Closest of the trustees, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on the first row, how the state of Pope John Paul II. It gradually worsens with its advanced age. John Paul II.
Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. and the successor of John Paul II, was 78 years old at the time of his election and He became the oldest Pope in the past 300 years. After the departure announcement, it was clear that the Church wanted to save another torthine end and could also help it keep up with the possibilities of modern medicine, AP said.
In recent months, the former Pope has weakened in recent months that he could no longer be adequately performed by the service. Bishops must resign from the age of 75, cardinals over the age of 80 are forbidden to vote in the conclave of the new Pope. They are only popes who are expected to be in life.
View of the thinking of Benedict XVI. not suggests that his decision to give up his pontificate is not so surprising, supplied by AP. In 2004, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he said that he did not exclude the limitation of term of office in the future. In an interview with the Italian religious magazine, he said that new rules should also be considered with increasing age.
In 2010, in an interview with German journalist Peter Sewald, Benedict XVI. A clear attitude to the question of whether the Pope can resign. “Yes. If the Pope really realizes that he is no longer physically, mentally and mentally capable of fulfilling the obligations of its office, then he has the right, and under certain circumstances, the obligation to withdraw,” said Benedict XVI.
