Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of cardinals February 11 that he no longer has the strength to carry out his ministry and will resign on February 28. "I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," Pope Benedict said. He made his remarks in Latin to a meeting of cardinals who were gathered to vote on whether or not to canonize three people. The last pontiff to resign was Celestine V, who left office almost 600 years ago. At a quickly arranged press conference, Father Federico Lombardi told the media that there is no sickness the Pope is suffering from that is behind this decision. "It's something that happens normally in people with advanced age, " the Vatican spokesman said. Pope Benedict observed his lack of strength "over the past few months and courageously came to this decision," the spokesman said. He also stressed that Pope Benedict made the decision after carefully examining his conscience and the responsibilities of his office.
"This is an absolutely personal decision made with his conscience before God," he remarked. Fr. Lombardi said Benedict XVI respects the decision of his predecessor and that with his suffering he offered a great testimony to the Church.
The spiritual climax of the Gospel of John, as Father John Waiss points out, occurs at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus utters his parting words: “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27). While these words were addressed to the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Church has long understood this moment as a universal adoption. To truly image Christ, we must share in His parentage; if we embrace God as our spiritual Father but reject Mary as our mother, we treat Christ as a half-brother rather than our "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). As Origen noted as early as the third century, the profound depths of the Gospel are only accessible to those who, like John, rest their heads on Jesus’ breast and receive Mary into their own homes. This maternal role is deeply rooted in biblical typology, positioning Mary as the fulfillment of the great mothers of the Old Covenant. She is the New Eve , the mother of all the living according ...