Could Maureen Mullarkey's blog post today, and the article by David Warren it links to, shed some light on the abrupt (or so it seems) resignation of Pope Benedict XVI?
Like most everyone else, my initial reaction to the news was one of shock, but not disbelief. The shock didn't last long either. What follows was a profound admiration for the man I had come to love and trust. Whatever the reasons beside what he cited for the dramatic departure, the decision itself is positive proof that this is not a conventional pope: he does not hesitate, he does not dither, he takes matters into his own hands and intellect. The silence he jolts us into is not a void, but rather a witness of the utter trust in the power higher than he. I guess this is why so many are calling it an act of humility. It is as if he is showing us how to cast our cares, even one tremendous as steering a massive church, into the hand of the Holy Spirit, then humbly but confidently recede into the background vapors of Providential movement.
That Pope Benedict XVI is the first in four hundred plus years to do so, puts in proper perspective just how unconventional the act is. For that, I love you so much more, Papa.
To be sure, a gift to be unwrapped for the rest of the lenten season.
Very good points. I was shocked but after it settled in I understood. Plus there was a vacuum in the church the last year or so of JPII's life. I think B16 wanted to avoid that. I choked up when I read his statement. It was such an act of humility.
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