Pope quits!

I was shocked with the rest of the world this morning to wake up to the news that the pope had resigned. I remember from my primary education learning that Pope's do not quit so did not see this coming.

It is ironic that Benedict XVI was helped to his position as he was a conservative, yet has been doing his bit to anoint younger Archbishops and change the make-up of the church. He may have failed to make naughty priests accountable for their crimes, may not have accepted women priests, safe sex or homosexuals but he has helped lay the structure for them to be accepted by the church someday.

When you look back at his reign, I think history will remember him as the first Pope to resign in the modern era. It is a very clever move on his part - few people work in their mid-80's in this day and age and his decision has reason, particularly as the memory of JPII's final years and his lack of ability is still fresh in our minds. I think the Church is coming to a crossroads and some tough decisions are going to have to be made, lets hope the new Pope will have some of the courage that the current one lacked.