"Should the pope resign? Nine of the 265 Roman Catholic popes have allegedly resigned their office, most for the good of the Church. The first according to the historian Epiphanius was Clement I around the year 100. The most recent was Gregory XII who abdicated at the Council of Constance in 1417 to help settle the claims of three competitors for the papacy..."
"Pope Benedict XVI is a decent man and a lifelong servant of his church. It takes nothing away from whatever good he has done to suggest that he should resign his office. However, the Roman Catholic Church is in a period of Reformation as profound (and breathtaking) as any its history has ever recorded. The voluntary resignation of Pope Benedict XVI could be a gesture that would match the epic challenge that faces Catholicism today..."
"The People of God — hierarchy included — are shackled by a secret system designed to control rather than free them. Unresolved sexual issues are at its core."
Richard Sipe
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