Thomas J. Craughwell - Popes Who Resigned: Benedict Xvi and 13 Other Popes Who Retired (or Were Deposed)

Popes
Who Resigned

Benedict XVI and 13 Other Popes
Who Retired (or Were Deposed)

Copyright 2013 Thomas J. Craughwell

All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in articles and critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication data on file with the Library of Congress

ISBN: 9781618901347

Published in the United States by

TAN Books

Charlotte, NC

Tanbooks.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

On Monday morning, February 11, 2013, the world awoke to the stunning news that Pope Benedict XVI had announced that he would resign the papacy effective February 28, 2013. At a meeting with a group of cardinals, ostensibly to approve the canonization of three candidates for sainthood, the pope, speaking in Latin, told the gathering:

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.... For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Benedicts announcement came as a shock. No pope had resigned in 600 years, and even Benedicts closest advisors had no inkling of what he was planning to do. The popes spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, told reporters, This announcement has taken us all by surprise. Father Lombardi went on to say that Benedicts closest aides were incredulous.

And Vatican insiders werent the only ones caught off guard.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he was greatly shaken by the news. Ezio Mauro, editor-in-chief of Italys La Reppublica newspaper, observed, It is unprecedented in the modern era for a Pope to resign because of physical frailty. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the hosts of the Today show in New York that he was as startled as the rest of you, and that the news had a note of sadness about it. Christine Boutin of Frances Christian Democratic Party said, This is shocking, very shocking, unheard of for the Catholics and certainly for the entire world.

His age is weighing on him, Father Georg Ratzinger, the popes brother, explained to reporters. At this age my brother wants more rest.

Angela Merkel, chancellor of the German-born pontiffs homeland, said, If the Pope himself, after thorough reflection, has come to the conclusion that he does not have the strength any more to carry out his duties, then this has my utmost respect.

Via Facebook and Twitter, Catholics and non-Catholics alike expressed their astonishment, and wondered how a pope could resign. Many thought Benedicts move was unprecedented, a first in the history of the Catholic Church. It is an understandable reaction, but it is also mistaken. Over the centuries, four popes have resigned, at least two were prepared to do so, and nine popes were deposed. Resignation is a legitimate option for all popes, as the current Code of Canon Law states: if it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone. (Canon 332, paragraph 2.)

Over the centuries, popes have resigned for a variety of reasons, and sometimes under memorable circumstances. So that the Church would not be left without a shepherd, St. Pontian resigned before he was exiled to martyrdom in the mines of Sardinia. The hopelessly corrupt Benedict IX resisted all pressure to resignuntil he was offered a large bribe. Celestine V was a seventy-nine-year-old hermit when he was elected pope, but he found himself so out of place as supreme pontiff that he resigned after five months (his successor kept him in prison until he died). The most dramatic resignation came in 1415, when there were three popes. To heal a schism that had split Catholic Europe into three hostile camps, Gregory XII (generally considered the legitimate pontiff) stepped down, and his two rivals were deposed.

Blessed John Paul II discussed the possibility of resigning, but ultimately decided to remain in office, spending his final years teaching the world that suffering is part of the human condition. Pius XII was prepared to resign if the Nazis took him prisoner. He had even planned for the College of Cardinals to hold their conclave in neutral Portugal, where they could elect a new pope free from any pressure from Hitler.

In this book, you will find all of these stories, as well as a discussion of the power and responsibilities of the pope, and analysis of the debate in favor and against a pope resigning his office. It is a debate that has been raging for centuries. In the years after Celestine V stepped down (in 1294), Catholics were divided over his decision. The question would appear to have been settled in 1313, when Celestine was declared a saint. But the next year, when the Inferno was published, readers found that Dante had placed Celestine in Hell.

CHAPTER 1

UPON THIS ROCK: THE RISE OF THE PAPACY

The papacy is the oldest institution in the world. The dustbin of historyto borrow Leon Trotskys famous phraseis heaped high with the empires, kingdoms, social and political movements that the popes have seen come and go. The Roman Caesars, the barbarian invaders, the Holy Roman Emperors, the Reign of Terror, the Third Reich, the Soviet Empire are all gone, but there is still a pope in Rome, and soon there will be a new one.

Of course, there is more to the papacy than a wildly successful, self-perpetuating organization. The pope is a religious leader with spiritual authority that extends over 1.2 billion Catholics across the globe. To learn how the pope could claim such authority, we turn to the gospels.

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:1819) Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. A second time he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:1517) Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. (Luke 22:3132)

These three gospel passages are the foundation upon which the doctrine of the papacy is built. The first passage, of course, is the most famous, the one most frequently quoted to support the Catholic doctrine that Christ gave authority over the Church to St. Peter and to his successors. (Visitors to Rome will find this proof-text inscribed in letters nearly six feet high around the interior of the great dome of St. Peters.)

Rome is the city of the popes because it was in Rome that St. Peter taught the gospel and it was in Rome that he was martyred about A.D. 64, during Neros persecution of the Christians. The oldest document to suggest that the bishop of Rome exercised authority over the churches is Pope St. Clement Is Letter to the Corinthians, written in A.D. 95. Clement wrote to heal the dissensions that had divided the Christians of Corinth into rancorous camps. The fact that Clement, the fourth pope, stepped in to sort out the mess suggests that his authority was recognized by Christians outside the city of Rome. Furthermore, we know that the letter was revered by subsequent generations of Christians: seventy years later, St. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, reported that Clements letter was still being read to the Corinthian Christians when they assembled on Sundays for the Eucharist, the Mass.

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