Pope Benedict XVI will be the first pope to resign in nearly 600 hundred years.
After almost eight years as leader of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI
will retire at the end of the month due to health concerns.
“Strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,” said Pope Benedict. This announcement came as a shock to the Catholic world but doesn’t take away from the Pope’s service to the church.
“Every pope teaches us something and this one taught us to be humble,” said Father Darrin Connall of the Spokane catholic church, The Cathedral of Our Lady Lourdes. “It was shocking to hear but there is something to take away from a pope who steps down from a position power.”
The pope is considered a worldwide spiritual leader and is in charge of every bishop within the Catholic Church.
“Unity is very important to us,” said Connall. “There is a sense of union within the church, like a shepherd the pope is the one who protects his sheep.”
The pope sends out letters to bishops all around the world as a way of being able to contact such a wide spread community. Even though he is the head of the church his influence is only supposed supposed to be an extension of the holy spirit.
“He is a custodian of what comes before him,” said Connall. “Some rules are set and stone for him to follow and others can be adjusted.”
Although the church is currently without a leader they look forward to the future of the church and finding out who will be appointed next.
“The pope is like a grandfather to us,” said Connall “There is a sense of sadness within the church right now but soon it will be excitement.” According to a Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, the church will have a pope before Easter.
Corbin Bronsch