Benedict XVI pledges support to successor on his last day as pope
Some 118 cardinals will commence a closed door gathering to select the next pope in the coming weeks.
Some 118 cardinals will commence a closed door gathering to select the next pope in the coming weeks.
Pope Benedict XVI marks his historic last day on the throne of St. Peter today, before becoming the first to resign from the papacy in 600 years. Benedict gave his final public mass on Wednesday and today sent off his 39th and ultimate tweet from his official papal Twitter account before boarding a helicopter bound for Castel Gandolfo, where he will begin his retirement.
Benedict pledged his unconditional support for the future pope today, telling cardinals 鈥淢ay the Lord show you what he wants. Among you there is the future pope, to whom I today declare my unconditional reverence and obedience,鈥� reports Reuters.聽
Some 118 cardinals will commence the closed-door conclave to select the next pope in coming weeks. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, and given the controversy surrounding the Catholic Church in recent years 鈥� from sexual abuse scandals to diminishing congregations in many parts of the world to polarizing public health statements related to the use of condoms and the spread of HIV/AIDS 鈥� many observers are voicing their opinions on what kind of pope the church needs.
According to 海角大神鈥檚 Sara Miller Llana, those in the developing world are hopeful the next pope will come from Asia, Africa, or Latin America:
Though Benedict will not play a direct role in choosing the next pope, his influence will still be felt, notes a separate Monitor story. He appointed numerous cardinals聽during his eight years as pope, all of whom walk a more traditional line.
There鈥檚 also the unique challenge the church must face of having a living ex-pope, something it hasn鈥檛 had to deal with for centuries. Benedict鈥檚 retirement 鈥渞aises a potential difficulty for the Vatican 鈥� that even after his retirement, he could become a lightning rod for dissatisfaction and dissent with his successor, whoever that might be,鈥� reports Nick Squires for The Monitor from Rome.
Once the new pope is selected, Benedict will retire in a monastery within the Vatican City, providing ample opportunity for the old and the new to cross paths.