It occurred to me a while ago that the Pope is a very old man isolated amongst a savage pride of lions: powerful, ambitious and corrupt men.
Telling no one, he planned a public announcement: he will resign.
As of Feb. 11, 2013, 67 of the 118 cardinal electors were appointed by Benedict. The rest were appointed by John Paul II.
From: "Papal Transition" America Magazine The vast majority of these Cardinals are under 80 years of age. Because we are weeks from the date of resignation, all Cardinals have time to make their way to Rome by the resignation date so that the Conclave can begin at once. All, we assume, will call upon the Pope before he retires. All, I hope, will know the preference of the Pope for his successor. Today, Vatican news announced the Pope will have a "farewell gathering" with the Cardinals on February 28th.
This Pope wants someone in place before Easter, and the Cardinals are already going to be winging their way to Vatican City. What was most interesting in the story, was this:
Also during the course of the question and answer session following the briefing proper, Fr. Lombardi reaffirmed that Pope Benedict will be returning to live a life of prayer and reflection in the Vatican...I'll bet. It's like a clockwork, a well-thought plan to shepherd us through the coming tribulations, executed at speed and under the time demands of the Lenten season to get a Pope in place long before Easter. .
In a recent address (which I'm having trouble finding a link to) Pope Benedict XVI said that the Church had plenty of structure, what the Church lacks is enough spirituality. With his comments on the importance of the novissimi as he interpreted the 3rd secret of Fatima, I'm wondering when someone will trust us enough to let us in on the actual Secret and finally, over 50 years later, tell us what Mary wanted us to know.
It's going to be an interesting 8 weeks.
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