World news was made when the Pope, Benedict the XVI, announced to the world that he had decided to step down, followed with what seemed to be a divine action of a lightning bolt hitting the top of the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica. Not only had this seemed to appear basically out of thin air (the resignation and the lightning) but this pope would be the first to step down in over 600 years; 700 years if you do not consider Gregory XII a pope, but that is just this amateur historian rambling (Google it). Back to Benedict, he is the first Pope to come into power in our young lives, yet this is unimportant to us. Religion is not what it used to be to the Western world, and the Pope no longer has the power he once had nor the ears of powerful rulers of Europe. Religion is no longer the center of our lives or the community staple it had been. That being said, Pope Benedict still was the religious leader of over a billion people worldwide, and should not be discounted as a leader.
Benedict had large shoes to fill as the former Pope John Paul II was hugely popular. As leader of the Christian faith, the Pope sought to create bridges with other religions, in particular Muslims and Jewish citizens, in order to promote peace, albeit occasionally causing unintended strife. In a Canadian connection to the Pope, he would commit Andre Bessette, a French-Canadian and Native American Kateri Tekakwitha as Saints, with Tekakwitha being the first Native American Saint. However, this papacy has been covered in controversy, from Benedict’s supposed 1000$ red Prada shoes (which are NOT Prada, not that I would know) to his sudden decision to retire which some have suspected to be because of the growing number of sex abuse scandals within the Church. Everyone seems ready to decipher Vatican politics, a world few know about, rather than taking the words of the Pope at face value. He is tired perhaps more so exhausted, you can see how much Benedict has aged since coming to power in 2005. While being the oldest Pope elected in 300 years no one expected his reign to be a very long one, but he was expected to die while being Pope, which is the normal tradition of the position. Benedict clearly does not want to hold the Church back with his advancing age, and lower health which has left him unable to walk moderate distances and is no longer allowed to travel because of his pacemaker.
The rest of the world will now be sitting with baited breath as a new pope will soon be picked and the next pope could maybe be Canadian. There is a growing voice that does not want the new pope to be European and especially not Italian. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, now a prefect of the Congregation for Bishops was once the Archbishop of Quebec City. Before one dismiss Ouellet as probably a Conservative, Macleans reports; he is open to various forms of worship having attended a progressive francophone church where dancing is a core component and joined with the congregation rather than sitting on the side. While he is Conservative and disapproves with many of Québec’s more liberal approach, especially abortion; he is not one to shy away from what he or the Church believes in, and this is needed at a time the Vatican has been criticized for being unreasonable on certain public statements. Ouellet is hoping to reengage Canadian’s lacking faith, and other members of the Clergy have noticed his work and the growing congregations especially within Québec, this has shot him up the list of possible Popes that includes members from Philippines and Ghana.
However, yesterday history was made when Pope Francis, 76, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica just over an hour after white smoke poured from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. This was a signal to the 115 cardinal electors that had selected him to lead the world’s billion Roman Catholics.
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http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/pope_benedict_xvi_his_best_of_the_worst/