The Pope's resignation

"...though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself..." -- Phil. 2:6-7a (NAB)

I suspect that for Catholics, at least, it will take on the character of other startling events, such as, Where were you when you heard about the Sept. 11 attack? Or for an older generation, where were you when you heard that Kennedy had been shot?

I was in my apartment last Monday morning, getting ready to leave for the 6:45 Mass when the radio announcer at 6 a.m. gave the breaking news: Pope Benedict XVI had resigned.

The first announcement I heard attributed the report to an Italian news agency, and I'll admit that my initial reaction was, That's pretty irresponsible of a major news station to report another rumor about the Pope as if it was true.

The next announcement a few minutes later, though, attributed the news to Vatican officials. I quickly got on my computer and went to a news site that I trust. It, too, was quoting a Vatican source. Pope Benedict had resigned.

Still not positive that it wasn't a rumor run wild, I didn't say anything to my fellow Mass attendees. By the time that I checked the Vatican Web site after Mass, though, the Pope's statement had been translated and posted in several languages. It was true. The Pope had resigned.

I'm glad that I read Pope Benedict's statement before hearing any of the commentary and analysis that filled the airwaves over the next few days. It didn't strike me as the abdication of a shepherd who, having been beaten down by all the crises, was abandoning his sheep to the wolves. Nor did I get the sense that he was now finally going to get around to the life of study and writing that he'd longed for since before his election. His own statement closed with the words, "With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer."

The comment that I found most helpful was the statement of Bishop Earl Boyea, Bishop of Lansing. 

Pope Benedict has been and remains a very good father to the Catholic communion throughout the world.  He has been a wonderful teacher, shepherd, and man of prayer.  The clearest sign of his care for the Church is this most recent action: his decision to resign the papacy.  His sense that he can no longer be the effective missionary and evangelist has led him, in deep love, to hand this great task given him by Jesus Christ to another. ...

That is what stood out for me: humility and love. This incredibly gifted man, whom Scott Hahn has called the greatest Biblical scholar to serve as pope since Peter, has the humility to recognize that he no longer has the "strength of mind and body" to adequately fulfill his task. And because his great humility is coupled with great love for the Church, he is not trying to hold on to his position if it would be a detriment to the Church he so loves. And so, "having repeatedly examined my conscience before God," he is stepping down.

This is not to say that John Paul the Great was doing a disservice to the Church by staying on even as his health deteriorated. He, too, was doing what he felt the Lord Jesus wanted him to do. He was, among other things, making a statement that was completely in keeping with his life's message about the inherent dignity of the human person, regardless of how weak and frail that person may become.

But Benedict, in a way, is also making a statement that is completely in keeping with his character. The pope whose first encyclical was, to the surprise of many, on the topic of love, is now demonstrating that love in yet another way. 

Dear Pope Benedict, keep us in your prayers.