The new pope is doing some redecorating. I quite approve. I may not agree with him, or the Church, on many points, but I do like the fundamental ideas that we should be humble and help those in need. This may not go directly towards those in need, but it does seem to symbolize the direction the church should go.
That Pope Francis is less ostentatious than his predecessor, and indeed less so than nearly a century of Catholic popes is hard to argue — earlier today it was announced that he’ll also eschew the traditional, opulent papal living-quarters for a far more modest two-room suite.
Dear friends, I’m happy to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of creation and your well-wishes which do me such good. Thank you for your friendship, and your affection. You know this day is different for me than the preceding ones: I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, or I will be until 8 o’clock this evening and then no more.
I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this Earth. But I would still … thank you … I would still with my heart, with my love, with my prayers, with my reflection, and with all my inner strength, like to work for the common good and the good of the church and of humanity. I feel very supported by your sympathy.
Let us go forward with the Lord for the good of the church and the world. Thank you, I now wholeheartedly impart my blessing. Blessed be God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Good night! Thank you all!
Off to the sunset he goes, the world’s only living former Pope.
It is deplorable that, as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave… there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions.A statement from the Vatican • Decrying reports in the Italian media, in advance of the meeting of the conclave to select a new Pope. Of particular irritation to the Vatican — an unsourced story in La Repubblica, Italy’s largest-circulation daily newspaper, regarding a special report by three Cardinals, conducted in the aftermath of the theft and leaking of the Pope’s personal papers by his butler. It suggests that the special report uncovered myriad scandals relating to sex, money, and the management of the Vatican’s bank, but CNN’s Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen finds the idea this hastened Benedict’s departure unlikely: “For the most part, one has to take the pope at his word: He’s stepping aside because he’s old and tired, not because of any particular crisis.” source
His last tweet as pope from his @Pontifex account (English version) will be sent out on Feb. 28, according to ANSA in Rome. As with Benedict’s previous tweets, his final message will be be sent out in 8 different languages via separate accounts.An ABC News report • Discussing Pope Benedict’s final tweet as the pontiff. For most people, our last tweet would not be worthy of a pre-game news story. But the Pope, who has 1.5 million followers on the strength of just 36 tweets, is apparently worth a pre-game. We’ll be holding our breath for the next five and a half days.
(Source: abcnews.go.com)
Here’s the initial CNN report of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. They have EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo on the screen, who was the only person who had an English-language interview with Joseph Ratzinger before he became pope, and Arroyo just sounds stunned.
Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both 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. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.
Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.
Benedict’s resignation becomes official February 28—and a successor is likely to be chosen by Spring. He has been in the position for nearly eight years. The Catholic Church has been quick to emphasize that he is not resigning due to any scandal—though he certainly was beset by one, with child abuse controversies casting a pall over his papacy.
Paolo Gabriele, the former butler of Pope Benedict XVI who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking his boss’ private documents, has reason to be happy today — he’s the beneficiary of a papal pardon. Pope Benedict visited him in prison today, to communicate the pardon in person. From a Vatican statement: “This constitutes a paternal gesture toward a person with whom the Pope shared a relationship of daily familiarity for many years.” Gabriele was reportedly released immediately, and has returned home. source
Things the Pope Didn’t Really Tweet, Vol. 1.
Wait, what are you apologizing for, ION? This is great.
The Pope tweets: So convinced he was going to start out with a Spotify link to a Smoking Popes song.
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Exclusive: How the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the...
soon
Yahumblr.
Google found the...
A Vatican official told CNN the pope will be composing the tweets for the new account himself. For the first tweet from the account, the pope will also press the button to send the tweet himself, but after that others will send the tweets on his behalf.
In June 2011 the pope sent his first tweet from the Twitter account for the Vatican news site, @news_va_en, to launch the new site www.news.va. He wrote, “Dear friends, I just launched News.va. Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”
His first tweet on the new account should be ”Just had an amazing mocha.” He’ll fit right in.
Holy miscalculation: The entire Christian calendar is based on a sixth-century monk’s ‘mistake,’ Pope says
The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, according to Pope Benedict, who claims in a book published Wednesday that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed.
The “mistake” was made by a sixth century monk known as Dionysius Exiguus or in English Dennis the Small, the Pontiff says in the book Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives.
“The calculation of the beginning of our calendar — based on the birth of Jesus — was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years,” the Pope writes in the book, which went on sale around the world with an initial print run of a million copies. “The actual date of Jesus’s birth was several years before.” (AP Photo/L’Osservatore Romano)
Yeah, it’s probably too late to change that.
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