Living with an ex-pope
The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to renounce the papacy has been rightly described by many as courageous and wise. It requires great humility to acknowledge that one is no longer able to exercise the office one has been entrusted with; it takes courage to break a centuries-old custom, especially in an institution which is intrinsically suspicious of innovation, and quit the highest office any man can occupy.
“The light of Pope Benedict’s papacy will continue to shine for a long time, and it will guide the new steward of the Church in his difficult office.” (CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters)
It is also a pragmatic and practical decision made in the best interests of the Catholic Church by a man who always was a reluctant pope.
Predictably, the Internet was aflutter with speculations about the supposedly “real” reasons for Pope Benedict’s resignation, such as financial or sexual abuse scandals.
The eagerness with which many people engaged in conspiracy theories indicate a cheerless tendency towards interpreting the world through a cynical lens, as though there is no capacity for selflessness and goodness.
The obvious explanation, one immediately observable, relates to the octogenarian pope’s state of health, as he told us. It is deplorable that this should have been in doubt—but it also raises questions as to why there is an inclination to assume the worst of the Church and its leaders.
Pope Benedict delivered the statement of his abdication with characteristic surgical precision. He seems to have prepared for the moment for a long time—according to some reports, ever since he returned from his taxing visit to Cuba and Mexico in March last year.
Shrewd observers interpreted November’s elevation of new cardinals, the second of the year, which topped up the number of voting-age cardinals, as a sign that a new conclave was imminent. Few would have guessed how soon this would be.
Pope Benedict leaves his office with most of his business concluded; his mission has been largely accomplished.
The New Evangelisation project has been launched, the translation of the English missal has been implemented, the boundaries for the interpretations of the Second Vatican Council have been set, and so on.
Inevitably, there are some loose ends. The prospects of the schismatic Society of St Pius X returning to Rome, so fervently desired by the pope, have become uncertain. Pope Benedict championed talks with the society in the face of resistance from many bishops and even curia officials; now they may well be moribund.
The dominant question is how the barqe of St Peter will sail into unknown territory. Pope Benedict is the first pope to leave his office voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294, so there are no precedents to guide the Church in this time.
Celestine was encloistered after his renunciation of the papacy and died two years later. Indications are that Pope Benedict will likewise remove himself from public life.
There can be no other way. The new pope must be able to act—and be seen to act—without the shadow of his predecessor looming over him. As it is, any departure from the ways of his predecessors stands to be interpreted, at least by some, as a repudiation of Pope Benedict.
The new pope will not be able to exercise his Petrine function fully in the person of Christ if there is a flow of speculation, never mind leaks, of what Pope Benedict thinks about this decision or that speech.
No doubt Pope Benedict, the only man alive who truly knows the burden of being a pope, will be acutely aware of this, and support his successor in discretion and in prayer.
Living with an ex-pope will be a learning curve; perhaps one which future popes will benefit from. It is unclear, for example, what might be the consequences of a former pope making his writings publicly available. Is there any place in the public sphere for an ex-pope?
The light of Pope Benedict’s papacy will continue to shine for a long time, and it will guide the new steward of the Church in his difficult office.
We must be grateful to Pope Benedict for his selfless service to the Church, and pray for him.
We must also pray for the cardinals as they enter conclave next month to elect one of their own as the new pope.
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