resigning popes

Still reeling from the news that Benedict XVI is going to step down.  This is, of course, virtually unheard of.  And while people keep insisting that the last pope to resign was Gregory XII, this is only true to a point.  Gregory resigned as a result of pressure from the Council of Constance, in order for the schism in the Church to be healed.  This is not quite the same sort of resignation, is it?

Perhaps Celestine V's resignation in 1294 is a better comparison, since Celestine left office (as far as we know) of his own volition.

The resignation of Celestine was believed to have apocalyptic implications, so we will have to see what comes next.  Here is an image of Celestine V from the Vaticinia de summis pontificibus, or "Pope Prophecies" from the Kremsmünster Stiftsbibliothek.  Notice the wolf who is after his tiara.  Not good.



At any rate, it is shocking.  Popes don't resign.  The fact that we know of one, or possibly two, popes who have simply resigned in 1600+ years demonstrates the magnitude of this event.

This transforms the position of the pope, who, as representative of Christ on earth, is infallible according to current doctrine.  While the resignation of a pope for health reasons does not contradict this position, it underlines the difference between the man and his office.  This distinction opens the way for a reconsideration of the role of the papacy and the nature of its office.