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Home Page > News > Pope Benedict asks crowd of 50,000 to 'pray for me and my successor' at penultimate address

Pope Benedict asks crowd of 50,000 to 'pray for me and my successor' at penultimate address

Speculation over what led to his dramatic resignation has not diminished

IrishCentral Staff Writers,

Published Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 7:49 AM

Updated Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 7:49 AM

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Pope Benedict XVI

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The crowds were larger than usual at Pope Benedict’s penultimate address on Sunday, and the crowd heard him ask the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope.

The shock of his sudden departure, which is the first resignation in six centuries, has left many of the faithful at a loss.

What, they wonder, happens to papal infallibility when a pope resigns? Does it transfer to the new pope and take leave of the old? These troubling and unprecedented questions have arisen in response to the totally unexpected circumstances.

Meanwhile, according to the Irish Examiner, the crowd in Saint Peter’s Square reportedly chanted Long live the Pope and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. Benedict, 85, who will officially resign on February 28, thanked the large crowd, estimated at more than 50,000 people, in several languages.

As speculation mounts about Benedict's successor, a number of cardinals have announced that they would be open to the possibility of a pope from the developing world, be it Latin America, Africa or Asia.

They will make the decision without input from Benedict himself, however. After his Sunday address the Pope retired into the Vatican for a week-long spiritual retreat and is not scheduled to make any public appearances until next Sunday.

'In decisive moments of life, or, on closer inspection, at every moment in life, we are at a crossroads: Do we want to follow the ‘I’ or God? The individual interest or the real good, that which is really good?' Benedict said on Sunday, in comments that some have said relate to his own decision to resign.

Since he made his shock decision to become the first pope in more than six centuries to resign, Benedict has continually reiterated he made the decision 'for the good of the Church.'

Since he believes his physical and spiritual forces are no longer strong enough to sustain him in the job, Benedict felt he had no choice but to step aside and let a new man shoulder the task of leading the world’s some 1.2 billion Roman Catholics at a time when the Church is facing an international abuse crisis.

See more: Vatican , Irish Catholic Church , Irish Catholic Priest

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handsome68 | Feb 19, 2013, 06:25 PM EST

Your headlines are so ungrammatical and stupid. He's an old man. Is it a shock that he is asking that you pray for him now? Do you know what prayer is? I know many of youse liberal omadhauns have thrown out the baby with the bath water, but still.

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Carroll09 | Feb 19, 2013, 12:02 PM EST

No, Dr McHugh - papal infallibility goes back to Christ Himself. It was certainly defined as a dogma of the Church at the First Vatican Council, but that does not mean that it was "invented" only at that point. Most councils or doctrinal/dogmatic statements have the purpose of clarifying or restating a belief which may have been questioned at some point. For example, the Council of Trent using the term "transsubstantiation" to describe what happens to the bread and wine during Holy Mass does not mean that the Church did not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist until the 16th century - it was to clarify the Church's belief, held since its foundation, which had come under attack during the Protestant "reformation". The early Church Fathers confirm the long-held belief in the Real Presence. The same is true about papal infallibility. It is affirmed in the earliest days of the Church in the writings of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose of Milan and Augustine. Secondly, if the Pope only "became" infallible in 1870, then how could the same Pope Pius IX have declared infallibly the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Of course, to advance your agenda, which is merely to attack the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, you conveniently misrepresent the actual meaning and scope of the very definition of papal infallibility. It does not mean that the pope can do no wrong. Indeed, while Pope Benedict has done more than anyone before him to address the issue of abuse, even if he had erred in dealing with the issue it would not in the least disprove the dogma of papal infallibility as defined by Pius IX.

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DrMcHugh | Feb 19, 2013, 11:07 AM EST

"What, they wonder, happens to papal infallibility when a pope resigns? Does it transfer to the new pope and take leave of the old?" Papal infallibility is a man made creation since 1870, when Pope Pius IX had the arrogance to declare himself infallible. The often quoted phrase "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" was spoken by the English Catholic Historian Lord Acton who was totally opposed to Pope Pius IX 1) declaring himself infallible and 2) pressuring the bishops to confirm his infallibility. Certainly, when we witness the poor policies of Pope Benedict XVI in allowing clergy sexual abuse to flourish worldwide for years, with untold damage to the lives of so many victims, we can see that the Pope is not infallible. The Pope tried to protect the institution and the predator priests, and either did nothing for the victims of clergy sexual abuse, or even allowed the victims to be re-victimized by the church's denial of the truth of clergy sexual abuse. The only one who is infallible is God. Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Chicago, Illinois

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