THE announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation on Monday shocked the Catholic community around the world, including our kababayans.
This has never happened in 600 years, and many wondered why the pope would step down from his post, after only seven years of leading the Roman Catholic Church.
But during the Ash Wednesday mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the 86-year old pontiff told his faithful followers that he had made his decision “in full liberty for the good of the church,” because he no longer had the strength needed to carry out the duties of the papacy.
Pope Benedict’s last day will be on February 28. According to Vatican Spokesperson Rev. Federico Lombardi, the pope will be bidding farewell to cardinals in the morning. He then plans to fly by helicopter in the afternoon to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, in the hills outside Rome. His resignation will take effect at 8pm local time.
Lombardi said Benedict’s meeting with cardinals will be informal and very personal. He added that Benedict is expected to go into isolation after his resignation, so as not to influence the decision of the cardinals, when they elect a successor in a secret conclave.
The conclave to choose the next pope will reportedly begin in the middle of March. A new leader of the church is expected to be in place by Easter, which falls on March 31 this year.
According to Reuters, Manila Archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is among the list of potential candidates. While no official list has been made public yet, Reuters’ list reportedly included the 55-year-old Tagle, who has been reportedly compared to the late Pope John Paul II, in terms of leadership style.
Our readers and other kababayans from different parts of the world shared different opinions about the Pope’s resignation and about how this may affect the future of the Catholic Church. Could the next pope revitalize the Catholic Church?
Here are some of their comments:
“Tama ang sabi niya. Kung hindi na kaya [ng] kanyang katawang tao, mabuti na ngang iba na [ang gumawa] nito.Maraming balakid at problema ang mga Romanus Catolico na dapat harapin in the name of Jesus. Amen.” – Edliberto Natividad
“Moving humility from Pope Benedict — acknowledgment of our human limitations of age and health. Sign of hope for reform in our Church.” – Rissa Hontiveros
“I didn’t know the Pope could resign. How can you resign if you were ‘Chosen by God?’ Do you send him a letter or something?” – Sazzle
“I’m still bothered by this… that’s like me saying, ‘I don’t want to be a mom anymore,’ when I feel I can’t be a good mother to my now adult children.” – Dolly Pangan Specht
“He is a weak kind of pope. The late Pope John Paul II, though he was very sick, still served his beloved Church up to his last breath. But Benedict XVI resigned, claiming that he is too old and weak and afraid that he can’t perform well as a head of Roman Catholic?” – Adrain Villanueva
“I find it unfair for the Pope to be called weak. His admittance of poor health condition, as the reason of his resignation, is not and cannot be interpreted as him being a ‘weak pope!’ Like his predecessor, Pope Benedict has many achievements to be proud of. I think any Pope can revitalize the Catholic Church, only if many of his bishops will be OPEN to many CHANGES that the Church needs to fit in the fast pace of this Century and the next millennium. For one, the new elected Pope can and must prohibit his Cardinals/Bishops to engage in politics. Instead, they should FOCUS on morale upliftment of the young, revisit some OLD traditions and CHANGE it. They should take advantage of TECHNOLOGY to promote spritual values.” – Edwin Nunez
“A Pope should possess charisma, especially for the younger ones, but there shouldn’t be any changes when it comes to doctrines. Look at the religion Islam, they never change anything and yet the Muslims still embrace it so much. They have so much respect for their religion. There are people, especially in America, who always ask to change some of the doctrines. Well, if they are not happy being a Catholic, why don’t they just join other religions? If the doctrines will be changed, what will happen to the Catholic religion? People will not be satisfied and will keep on wanting more changes, until everything will be in chaos.” — Ana Simpatica Rodrigues Villanueva
“The Catholic Church IS VITALIZED…no need for ‘revitalization’ like what secular media is hyping.” – James Bonita
“How can a Pope, with all his good intentions, connect the Catholic Church with the changing world, if 95 percent of his people are orthodox, and would have the tendency to question him, if ever his strategies do not go by his people’s traditions?” — Randolph B. de Leon
“I think change would be good. I mean yes, tradition is important, but the world has changed so much and is still changing, that for the Church to not change some of its views would only be detrimental to its numbers. Younger generations have started losing their faith because they see some of the church’s views as being backward [compared to] the progress society has made. And besides, not all change is bad, even if it breaks some traditions. Change is necessary in the church, as much as it is in the world.” – Oscar Mercado
“Why would we want a Filipino Pope? So the Catholic Church can now truly go back to the Dark Ages? We have old school frailes here.” – Atty. Jong de Guzman
“We need a Pope [who is] as liberal as [the] Dalai Lama. — Sun Chiu
“I’m not Catholic, but [I was] saddened by the Pope’s resignation. Other ‘spiritual’ leaders cling to their ‘thrones’ unnecessarily.” – Miss Go
“Even though Pope Benedict resigned, it doesn’t mean Catholicism fail[ed]. It is only a trial for those who believe in God and our universal church. It is not the end of our faith.” – Lyn Tisado Gipalaga
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
