The announcement of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI from the papal throne, or, more specifically, the Supreme Pontificate of the Catholic Church, took the world by surprise on Monday, February 11, 2013. The resignation becomes effective on February 28. The period following that date is known as a sede vacante or papal interregnum, lasting until the conclave of cardinals chooses a new Pope.
Marianistas.org’s blog reports that Benedict is the first pope to resign since Celestine V in 1294 and provides more background here [es]. It then shares [es] a few details about the formalities surrounding the resignation and the upcoming conclave:
– El actual Código de Derecho Canónico, promulgado por la autoridad de Juan Pablo II en 1983, en el capítulo “Del Romano Pontífice y del Colegio Episcopal” (Parte II, Sección I), canon 332, párrafo 2: “Si el Romano Pontífice renunciase a su oficio, se requiere para la validez que la renuncia sea libre y se manifieste formalmente, pero no que sea aceptada por nadie.”
– De acuerdo con las declaraciones realizadas por el P. Lombardi, Benedicto XVI no tomará parte en el próximo cónclave, desplazará su residencia a Castelgandolfo hasta que llegue el día de la renuncia, el cónclave se celebrará en marzo, los ángelus y audiencias se sucederán de la forma habitual pudiendo ser momentos de expresión de afecto al Papa. También dijo que el Papa irá a vivir a un monasterio de clausura que se encuentra en el interior del Vaticano y que actualmente está en reformas.
– De acuerdo con la normativa que rige el cónclave, este debe ser convocado cuando entre los 15 y 20 días después de que quede la sede vacante. Esto en el caso de la muerte del Papa. No se explícita si debe ser igual en el caso de renuncia. He aquí la normativa para el gobierno de la Iglesia en periodo vacante.
-The current Code of Canon Law, enacted under John Paul II in 1983, in the chapter ”The Roman Pontiff and the College of Bishops” (Part II, Section I), canon 332, paragraph 2: “If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.”
-According to statements made by Fr. Federico Lombardi, Benedict XVI will not take part in the first conclave; he will move to Castel Gandolfo until the date of his resignation; the conclave will take place in March; his Angelus addresses and audiences will go on as usual, and people will come to show their affection for the Pope. He also said that the Pope will move to a cloistered monastery within the Vatican that is currently being renovated.
-According to the rules governing the conclave, it must be called within fifteen to twenty days after the seat is left empty—this is the case when a Pope dies. They do not explicitly state whether the same rules stand in the case of a resignation. Here are the rules for government of the Church during a vacancy [es].
The blog Tan antigua y tan nueva also posted a brief analysis [es] of the papacy of Benedict XVI:
Le ha tocado un papado expuesto a toda la sociedad mediática mundial, a un hombre tan poco dado a la escena. Puso a un hombre fuerte: el cardenal Bertone, al que han atacado hasta la saciedad con todos los medios en contra hombres de la misma iglesia, como la patética figura de Viganó, que al final se han salido con la suya dando la imagen de una miseria interior en la iglesia. […] La renuncia del Papa es el triunfo de los enemigos. No vamos a juzgar al Papa. También será que el Papa no ha querido que vuelva a repetirse la penosísima imagen de Juan Pablo II en su último período.
He had a papacy that was open to the international media culture, for a man not used to the spotlight. He appointed a strong man: Cardinal Bertone, who has been endlessly attacked by all possible means from within the Church, like the pathetic Viganó, who has ultimately gotten away with painting an image of the internal misery of the church… The resignation of the Pope is a triumph for his enemies. We are not going to judge the Pope. It could also be that the Pope does not want to recall the excruciating appearance of John Paul II in his last term.
Besides the clerical establishment, bloggers, Catholic or not, have also been expressing their views on the situation. For example, Ginés J. Parra writes [es] on the blog Cosas Mías about his hopes for the new Pope:
cada vez que hay la posibilidad de la elección de un nuevo Papa se abre una puerta a la esperanza de que el elegido sea un hombre progresista con apertura a todas las sensibilidades de la Iglesia y que se pueda ver una Iglesia Cercana la realidad social a la evolución continua de nuestro mundo y a la realidad actual de todos los cristianos. Y que sea realmente una Iglesia de y para los Pobres y excluidos de esta sociedad Que sea una Iglesia de aires nuevos, de apertura, que permita la libertad de Expresión que condene y corte de raíz los escándalos como de la Pederastia o sus relaciones con la Banca en estos momentos de crisis.
Whenever there is the possibility of a new Pope it opens a door to the hope that they will elect a progressive man who is open to all the voices of the Church and that a Church in the near Future might see the social reality of the ongoing progress of our world and of the current reality of all Christians. And that it will truly be a Church of and for those who are Poor and excluded from this society That it will be a Church of fresh air, of openness, that allows the freedom of Expression that condemns and shuts down scandals like Pedophilia or its relationship with the Banks in these moments of crisis.
Ángel Martín Tax writes [es] on the blog Noticias La Esfinge that he admires the decision:
Esto es una gran moraleja. Si uno ya no puede, pues que mejor entregar el puesto para que otro lo pueda hacer con mucha energía y fuerzas.
This is an important moral. If one is unable, it is better to give up the post so that someone else can do it with energy and strength.
But there are also those who have not given up on speculation and conspiracy theories, like perlita_rosita/NAYADE who commented [es] on her blog Desde el fondo de un espíritu libre:
Creo que este hombre no ha abdicado por gusto, a pesar de cuantas excusas se hayan inventado y hagan decir al mismo papa,para que la gente no sospeche. Mi espíritu desconfiado me avisa de que hay conspiración o bien aquí hay gato encerrado.
I don’t think this man abdicated by choice, despite all the excuses that they have made up and the Pope has said himself,so the people don’t suspect anything. My suspicious mind tells me that there is a conspiracy or something fishy going on here.
A variety of voices on an international level reacted swiftly [es] and soon the topic was trending [es] on Twitter, in different languages and with various hashtags. In Spanish, some of the most popular hashtags were #elpapadimite, Benedicto XVI and even the more humorous #NombresParaPapa in Colombia, #sielpapafueraperuano in Peru and #RenuncioComoElPapa in Mexico.
Among the thousands of published tweets, some of the most popular ones included this sarcastic tweet [es] from the band @Calle13Oficial, which not everyone appreciated, as happened with Gladys Godines (@gladygodines):
@gladysgodines Qué chiste para más estúpido. RT @Calle13Oficial El Papa se divorcia de la Iglesia, pero se queda con la custodia de los niños..
@gladysgodines What a stupid joke. RT @Calle13Oficial The Pope is divorcing the Church, but it’s getting custody of the kids..
From Peru, user Pedro Valle (@pedrovalleo) stressed that this is one of the greatest scandals of the current Catholic Church:
@PedroValleO El calvario de Benedicto XVI: en últimos tres años, 1.800 denuncias de casos pederastia llegaron al Vaticano #RenunciadelPapa @ELTIEMPO
@PedroValleO Benedicto XVI’s plight: in the last three years, 1800 reported cases of pedophilia reached the Vatican #RenunciadelPapa @ELTIEMPO
The magazine Dedo Medio [Middle Finger] (@Dedomedio) made this point and linked to an explanatory article:
@Dedomedio Ratzinger perseguía pederastas mientras Wojtyla los encubría. Sí, le tienes bronca al papa equivocado. http://fb.me/2KnVxwdPR
@Dedomedio Ratzinger hunted down pedophiles while Wojtyla covered for them. Yes, you’re mad at the wrong pope. http://fb.me/2KnVxwdPR
In Argentina, user Marcelo Parrilli (@parrillimarcelo) made a political comparison:
@parrillimarcelo Como cuadro político impecable Benedicto XVI, no da más y se va. Acá, en cambio, jamás se va alguien voluntariamente de un cargo.
@parrillimarcelo As a flawless political leader, Benedicto XVI can’t give more and he’s leaving. Here, on the flip side, no one ever voluntarily leaves a job.
From Colombia, Diego Camargo (@elDiegoCamargo) made another comparison, but to Venezuela:
@elDiegoCamargo Que el Papa renuncie y Chavez no, demuestra que en América Latina tenemos mejores condiciones laborales que en Europa…
@elDiegoCamargo The fact that the Pope is resigning and Chavez is not demonstrates that in Latin America we have better working conditions than in Europe…
And from Mexico, RoEl FuEnTes (@DRAKERS56) also responded from a local perspective:
@DRAKERS46 Rayo golpeó Basílica de San Pedro el día que renunció Benedicto XVI y en México exploto Pemex y sige [sic] EPN http://rbb.cl/4e5h @beto230
@DRAKERS46 Lightning struck St. Peter’s Church the day that Benedict XVI resigned and in Mexico Pemex exploded and Enrique Peña Nieto carries on http://rbb.cl/4e5h @beto230
More tweets on the subject can be found here [es] on Melty.es (relating it to the Spanish crisis), here on Huffington Post [es], and on Storify from Diario Libre, Antena 3 Noticias,La Nación, El Colombiano, TeleSur TV, El Universo, 20m, El Tiempo, El Informador, and AristeguiOnLine [all es], among others.
Finally, some thoughts [es] from the blog OEHD:
ser Papa a estas alturas del mundo, es un acto de heroísmo (de esos que se hacen a diario en mi país y nadie nota). Recuerdo sin duda, las historias del primer Papa. Un tal.. Pedro. ¿Cómo murió? Si, en una cruz, crucificado igual que a su maestro, pero de cabeza. 

Hoy en día, Ratzinger se despide igual. Crucificado por los medios de comunicación, crucificado por la opinión pública y crucificado por sus mismos hermanos católicos […]
Vivo en un mundo donde es chistoso burlarse del Papa, pero pecado mortal burlarse de un homosexual (y además ser tachado de paso como mocho, intolerante, fascista, derechista y nazi). Vivo en un mundo donde la hipocresía alimenta las almas de todos nosotros. Donde podemos juzgar a un tipo de 85 años que quiere lo mejor para la Institución que representa, pero le damos con todo porque “¿con qué derecho renuncia?”. Claro, porque en el mundo NADIE renuncia a nada.
[…] Benedicto XVI, muchas gracias por renunciar.
To be Pope at this point in time is an act of heroism (the kinds that happen daily in my country and no one notices). I definitely remember the stories of the first Pope. One… Peter. How did he die? Yes, on a cross, crucified in the same way as his teacher, but through the head. Today, Ratzinger is similarly dismissed. Crucified by the media, crucified by public opinion and crucified by his own Catholic brothers…
I live in a world where it is funny to mock the Pope, but a mortal sin to mock a homosexual (and one is also labeled reactionary, intolerant, fascist, right-wing and a Nazi). I live in a world where hypocrisy feeds all our souls. Where we can judge an 85 year old man who wants the best from the Institution that he represents, but we ask “What right does he have to resign?” Of course, since NO ONE in the world resigns from anything.
… Benedict XVI, thank you very much for resigning.
Source: Global Voices
Link:globalvoicesonline.org/2013/02/13/latin-america-reflections-after-resignation-of-pope-benedict-xvi/