Pope Benedict XVI to step aside on Feb. 28

2/11/2013

5 Comments

 
For the first time since 1415, the pope is resigning.  On February 28,2012, Pope Benedict XVI, who is 85 years old, is resigning due to old age.  He is said to be having difficulties walking and has been contemplating this course of action for a few months now.  The Pope says that to complete his duties fully he needs both strenght in body and mind.  He was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1927 and became the 265th pope in 2005 making him the the oldest pope elected in the last 300 years.  Although this announcement shocked and suprised almost everyone, it takes great courage for one revered as much as he is to
5 Comments
NickDiClementi
2/14/2013 07:52:39 am

Wow. This is interesting. You rarely ever hear about a Pope stepping down, due to the fact that they usually serve until their deaths. I do applaud him for his courage to step down when he realized he may not be able to put all of himself into his job, as a result of his old age.

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Katie Hill
2/18/2013 02:40:09 am

I agree with Nick; stepping down because he knew he was not fully capable of preforming his very time-consuming and important job is admirable. I'm sure that this was not an easy or quick decision for him but I admire his courage.

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Kate Ramundo
2/19/2013 01:43:58 am

Yeah, the tailors were having trouble keeping his robes fitted to his body because he had lost so much weight and he said he was going blind in his left eye. I think it was good that he recognized he would not be able to do the job well enough.

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Laura Renzi
2/20/2013 09:03:26 am

It takes a lot for a man in power to step down and resign. It is definitely a rare thing to happen. I think that it is great that he recognizes that his health might stunt his contributions and ability to do the job that he has. I think that this was the right thing for the people to do.

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Caswell Bennett
2/22/2013 09:06:25 am

This is very unusual because of the tradition of popes dying while serving. Although it is perfectly understandable for a pope to resign due to physical difficulties, I believe the pope's job has become too much of a media craze. His service should revolve around religion, not providing an image to the cameras and the world. If the pope's focus was more on religion then there wouldn't be so much pressure on his office to provide a strong exterior appearance. The pope will always receive a great amount of attention, but ultimately, his job should be singularly focused.

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