeholder" to kind of stem the liberal tide and since he was old he would die soon anyway....Maybe he even made a kind of whispered "deal" before being made Pope that he would resign after certain things happened to make way for a younger and more charismatic person who could make the diet of reactionary policies go down better.

[BootinUp]

6. He's an intellectual trying to set a new precedent imho.nt

[get the red out]

9. The guy is very old

I doubt any of the scandals bother them much past the checks they are forced to write. My guess is that the Pope is suffering from some of the many problems someone who is 85 years old tends to suffer from, and at that age it isn't going to get any better.