The Two Popes [antikvár]

PROLOGUE On February 11, 2013, a seven-hundred-year-old tradition was shattered: Pope Benedict XVI, former protector of doctrine and loyal heir of the long-suffering John Paul the Great, made a startling announcement. After eight years in the papacy, he would, owing to his advanced age, resign, but would retain the title of "Pope Emeritus" for his lifetime. Within weeks, the great doors of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican were sealed and the cardinals, drawn into conclave for the second time in less than a decade, were asked to choose a new spiritual leader for the Catholic Church's 1.28 billion followers. When the doors opened again a few days later, the charismatic Argentinian Jorge Bergoglio, who would take the name Francis, had been elected. The world, for the first time since the year 1415, had two living popes. The reasons for Benedict's cataclysm became fodder for speculation. A pope, surely, must die on the job. Wasn't this an integral part of the job description? Not just tradition; it was virtually dogma. As The Washington Post, citing a theological expert, explained: "Most modern popes have felt that resignation is unacceptable except in cases of an incurable or debilitating disease—that paternity, in the words of Paul VI, cannot be resigned." Pope Benedict's resignation was not entirely unprecedented, nor was the dilemma of two living popes. In the long history of the church, three popes have now resigned, while 263 did not. Pope