Pope Benedict To Resign As Head Of The Church.

English: Pope Benedict XVI during general audition (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It looks like the Vatican is going to have to dust off it’s papal retirement package. For the first time in 600 years, the pope has resigned his position. Citing his advanced age and declining health, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will relinquish his duties as of February 28th. Benedict was elected pope in 2005, after John Paul II elected out of his papal retirement package by dying.

Pope Benedict’s legacy is not so good: his reign was marred by clerical scandals in the Vatican, as well as rampant cases of sexual abuse committed by many of his acolytes. Furthermore, in a time when church laws are continuously criticized as outdated, Benedict doubled down on conservative ideology. His papacy was highlighted by his over the top critical views on subjects such as Islam, homosexuality, and the role of women in the church. As pope, Benedict managed to piss off everybody not named Rick Santorum.

Benedict is the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. Gregory’s resignation came during a time of scandal as well. His resignation was an effort to end The Western Schism, in which the church was split between two papacies for decades. Gregory’s resignation was in tandem with the Council of Constance, which ended the schism, and resulted in a reunited church under one pope.

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