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Pope Benedict plans to be 'hidden from world' after retirement

First leader of the Catholic church to resign in nearly 600 years.

IrishCentral Staff Writers,

Published Saturday, February 16, 2013, 9:26 AM

Updated Saturday, February 16, 2013, 9:26 AM

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Pope Benedict XVI

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Pope Benedict XVI has said he plans to be “hidden from the world” after he resigns from his position of leader of the Catholic Church in two weeks time.

On Thursday the 85-year-old Catholic Leader met with thousands of priests from the diocese of Rome, where he delivered a 45-minute unscripted speech.

He told the gathering of priests: "Even if I am withdrawing into prayer, I will always be close to all of you and I am sure that you will be close to me, even if I remain hidden from the world".

In a statement announcing his resignation last Monday he said he would retire to "a life dedicated to prayer."

On Thursday a Vatican spokesperson confirmed the Pope had hit his head on the trip to Mexico in March 2012. However, he denied this had any “relevant” role in his resignation.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed the incident but said "it was not relevant for the trip, in that it didn't affect it, nor in the decision" to resign.

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KweenOHearts | Feb 20, 2013, 01:21 AM EST

Says rose528: **HE IS A PEDOPHILE AND SHOULD BE IN PRISON** And you have incontrovertible evidence for this claim??? If so, what's preventing you from taking your case to a court of law and have him convicted? -- Or, are you saying this just because you happen to have a keyboard and access to the internet? --- I say ROSE528 IS AN UNMITIGATED MORON AND SOMEONE SHOULD TAPE HER FINGERS SHUT SO SHE DOES NOT OFFEND THE INTELLIGENCE OF ANYONE WHO HAPPENS UPON THE IDIOCIES SHE POSTS ON THE INTERNET!!!

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rose528 | Feb 18, 2013, 08:41 PM EST

HE IS A PEDOPHILE AND SHOULD BE IN PRISON

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misneac | Feb 18, 2013, 08:24 PM EST

Many of the comments being posted are incredibly bigoted ! The impression that a 85 year man is retiring seems to create in some peoples mind that there is a an ulterior motive is mind boggling . Tell me a major worldwide organisation who at its head an 85 year old person . Pope Benedict has served the Catholic Church well and deserves some serenity at this stage of his existence Name me a bloody civil servant who "works " after the age of 65 ,never mind 85 !!!

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CitizenWhy | Feb 17, 2013, 05:53 PM EST

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon a decision was made for Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria to enforce a policy called Legitimacy, that is, the restoration of monarchs whose legitimacy as monarchs preceded the upstart Napoleon. As a result the Pope, as absolute monarch, was restored to the throne of the Papal States. A further decision was made to strengthen the Legitimacy policy by encouraging the pope to declare himself infallible and thus order all upstarts against legitimate authority, such as the Irish, to obey their masters. The English, Irish, German and other bishops voted against papal infallibility and it was defeated. But the pope simply waited for them to go home and then had the remaining bishops vote for it.

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CitizenWhy | Feb 17, 2013, 05:39 PM EST

To mreinhar2001 ... You missed a bit on papal infallibility, the pope is supposedly infallible when speaking "ex cathedra" on matters of faith and MORALITY. This includes papal interpretations of the peculiar roman catholic theory of Natural Law, a philosophic theory some of which is supposedly based on science but is in fact based on pseudo-science. The natural law theory is completely rationalized, worked out in the pope's head without any empirical observation. In addition the theory states that the sole and supreme interpreter of the natural law is the pope and that the pope's dcrees on natural law are binding on all humans of any faith or no faith and on all governments. Thus we have the bizarrre "infallibility" against contraceptives.

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CitizenWhy | Feb 17, 2013, 05:34 PM EST

To mreihar2001 ... I am well aware of the Roman Catholic theory of papal infallibility, a theory partly advanced by the British government at that time so that the infallible pope could order the Irish bishops to obey their legitimate masters, the British government.

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CitizenWhy | Feb 17, 2013, 05:30 PM EST

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mreinhar2001 | Feb 17, 2013, 03:36 PM EST

@WoundedKnee has some very good points and I concur with all of them.

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mreinhar2001 | Feb 17, 2013, 03:34 PM EST

@CitizenWhy: A correction, if you will. The person is not ifallible, the person in the office is infallible and then, only on certain matters. When a pope speaks "ex cathedra," he speaks infallibly on matters of the church, not other times. (If the pope eats a burger and syas, "That burger was way over cooked," that is not an infallible statement.) The last time a pope spoke infallibly was in 1950 when Pius XII declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus, the Christ) was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her life. So there would not be two "two infallible people in the church at the same time." Just FYI.

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CitizenWhy | Feb 17, 2013, 01:07 PM EST

Of course he will be hidden. Hidden because it would be confusing to have two infallible people in the church at the same time. And hidden because he faces prosecution based on his cover up of child rapes (Germany) and law suits from victims (International Court in Der Haag).

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Will Hamilton | Feb 17, 2013, 10:37 AM EST

Hidden? He should be buried alive for his crimes. He won't be travelling now because he can't hide behind diplomatic immunity any more so he has to avoid being charged with covering up child rape and torture by his troops around the globe. He can sit around with his fellow fugitive Bernard Law.

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CelticQueenUSA | Feb 17, 2013, 09:03 AM EST

I think this guy has a lot to hide and to hide from. Something seems off about all this.

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WoundedKnee | Feb 17, 2013, 02:32 AM EST

I think he is a good man, and wish him well. Hopefully this will put a stop to the crazy rush to canonize his predecessor. I was never impressed by the Polish Pope while he was alive, even though he got a free run from the fawning media. I think it is time to investigate how much the man from Poland knew of the sex abusers who have nearly destroyed our Catholic institutions.

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