'For the good of the church'
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2013, Thursday
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LOOKING tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of the faithful yesterday that he was stepping down for "the good of the church," speaking in his first public appearance since the bombshell announcement of his resignation.
The 85-year-old appeared wan and spoke very softly. He repeated in Italian what he told his cardinals on Monday in Latin: that he simply didn't have the strength to continue.
"As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005," he said, to applause. "I did this in full liberty for the good of the church."
He asked the faithful "to continue to pray for the pope and the church."
Benedict is the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, and the decision has placed the Vatican in uncharted waters. No one knows what he'll be called after February 28.
His final public appearances are expected to draw great crowds, as they may well represent some of the last public speeches for a man who has spent his life - as a priest, a cardinal and a pope - teaching and preaching.
And they will also represent a way for the faithful to say farewell under happier circumstances than when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, died in 2005.
"We were just coming for a vacation, and now we are getting all of this!" said Terry Rodger, a tourist from New Orleans. "I am very excited. I'm surprised."
Benedict was to preside over Ash Wednesday services later in the day to mark the official start of the Catholic Church's solemn Lenten season.
The service is usually held in a church on Rome's Aventine hill, but was moved at the last minute to St Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said the shift was made to accommodate the crowds, though it will also spare the pope the usual procession to the church. Benedict's final general audience will be held on February 27.
The 85-year-old appeared wan and spoke very softly. He repeated in Italian what he told his cardinals on Monday in Latin: that he simply didn't have the strength to continue.
"As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005," he said, to applause. "I did this in full liberty for the good of the church."
He asked the faithful "to continue to pray for the pope and the church."
Benedict is the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years, and the decision has placed the Vatican in uncharted waters. No one knows what he'll be called after February 28.
His final public appearances are expected to draw great crowds, as they may well represent some of the last public speeches for a man who has spent his life - as a priest, a cardinal and a pope - teaching and preaching.
And they will also represent a way for the faithful to say farewell under happier circumstances than when his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, died in 2005.
"We were just coming for a vacation, and now we are getting all of this!" said Terry Rodger, a tourist from New Orleans. "I am very excited. I'm surprised."
Benedict was to preside over Ash Wednesday services later in the day to mark the official start of the Catholic Church's solemn Lenten season.
The service is usually held in a church on Rome's Aventine hill, but was moved at the last minute to St Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said the shift was made to accommodate the crowds, though it will also spare the pope the usual procession to the church. Benedict's final general audience will be held on February 27.
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