Updates End
18.18 Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American Catholic, who is a rising star of the US Republican party said:
Today Pope Benedict XVI displayed the qualities of an excellent leader and a true man of God by putting the interests of the Vatican and the Catholic Church over his own papacy... I wish him well in the future and, as a Catholic, I thank him for his service to God and the Church.
17 :53 The pope's brother said he has known "for a few months" that Benedict XVI was planning to resign and confirmed that the 85-year-old pontiff was "feeling the burden of his age". Georg Ratzinger told AFP:
The reason for his resignation is indeed that he is feeling the burden of his age... I have known for a few months that this (the resignation) was planned.17 :25 Obama: 'I have appreciated our work together'
President Barack Obama has issued a statement:
On behalf of Americans everywhere, Michelle and I wish to extend our appreciation and prayers to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Michelle and I warmly remember our meeting with the Holy Father in 2009, and I have appreciated our work together over these last four years.
The Church plays a critical role in the United States and the world, and I wish the best to those who will soon gather to choose His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's successor.
17 :11 The Center for Constitutional Rights, which is pursuing a case against the pope and other Vatican leaders on behalf of victims of sexual abuse in the international criminal court, said that Pope Benedict's resignation will make international prosecution easier.
17 :04 Here is a summary of today’s key events:
• Pope Benedict XVI has resigned, saying that at his age he cannot carry out all his tasks adequately and is losing strength in body and mind. His brother Georg suggested he was finding it difficult to walk and had been advised to stop making transatlantic journeys.
• The pope will step down on 28 February. A papal conclave will follow to elect his successor, who will be in place by the end of March, and perhaps in time for holy week on 24 March.
• Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson, Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze, Canada’s Cardinal Marc Ouellet, and Italy’s Angelo Scola emerged as some of the leading candidates to succeed Benedict. One of the next pope's first trips abroad is likely to be to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day on 1 July.
• Benedict says he wishes to continue to serve the Catholic church "through a life dedicated to prayer". He will revert to his former title of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger upon his resignation, the Catholic church in England said. There was “absolute silence” this morning when the pope told cardinals the news, according to Mexican prelate Monsignor Oscar Sanchez, who witnessed his resignation.
• The pope made his decision over the last few months, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said, and it took all his closest aides by surprise. He will honour his commitments until he steps down. Lombardi said this was Benedict’s own personal decision. Upon resigning, he will go to the papal summer residence near Rome, and then will move to a cloistered residence in the Vatican, which may make life difficult for his successor.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the head of the Anglican church, said he had learned of the pope's resignation with a "heavy heart but complete understanding".
• The last pope to resign was Gregory XII, in 1415.
• Child abuse victims in Ireland and the US criticised Benedict for not having done more to deal with the scandals of paedophile priests in the Catholic church.
I'm going to hand over to my colleague Tom McCarthy in New York now for continuing coverage of the reaction to Pope Benedict's resignation.
16 :53 Here's the front page of today's Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.
He said: “The world is stunned. We don't see in the history of the papal world a pope stand down. It makes you wonder what's going on.”
McMurry said he personally held Benedict responsible for “decades” of cover-up of the sex abuse scandal in the US, giving the example of his instructing bishops to send more paedophile priests from one district to another. He told the Guardian: “It is a good day when a bad pope or a bad leader of your religion steps aside.”
English couple Hugh and Hilary Stafford Northcote were among4,000 knights, dames and companions of the Order of Maltawho were blessed by the Holy Father on Saturday in a ceremony to mark the 900th anniversary of the charitable body that has its roots in the medieval crusades. Hilary Stafford Northcote told AFP:
It is quite extraordinary to hear the news today but I must say I'm not at all surprised.He went right past me on Saturday, so close I could have touched him and he did look terribly frail.
As he came past me, he was looking to the left but he suddenly turned to the right and he caught my eye. There was a split second when he was looking right at me.
I must say I thought 'gosh' he's not very long for this world. But he has got such an aura of holiness. You feel he is a deeply holy man.
He did look very tired but he has still got the most perceptive eyes. He really looks as if he has an impressive depth of understanding. I think he will be greatly missed.
We are sad that he will be resigning but grateful for his eight years of selfless leadership as successor of St Peter.His resignation is but another sign of his great care for the Church.
As a pastor feeling pain in a stirring, private meeting at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, he brought a listening heart to victims of sexual abuse by clerics.
15.05 An Australian group representing the victims of sexual abuse has also reportedly welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, saying he had done little to stop "the reign of terror of child rapist priests".
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) issued a statement calling for the next pontiff to be more cooperative with inquiries into abuse claims, according to a report by the Australian Associated Press (AAP):
Victims welcome the resignation of a church official with immense power who has done so little to stop the reign of terror of child rapist priests.In the eyes of many victims, Joseph Ratzinger has personally done much to add to the huge number of victims and exponentially increase the suffering of those already harmed.
14.48 Wolfgang Schnapel, 34, a priest from Benedict's home region of Bavaria, said:
It was a huge surprise to me. I only heard when my mother called me from Germany. I think it would be nice if the next pope came from Africa or Latin America. And he needs to be younger than Benedict was - that would be a good sign to the Church.Nicola Signorile, 53, from Bari in southern Italy said:
We're very sad. I think it must mean that he is much more ill than we have been led to believe - perhaps even getting towards the end of his life. If he has made this choice, it must be for a very good reason.Flora Joseph, 37, a nun from Tanzania, said:
It's very difficult to accept. I have been saying to myself 'why is he leaving, why doesn't he want to continue?' But he is an old man and he has so many appointments and meetings. I guess he just has no energy left any more.
14.44 Who will be the next pope? Two African cardinals are among the early favourites to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, as the papacy could head out of Europe for the first time in the modern era, writes Alex Spillius:
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria are in the frame to become the first black pope probably ever, if not since the early Middle Ages.
With Latin Americans and a Canadian also among the unofficial contenders, the Roman Catholic Church could well elect its first non-European since the Great Schism, reflecting the growing shift in faith and power of the church to the developing world.
14.09 A group representing victims of child abuse in Catholic-run institutions in Ireland welcomed the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI after “he promised a lot but delivered nothing”. John Kelly, of the Survivors of Child Abuse support group said:
This pope had a great opportunity to finally address the decades of abuse in the church but at the end of the day he did nothing but promise everything and in the end he ultimately delivered nothing.We asked the pope for sanctions against the religious orders who committed the abuse and the religious leaders in Ireland who allowed this to happen but to our dismay nothing has happened.
13.12 Pope Benedict XVI improved ties between Judaism and Christianity which helped reduced anti-Semitism around the world, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel said. A spokesman for Rabbi Yona Metzger said:
During his term, the relations between the Chief Rabbinate and the Church, and Judaism and Christianity, became much closer, which brought to a decrease in anti-Semitic acts around the world.12.54 Pope Benedict XVI was beloved by traditionalists but was held in lower regard by the reformers who dominated the Catholic church in the post-war period.
The Pope rarely shied away from communicating in no uncertain terms his views on a wide variety of subjects, famously declaring that condoms were an acceptable form of contraception if used by male prostitues to prevent HIV infection, but only as "a first step" to a "more humane" sexuality.
Some more of his most controversial statements:
Abortion:
"Children are the major richness and the most precious good of a family. For this reason, it is necessary to help all people to be aware that the intrinsic evil of the crime of abortion, which attacks human life at its beginning, is also an aggression against society itself."
Atheism:
"It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice; rather, it is grounded in the intrinsic falsity of the claim. A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope."
Gay marriage:
"[There is] a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union."
12.40 The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has beaten the Archbishop of Canterbury into releasing a statement regarding the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI:
With the news that Pope Benedict XVI will resign at the end of February, the Christian world will miss a great theologian with great spiritual depth.
We should remember Pope Benedict communicated the revelation of God in a characteristic way as a true successor of St Peter. He was unafraid to proclaim the Gospel and challenge a culture that is so self-referential, managing to lift our eyes to God's glory. "Let us all lift our eyes to the glory of God, embracing his love and care for this world.
I am sure that many will recognise it to be a decision of great courage and characteristic clarity of mind and action.The Holy Father recognises the challenges facing the church and that “strength of mind and body are necessary” for his tasks of governing the church and proclaiming the Gospel.
I salute his courage and his decision.
I ask people of faith to keep Pope Benedict in their prayers. We Catholics will do so, with great affection and the highest esteem for his ministry as our holy father remembering with joy his visit to the United Kingdom in 2010. Pray, too, for the church and all the steps that must take place in the next weeks. We entrust ourselves to the loving providence of God and the guidance of the holy spirit.
Sono molto scosso per questa notizia inattesa @pontifex
12.05 The Pope's tenure has of course been mired in the sex abuse scandal that rocked that has rocked the Vatican in the last decade, and by that of his butler Paolo Gabriele, convicted by a Vatican tribunal in October for leaking secret papal papers.
AFP succinctly summarises the tone of his tenure: "His papacy has been marked by his efforts to revive the Catholic faith amid rising secularism in the West, as well as the scandals of child abuse by Catholic priests that was hushed-up for decades.
"Benedict has championed Christianity's European roots and showed his conservatism by repeatedly stressing family values and fiercely opposing abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage."
11.58 A nicely-put reaction from the Editor of The Catholic Herald newspaper, Luke Coppen: "Pope Benedict’s pontificate has been full of surprises. This is the biggest one of all."
11.55 Catholic commentator Mary Kenny has told BBC News the decision is reflective of Benedict's "intelligence" and that he had done much for Anglicans in the UK who no longer felt the Church of England reflected their views.
11.50 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has released a statement through a spokesman on the resignation of the German-born Pope this morning:
The federal government has the greatest possible respect for the Holy Father, for his accomplishments, for his life-long work for the Catholic Church," was the government's statement.11.38 Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1993, has told BBC News:
"Benedict has always been an extremely decisive Pope.
"If he decided he couldn't carry on he wouldn't hang around.
"[It is] fairly typical not only of the Pope but of the man," and added: "It is in the interests of the church if someone who can do them [his duties] takes over."
11.36 This may be the Pope's last tweet to his 1.5 million followers, from the @Pontifex account:We must trust in the mighty power of God’s mercy. We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new.
11.24 In a 2006 article for Catholic weekly The Tablet, Richard McBrien explored the possibility of a Papal resignation even then for the "frail" pontiff, mentioning that The Church's Code of Canon Law explicitly allows for it.
Mr McBrien adds there is a precedent of at least four and possibly six previous Popes who have resigned (in his words)
• "Pontian in 235, when he realised that he would never return from exile"
• "Silverius, who resigned in 537 under imperial threat, while also in exile"
• "John XVIII in 1009, who is thought to have resigned shortly before death"
• "Benedict IX, who abdicated in 1045 in favour of his godfather, John Gratian"
• "Celestine V in 1294, the aged hermit"
• "Gregory XII, the last pope to have resigned, in 1415, as part of a negotiated settlement at the Council of Constance to bring an end to the Great Western Schism (1378-1417)."
Last year the Pope started using a cane on occasions and recently he appeared to have trouble reading the text of an address he delivered in Rome.
There was no immediate official comment from the Vatican, but we will bring you the updates as we get them.
11.03 Good morning as we bring you the news that the Pope will resign on February 28.
Source : Telegraph, Guardian
Video : from 15:07 - 11:03 latest first
Video 2 : from 17:11 - 15:07 latest first
Video 2 : from 17:11 - 15:07 latest first
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