End of Days.

Pope Benedict is a smart man, and while I´m surprised and ask God to continue to bless him, he knows what he´s doing - what is best for the Church. I´m looking forward to finding out who will be the next successor to St. Peter.

This seems odd. JPII was severely incapacitated in the months leading up to his death; yet he remained in office. If this is Alzheimer´s disease, couldn´t they isolate him until his time? The Papacy isn´t a job you do and then retire when you can´t. It´s a commission from God that follows you until the end of this life. As I said, odd.

He must be very gravely ill. I suspect cancer or some other debilitating disease, possibly Alzheimers. May God bless him and give him peace in his remaining days.

God bless the Pope. He has realized that he cannot carry on with the multitude of heavy requirements of the job due to his advanced age. I just wish that more people would realize their physical and mental limitations which occur at an advanced age and retire -- i.e. politicians and judges.

Religious freedom is under attack on a scale not seen since the collapse of the last Caliphate. I believe he recognizes the need for full strength at a time his is receding.

Shocking.

God bless this good and holy man.

He must be worn out from covering up all the pedophilia going on.

He´s doing the right thing. I agree with poster above, that more leaders, be they political or religious, should follow his example. He´s not the first pope to resign, and hopefully, he won´t be the last.

Perhaps a ´Higher Authority´ urged him to retire. If he is having health problems the timing makes sense. Our 50-ish pastor has said that the Easter season is exhausting for clergymen. Someone new during the season the eyes of the world are on the church may be the best decision.

I believe there are many important differences here. Popes have resigned, but not in centuries. Pope Benedict XVI´s essentially legal mind (recall under Pope John Paul II he was Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith--the AG of the Papal Office) knew of the Celestine VI precedent at the time of his accession. Certainly it was on his mind seven years ago in what the Church had experienced during the long slow physical decline of JPII. I cannot speak for the Pope´s mind, but given the statement he knew his increasing (and seemingly fast-moving) frailty of body was not suitable for the challenges the Church faces now, and they are many and huge. This unconventional decision is rather in his character, and arrived at through much prayer and thought. While he will not influence the decision of the Cardinals, I trust that he sees what needs to be done.

He´s either so ill that he fears he´ll die before Easter or be unable to celebrate Easter Mass. (And now, let the haters hate. It´s what they do in their dark ignorance.)

This Pope is an evil man. He clearly helped cover up systemic pedophilia in the Catholic Church, and refused to even acknowledge the victim.

Good riddance.

I am surprised to see a true hater on this thread...perhaps we are being trolled?

If anything Pope Benedict moved quickly on the pedophile perpetrators once he became Pope, and there has always been some talk that JPII blocked their removal during his final years of illness.

We don´t consider Pope Benedict´s age in this because he has looked quite young for what he is--85, to be 86 this year. John Paul II died in his 84th year. Both humble in spirit, strong in faith, in different ways.

I do suspect trolls on this thread, because of some of the exceptionally ignorant comments.

Enough on this thread. There will be others through the day and perhaps the disruptors will have moved on.

Labeling those who disagree with one "haters" and "trolls" is pretty lame.

Cardinal Ratzinger was the legal adviser in the Vatican during Pope John Paul´s tenure. Ratzinger was the guiding force behind the hands off, let the archdioceses handle it, approach to priest abuse. At one point now-Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese (the largest in the United States) was called to the Vatican to advise on how to deal with the problem. He had hired a PR firm, known for its expertise in corporate damage control, to handle his problem in Los Angeles.

While I can understand the Catholic sensitivity, it is unfair to slam those who do have knowledge of what has happened. Who paid attention over the years to what was going on. When I last looked there were no perfect people on our planet. And that includes the popes.

Deleted by the Taste Police.

#10, we all know that for some people´s purposes, truth is not as useful as facile slander.

However, to regular L-dotter readers and lurkers, my advice is caveat emptor -- watch out for the “seller”.

Perk up your ears when the reporter has a well-earned reputation for honesty, experience, and knowledge, like :
--Ross Douthat at the New York Times
--John Allen at National Catholic Reporter,
--William McGurn at the Wall Street Journal and
--Phil Lawler at Catholic World News,

Don’t waste your time with:
--Laurie Goodstein at the New York Times,
--Maureen Dowd at Some Strange Place In Her Own Head, or
--oh yeah, Whatsizname, at #10, above.

And at all times, Caveat Crazy.