Nine years and counting since he retired for his “health”.
PopeWatch: Not Dead
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
We were lied to plain and simple. And since that lie was public, has he ever publicly retracted it and apologized to the faithful? Imagine all the Catholics praying for his health problems that were serious enough for him to resign from the papacy. Were they praying under false pretenses? No father ever abandons his children. I love the man and he was a great pope, but he is a coward.
@FOS, I have to agree 100%. I doubt we will ever know the full truth this side of the veil. But I must share the assessment of cowardice unless we learn more that proves otherwise. It’s the only thing that seems to make sense given what little we do know.
Well, other than cowardice, it could be profound selfishness.
“Well, other than cowardice, it could be profound selfishness.”
Could be. Sure hope not. 🤷🏻♂️
I take exception to the above comments. The previous Pope obviously assessed his own limitations, physical and otherwise, and resigned in acknowledging these limitations. Would that more in other fields of endeavor had such honesty. Further, he was not responsible for the actions of the conclave in selecting his successor. I will concede that had he taken a closer temperature of the room, he might have expected a result not fully in keeping with the needs of the Church at this time.
The rot exposed in the
heirachy with the election on Bergolio is more distressing than his actual election. Without the Cardinals appointed by Benedict and John Paul II, there would be no Francis (Bergolio made a Cardinal by John Paul II). It will take a mistake on the part of the Cardinal electors for a Catholic to be elected Pope.
The previous Pope obviously assessed his own limitations, physical and otherwise, and resigned in acknowledging these limitations.
He knew the job was tough when he took it, having been around the Vatican since Vatican II. He also knew that the appointment was for life, the few exceptions being bad precedents. I think health was an excuse and not the real reason. The least Catholics should expect from a Pope is simple honesty.
I don’t think he wanted the job in the first place. I recall when he came to Sydney for WYD in 2008, he cam across as uncomfortable and awkward in the role. I suspected at the time that he didn’t like the spotlight or the constant interaction with people, which the role required. Remember he had big shoes to fill after StJP2.
I suspect also, he was blackmailed and used health as an excuse. For this I’ll cut him some slack because what could he have done if he was being blackmailed…?
Being blackmailed to resign means that the resignation was invalid.
I too think he was “blackmailed,” of a sort. Or rather, that some highly unfavorable/unfortunate information or “bad optics” might have come out regarding JPII, or perhaps Benedict himself if he had remained in office. Something he thought would really tarnish the reputation of JPII (or Benedict) and made it impossible for him to “be Pope.”
.
I think JPII and Benedict were/are good men, but not without flaws, and probably didn’t have the best judgement of other people. Benedict may not have understood how bad things could get once he resigned.
I am hoping there is a testament that Benedict has composed in hard copy and placed in the care of his cousin in Australia, and that she will make it public after his death.
Perhaps he was following an intuition or inspiration from the Lord or from the Mother of God, that this would work in God’s mysterious way to bring the sore infection to a head, expose and defeat the seemingly undefeatable enemy.
Perhaps God has preserved his life
(remember the “smiling pope”)
All of the host of heaven is engaged, I think, and God’s will is bring done, as per ususl, through human agency and events.
I beleve B16 is a good honest man, and still our pope.
I am hoping there is a testament that Benedict has composed in hard copy and placed in the care of his cousin in Australia, and that she will make it public after his death.
What could be in it that would have to wait until his death to release? Jesus said “… what you hear in whispers shout from the rooftops” … nothing about writing it down for later release after we’re out of harm’s way. 🙂
I’m inclined to think the worst about this, after all the Francis nonsense, but charity demands we at least acknowledge the possibility that he was being truthful. That he felt in very ill health. No doubt being removed from the constant stress of that job would be therapeutic.
What could be in it that would have to wait until his death to release?
No clue. You notice he hasn’t yet said anything about his departure that wasn’t a pretext.
I have just finished reading “Murder in the 33rd.Degree” by Fr. Charles Murr, concerning the Pope Paul VI instigated investigation into Freemasonry in the Vatican, Carried out from 1972 to 1975 by Archbishop Gagnon. Very interesting when taken in tandem with Taylor Marshall’s “Infiltration”, & he may have seen it. And then there was Fr. Oko’s report on homosexuality in the Vatican which Benedict read, & resigned not a long while after. I think he did not feel strong enough to “Face the Wolves”, that he prayed to be spared from at the commencement of his pontificate. He could not have predicted that his successor would be the Anti-pope Francis. I say anti-pope, because Francis has worked assiduously to undo much of what Benedict put in place, and Francis’ contradiction of several previous popes.
Given that Benedict’s writings were instrumental to my conversion, I deeply want to have a very positive opinion of his papacy, in which he did some great things. Unfortunately, I think that the retirement years have effectively cancelled a lot of it out, and in my view he is at least partially responsible for that. He could have donned a black cassock and gone home to Germany to live out his days in prayer and fasting; instead, he’s still in Rome with many of the papal trappings, which is not only confusing, but also, IMO, provides tacit approval for Francis’ agenda. This is further compounded by the fact that Francis seems to be systematically dismantling the teaching and legacy of Benedict’s precursor AND of Benedict himself, and he’s still there taking it. Granted, the confusion and theories over Benedict’s current role are somewhat fringe, but also entirely unnecessary and completely avoidable. The tacit approval (with few exceptions) is far worse and is IMO one of the most disastrous aspects of his retirement.
I want to believe he thought the state of his health was insurmountable and that’s the sole reason for the abdication. What I find difficult to reconcile is why he is still there effectively LARPing as a quasi-pope for longer than he was pope. In charity I have to assume he doesn’t receive much info about what’s going on, because otherwise I’d be loathe to think he could be aware and not be like St. Paul getting in St. Peter’s face. It might not be a bad thing for him to live up to his (deserved or not) reputation as a rottweiler one last time.
I think he is still the pope, and so he wears the white and remains on hand. Francis has said thst he (Francis) is not the Vicar of Christ.
The wolves are defeated but they don’t know it yet.
In charity, we know practically nothing about what happened, and should fear to tread into speculation. No one endangers his soul through obedience to the Church, and just as you wouldn’t treat a marriage as null if the Church hasn’t said so, you can’t treat a papacy as null on mere speculation.
and should fear to tread into speculation.
You wish to be afraid? Please yourself.
from the Catholic Encyclopedia – “Fear is an unsettlement of soul consequent upon the apprehension of some present or future danger.”