Pope Benedict XVI will resign Feb. 28th, 2013

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/11/us-pope-resigns-idUSBRE91A0BH20130211

Obviously, this is the first time in history since the 1400s

Speculation is rampant. Is he dying? Is he gaga? Is there some scandal that he can't or won't deal with coming down the pipe?

Or is he just sick and tired of sitting atop this whole strues stercoris?

Whatever the cause, let this serve as a useful precedent for his successors. Cardinals electing a younger man (Oh, the precedents yet to be made), must be concerned with another 20+ year pontificate. Electing a man closer to the 80 year cutoff, and they risk an early physical decline.

But with a real and practical opportunity to retire, a pope can be elected in his relatively vigorous 60's, serve a good decade and then retire.

It's a pity that this article could not have been written about this bloody Pope instead:

A man whose idea of modernization is to open a twitter account to spew the same old things as before. Religion is obsolete anyways.

Having said that, I doubt this was due to advanced age.

My guess is senility; he's probably been advised to step down before he makes a (bigger) ass of himself in public.

Someone who preaches peace and tolerance is an "ass of himself." Nice to know that....

So...

How does that prophecy go again?

Only two more popes after the 'current one'(the one who is retiring now) until the last one- who will be named "Peter the Roman"?

Things are moving along faster than expected maybe?

As most of my people haven't been Catholic since the 16th century, you have to explain this "prophecy" thing to me.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Quo Vadis, Beniamin?

I read about that prophecy when I was a kid. Essentially, an Irishman in the 11th century whose name I believe was Malachy, made a list of all the popes who would reign until the end of either the world or the Church, depending on who you ask. He gave short descriptive phrases to each one, never naming them. According to Malachy, Benedict XVI is the last pope before the FINAL pope, "Petrus Romanus" or Peter the Roman. According to some traditions, Peter the Roman will be the servant of Satan, either the Antichrist himself or the right hand man of the Antichrist. Some say that Jesus will come after the reign of Peter the Roman. PTR is traditionally associated with a scary woodcut showing a man in papal regalia standing in a river surrounded by spears, and a poem suggesting, if my hazy memory serves, that during his reign the world will rise up against the Catholic Church. Off I go to find more info...

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

The Pope about to be elected is Peter of Rome, after who "the city of seven hills shall be destroyed, and the terrible judge will judge his people". It should be noted that the veracity of this poem cannot be ascertained, and even the Prophecy itself is in doubt. It only came to light in the 16th century, and was attributed to St. Malachy, however the writer who did so never produced an original manuscript, and it has been noted that the Prophecy is similar to the prophecies of Nostradamus, whose Centuries were then popular and widely read (in 1595, when the Prophecy was published). Some have suggested that Nostradamus wrote the Prophecy and attributed it to Malachy. The official position of the Catholic Church is that the Prophecy is a forgery, and even if it is not it is divination, which is forbidden in the Bible. Catholics are forbidden from seeing fortunetellers due to the Biblical pronouncements against divination and soothsaying. It should be noted that there is no record of Malachy having visited Rome in 1190, nor of him being received by Pope Innocent III.

Tequila, the whole affair reminds me of what many Scientologists say about their trippy UFO cult-Hubbard had the right idea, it's the guys who came later who mucked it all up. Catholics have been leaving in droves, no longer able to trust their own church. If Catholics can't trust their own church, who can they trust? Evangelical pastors in America and Europe routinely spiritually (and worse) abuse their flocks. Protestantism has sunk into a quagmire of liberalism from which it seems unable to extricate itself. I was once told that at the end of time, Jesus will come and toss 100% of humanity into Hell, for none of us are left untouched by the stench of evil.

Does he revert to being a Cardinal?or just called Former Pope?

I blame twitter. All those hateful messages.

Apparently. He never gave up being a Cardinal when he became the Bishop of Rome.

ruveyn

Someone who tells people not to wear condoms because it's a sin, someone who protects pedophiles is an "ass of himself". It's more the chuch's fault than his alone, though.

Interesting. The last pope to resign did so over 500 years ago in 1413; that was Martin V who resigned to end the papal schism between the Avignon-Rome papacy.