Pope Benedict XVI |
Pope Benedict XVI was spending his last night in his
Vatican apartments Thursday after bidding an emotional farewell to
150,000 pilgrims in St Peter's Square on the eve of his historic
resignation.
The German pontiff was greeted with whoops, chants and cheers. Huge
banners carried messages such as "Benedict, we'll miss you!" and "The
pope is the heart of this city!"
In his speech, the 85-year-old spoke of "stormy waters" in an
apparent reference to the multiple scandals that have plagued his reign,
and said he had decided to resign for the good of the Roman Catholic
Church.
"The Lord gave us days of sun and of light breeze, days in which the
fishing was good," said the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
"There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds... as if God was sleeping.
"But I always knew that God was in that boat and I always knew that
the boat of the Church is not mine, is not ours, but is his and he will
not let it sink," he said, adding: "I never felt alone."
papacy The former Joseph Ratzinger stunned the world with his abrupt
decision to end an eight-year reign dogged by scandal and Vatican
infighting, declaring he was too weak to keep up with the modern world.
The scourge of paedophile priests and cover-ups by their superiors
and a longstanding money-laundering scandal at the Vatican bank, which
exposed infighting among Benedict's closest allies, cast a shadow over
his papacy.
What observers said may have been the last straw was the "Vatileaks"
scandal, in which his trusted butler leaked secret papal memos revealing
intrigues between rival groups of cardinals.
Wednesday's crowds however did not dwell on the scandals.
-- 'Resigning a powerful message' --
"I have come in gratitude for everything he has done these past eight
years," said Father Giulio, a 67-year-old priest from Italy's Abruzzo
region.
resign "Resigning is a powerful message for every Christian. He
resigned without bitterness but instead in sweetness and serenity," he
said.
Benedict is the first pope to resign of his own free will since the Middle Ages.
While the move has worried conservatives, it has kindled the hopes of
Catholics around the world who want a successor to breathe new life
into the Church.
"I admire Benedict, but I hope the next pope will have the strength
to unite the Church and help it grow again -- and bring back a bit of
morality," said Sharon Clark, a tourist from the United States.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, himself a Catholic, wished Pope Benedict XVI well on the eve of his departure.
Castel Gandolfo "The United States sends its best wishes to His
Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as he leaves the Vatican after years of
service and dedication to God, the Catholic Church, and world peace,"
said Kerry in statement.
The Vatican has said Benedict will receive the title of "Roman
pontiff emeritus", can still be addressed as "Your Holiness" and will
wear the white papal cassock after he officially steps down at 1900 GMT
on Thursday.
Benedict will spend the first few weeks of his retirement at the summer papal residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.
There he will be well away from the preparations and consultations
ahead of next month's secret conclave to elect his successor, but in due
time he will return to the Vatican to take up residence there.
Rome has been gripped by speculation over who the leading candidates
might be to replace him -- the so-called "papabili" -- as cardinals from
around the world fly in ahead of the conclave.
Rumours and counter-rumours in the Italian media suggest
cloak-and-dagger lobbying, prompting the Vatican to condemn what it has
called "unacceptable pressure" to influence the papal election.
One of them, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Peru, said he was
confident they would elect a new pope before Holy Week, the event-laden
run-up to Easter, Christendom's most important observance, on March 31.
"The coordination meetings have not begun and no decision has yet
been made on when the conclave will be held, but I clearly expect that
before Holy Week we will have among us a new holy father," he said.
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