Pope!Retirement

As-you-know-Bob, I have complicated feelings about Catholic hierarchy, and Pope Benedict XVI/his beliefs in particular. HOWEVER, I still try to pay attention to things that are going on.

Twitter jokes about the retirement of the Pope were mostly hilarious, but those aside, I am happy about the news.

On PBS last night, the guests were talking about how doing this makes the office more important the person - very different than the previous celebrity!Pope, John Paul II/JP2.
It's like making the papacy less of a monarchy (if you're still alive, YOU'RE IT), and more about...a necessary, functional role.

Thinking about JP2's final years, and how he was essentially incapacitated & what I now know about neurodegenerative diseases, I want to see someone in the position who is up to the task, who isn't miserable.

While Benedict XVI doesn't have any specific ailments, he has arthritis, some prostate problems, and has been advised not to travel. He doesn't want to do the job, & doesn't feel like he can.

I like the precedent: It's okay to stop working, it's okay to not shorten your life span by continuing to go-go-go, it's okay to let someone else step up and take over.


I don't have a lot of enthusiasm/hope for the next Pope. It'd be nice if the next Pope surprised me. It is hard to imagine having someone worse than Benedict XVI, I suppose.
Pretty much my only sentiment is, "Please, anyone but Timothy Dolan," but I am pretty confident that it would not be him. The Cardinals God tends to stay away from voting in someone from a superpower nation.