Benedict XVI will go down in history not only for having resigned from a position until then for life, but for having given life to the figure of pope emeritus, who is actually the one who inherited that condition.
He has set a precedent – a kind of voluntary retirement – that may or may not be maintained, depending on what his successors decide.
His resignation, an act of total freedom, practically without precedent if we except the dismissal of Celestine V in the thirteenth century, is a fact so outstanding that it will forever dominate the remarkable ecclesiastical biography of him.
His 24 years at the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, disciplining rebellious theologians and defending the purity of dogma;
his commitment to the traditional liturgy and his conviction that the religious mystery demands a certain aesthetic magnificence;
his many writings, including the best-selling three volumes on the childhood of Jesus;
his encyclicals,
motu proprio exhortations
and speeches delivered during his pontificate that testify to his status as a great intellectual... A single fact, his resignation, prevails over the others.
Joseph Ratzinger justified it alluding to the ailments of her age.
He lacked the strength to continue taking the helm of the Church.
He had already turned 78 when he was elected Pope on April 19, 2005, and had just been fitted with a pacemaker.
His was to be a transitional pontificate.
But no one imagined that its duration, barely eight years, would be marked by the interested party and not by the designs of the Most High.
Many understood his resignation as a logical decision in the face of the permanent rebellion of the curia that had made a fool of him with the
Vatileaks scandal
.
You will remember that a papal butler dedicated himself to stealing and making public letters and other confidential materials of the Pontiff.
But Ratzinger denied to his official biographer, Peter Seewald, two weeks before announcing his departure, that that scandal had anything to do with his decision.
He just felt powerless.
The explanation was convincing and the issue would have been settled had it not been for the many years that Benedict, who has just died at the age of 95, has been able to survive.
In fact, his emeritus stage has been longer than his pontificate.
And that detail comes to reopen the question.
What really made you decide to step aside to allow a new conclave to choose the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as his successor?
If he then he felt incapable of leading the Church,
one must wonder if it was not risky and to apply as pontiff at the age of 78.
And Ratzinger did.
He played a very active role during John Paul II's funeral and in the subsequent conclave, to the point of becoming the most solid promise of regeneration for a Church eaten away by scandals.
Was it about preserving at all costs the legacy and memory of his predecessor, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
And Ratzinger did.
He played a very active role during John Paul II's funeral and in the subsequent conclave, to the point of becoming the most solid promise of regeneration for a Church eaten away by scandals.
Was it about preserving at all costs the legacy and memory of his predecessor, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
And Ratzinger did.
He played a very active role during John Paul II's funeral and in the subsequent conclave, to the point of becoming the most solid promise of regeneration for a Church eaten away by scandals.
Was it about preserving at all costs the legacy and memory of his predecessor, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
to the point of becoming the most solid promise of regeneration of a Church eaten away by scandals.
Was it about preserving at all costs the legacy and memory of his predecessor, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
to the point of becoming the most solid promise of regeneration of a Church eaten away by scandals.
Was it about preserving at all costs the legacy and memory of his predecessor, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
before the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
before the imminent outbreak of the cases of sexual abuse that have shaken the Church?
Did highly publicized scandals push you to rush out of the Apostolic Palace?
We will probably never know.
His death leaves room for Pope Francis, yes, to consider a possible withdrawal to which he has already alluded on occasion.
Two emeritus popes at once would have been too much.
08:35
The ecclesiastical legacy of Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI thanks the volunteers of the World Youth Day, in Sydney (Australia), in 2008. Photo: Europa Press |
Video: EPV
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