Pope gives final Sunday blessing before resigning
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square, explaining that his waning years and energy made him better suited to the life of private prayer he soon will spend in a secluded monastery than as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to have resigned from the papacy in 600 years.
Sunday's noon appearance from his studio window overlooking the vast square was his next-to-last appointment with the public of his nearly eight-year papacy. Tens of thousands of faithful and other admirers have already asked the Vatican for a seat in the square for his last general audience Wednesday.
Perhaps emotionally buoyed by the warm welcome, thunderous applause and the many banners reading "Grazie" (Thanks) held up in the crowd estimated by police to number 100,000, Benedict looked relaxed and sounded energized, in sharp contrast to his apparent frailty and weariness of recent months.
In a strong and clear voice, Benedict told the pilgrims, tourists and Romans in the square that God had called him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.
"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his approaching departure. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."
The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.
Benedict smiled in pleasure at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window and he gazed at the people packing the square, craning their head for a look at him. Giving greetings in several languages, he gratefully acknowledged what he said was an outpouring of "gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer" since he stunned the church and its 1.2 billion members on Feb. 11 with his decision to renounce his papacy and retreat into a world of contemplation.
"Prayer is not isolating oneself from the world and its contradictions," Benedict told the crowd. He said he had heard God's call to prayer, "which gives breath to our spiritual life" in a special way "at this moment of my life."
Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.
"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said.
Even as the cheering continued and shouts of "Long live the pope" went up in Italian and Spanish, the pontiff simply turned away from his window and stepped back down into the apartment, which he will leave Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.
A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you."
No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.
"Now there will be two popes," said the Rev. Vilmar Pavesi, a Portuguese priest who was among the throngs in the square. "There will be the pope of Rome, the elected pope, and there will be the bishop emeritus of Rome, who will live the life of a monk inside the Vatican walls."
One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the names of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.
Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.
The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope. The papacy was considered the realm of Italian prelates for centuries, until a Pole, John Paul II, was elected as pontiff in 1978, to be followed in 2005 by the German-born Benedict.
Crucially, Italian prelates have continued to run the behind-the-scenes machinery of the church's governance, and cardinals will likely be deciding what role the Italians might have played in a series of scandals clouding the central bureaucracy, including allegations of corruption and power-grabbing.
Benedict has not made any direct comment on details of the scandals.
In one of his last papal tweets, Benedict wrote Sunday in English: "In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the church, trusting as always in divine providence."
___
AP reporter Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report.
On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to have resigned from the papacy in 600 years.
Sunday's noon appearance from his studio window overlooking the vast square was his next-to-last appointment with the public of his nearly eight-year papacy. Tens of thousands of faithful and other admirers have already asked the Vatican for a seat in the square for his last general audience Wednesday.
Perhaps emotionally buoyed by the warm welcome, thunderous applause and the many banners reading "Grazie" (Thanks) held up in the crowd estimated by police to number 100,000, Benedict looked relaxed and sounded energized, in sharp contrast to his apparent frailty and weariness of recent months.
In a strong and clear voice, Benedict told the pilgrims, tourists and Romans in the square that God had called him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.
"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his approaching departure. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."
The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.
Benedict smiled in pleasure at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window and he gazed at the people packing the square, craning their head for a look at him. Giving greetings in several languages, he gratefully acknowledged what he said was an outpouring of "gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer" since he stunned the church and its 1.2 billion members on Feb. 11 with his decision to renounce his papacy and retreat into a world of contemplation.
"Prayer is not isolating oneself from the world and its contradictions," Benedict told the crowd. He said he had heard God's call to prayer, "which gives breath to our spiritual life" in a special way "at this moment of my life."
Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.
"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said.
Even as the cheering continued and shouts of "Long live the pope" went up in Italian and Spanish, the pontiff simply turned away from his window and stepped back down into the apartment, which he will leave Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.
A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you."
No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.
"Now there will be two popes," said the Rev. Vilmar Pavesi, a Portuguese priest who was among the throngs in the square. "There will be the pope of Rome, the elected pope, and there will be the bishop emeritus of Rome, who will live the life of a monk inside the Vatican walls."
One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the names of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.
Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.
The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope. The papacy was considered the realm of Italian prelates for centuries, until a Pole, John Paul II, was elected as pontiff in 1978, to be followed in 2005 by the German-born Benedict.
Crucially, Italian prelates have continued to run the behind-the-scenes machinery of the church's governance, and cardinals will likely be deciding what role the Italians might have played in a series of scandals clouding the central bureaucracy, including allegations of corruption and power-grabbing.
Benedict has not made any direct comment on details of the scandals.
In one of his last papal tweets, Benedict wrote Sunday in English: "In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the church, trusting as always in divine providence."
___
AP reporter Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report.
Church does good things
I hope he gave a blessing to the American people. Â We will need it to survive four more years of obama and his puppets.
What do you do when there is a gay scandal brewing in the upper echelons of the Vatican? Resign.
@I812Â Some religions do not share the wealth
Maybe we should send The Donald over to Rome to be the new Poop. I mean Pope.Â
He likes to be in charge and if he is always wearing his pointy hat (it would fit perfectly on his pointy head), no more comb-over-thingies on his head!Â
Plus he can yak and yak and yak till kingdom come and no one will pay any attention to him over there either.Â
But he'll feel important, and that's what counts, isn't it?
Popping out of a window once a week to deliver magic words and spooky instructions to a crowd of superstitious fools seems like a fun job, but I'll bet it does get old after a while. That's probably why he didn't even bother to put on the pointy hat this morning.
@badcatÂ
Weren't you one of the ones up in arms at the 'intolerance' shown to the lesbian who wanted to buy a wedding cake? Way to show your hypocrisy, um I mean tolerance now.
@ormom  Hmm, what part of my post denied him service or violated his right to equal treatment? I tolerate Christians all day long and treat them fairly when doing business, doesn't mean I can't mock your foolishness. You're really clueless, aren't you? Still stumped about all those fertilized eggs in the freezer and wondering which women are "pregnant" with them? lol
@badcatÂ
It wasn't me. I'm not that thin skinned. I find your hatred of God and religion and people who think differently than you to be sad. I would not want to be you and have to carry around all that hate. But you are so offensive it obviously bothers others.Â
@ormom  I'm so glad that I saved my own comment, since you felt the need to report me to the admin. How pathetic are you??!!
It's so boring to argue with someone as ignorant as yourself. Get back to me on my religious freedom to throw idiots into volcanoes to appease the gods, because I could really use your help with something at the next equinox. Also, thanks for giving me permission to throw christians out of my business and deny them service. Sure hope you never fuss about anyone discriminating against them, since you're so much in favor of religious bigotry.
And for the record, I never said I did anything except TOLERATE people like you in the public sphere. You're the idiot who thinks that has to extend to all levels of everything. The same way that you would disown and condemn your own children for being gay, or for not believing in the invisible man, is the same way I feel sorry for my family members who are so troubled and disturbed as to believe in the boogey-man of the bronze age. I don't kick them out of my life, I just feel sad that they're so broken that they have to believe in fairy tales to get through their day. You murder people in your heart, and "send them to hades" because of your superstitions. I would feel sorry for you too, if you weren't such a........
*thanks for getting my post deleted!! Â
@ormom No you don't. There is no such thing as "gay rights" -- that's a lie you people created to deny CIVIL RIGHTS to gay people. And the ridiculous notion that their civil rights would in any way infringe on your rights is absurd. It's just more of your bigoted religious BS.
@trolololÂ
I understand and appreciate your honesty. I believe in gay rights too. Just not special rights and not rights given at the expense of other;s rights.
@badcat
perhaps you will go to Congress and the Supreme Court and let them in on your stunning observations about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I'm sure they need re-writing. Liberal relativists like you, and your love of the state, will have us living under socialism unless you're stopped.
@badcat
By all means justify your hypocrisy and bad behavior by pointing to that of others. Your moral compass is so broken you can't even tell how ridiculous you sound.Â
The bakers will win and the law they supposedly broke will ultimately be re-written to protect people's right to religious freedom because you cannot take away a constitutional right, one which this country was founded on - read your history - in the name of protecting another. I just hope the decision will come quickly so the bakers don't end up losing everything to the lawyers.
@trololol You must be joking. People on these forums make fun of gays, and fat people, and old people, and stupid people, and Muslims and Mexicans and just about anything else you can think of. Are you new here?
Ormom specifically brought up an old argument about the couple who broke the law when they denied service to a lesbian couple. What they did was illegal, and for good reason. They can say whatever horrible things they want about gay people -- but when they refuse to provide service in a business setting, and discriminate against them in the public arena, they are breaking the law. I don't know if they should lose their business license over it (they don't have one) but there should be ramifications for their actions. No one is telling them to attend gay weddings or approve of homosexuality. Can you really not see the difference here? Believe me, ormom has lots of nasty things to say about gay people, and I'm not telling her that she can't. I'll absolutely admit that I'm biased against preachy obnoxious christians. She won't admit that she's biased against gays -- she hides behind her bible and pretends it's not her decision. Pathetic.
@ormom  The idiots with the bakery broke the law and they're going to be fined for it. Go re-read all the comments on those forums because I'm not going to try to explain it again to someone as stupid as you. It's exhausting and I don't have the energy to keep beating your dead horse. But I'll say this -- if it was my religious belief that people like you should be smacked in the head, it wouldn't be a legitimate legal defense.
Our civil rights most certainly come from the state. God hasn't stepped in once to protect anyone's rights (like the child getting raped). WE create the laws that protect our rights and provide justice. The invisible man had nothing to do with it. Why don't you fly to Afghanistan and see what a good job your "god" does to protect your rights.
@ormom WRONG. The problem lies in the end of second to last sentence, as YOU are the one who wants to take away the homosexuals' rights, not the other way around. They aren't trying to deprive you of anything. It's completely absurd to think that allowing two adults in a committed relationship to enjoy the RIGHT to marriage would affect you in ANY way. No one is trying to abolish churches, or telling you that you can't believe in your god, or that you have to attend gay weddings. What is wrong with your brain that you can't see the difference?!?!??
@ormom @badcat I hated to like that as I believe in gay rights, but after reading that, you are 100% correct.  It's become ok to openly bash the religious.
@badcat I'm stumped.  Tolerance needs to be observed for all.  You can't cry intolerance, then be intolerant. Â
Saying "doesn't mean I can't mock your foolishness" is showing intolerance.  Someone can say the same thing about the things you feel strongly about.  That wouldn't be right.
For whatever reason, It's become OK to slander, mock, and ridicule believers.
If you do that, lose your "outrage" when someone doesn't agree with your biased views.
@badcatÂ
Let me use your own words to show why you are a hypocrite. Every word in caps is one where I replaced religion with homosexuality.
I have many coworkers and clients who like to tell me about their HOMOSEXUALITY, and I patiently tolerate it .... until they start to tell me how that effects their political views and then I have to end the conversation. I can tolerate other people's HOMOSEXUALITY, but I will never tolerate them telling me that in order to properly "respect" their HOMOSEXUALITY, I have to accept their rules or let them dictate my rights and freedoms. And I will bluntly tell them why that's absurd.
Â
@badcat Â
Hypocrisy? Pot meet kettle. It's the 'tolerant' liberal who demands that people celebrate everything LGBT, not just tolerate it. It's the 'tolerant' liberal who demands that everything LGBT be protected, then turns around and tries to destroy the business of a couple who thinks ssm is wrong (gee, the whole world thought it was wrong until a few years ago and most of it still does) and doesn't want to facilitate it in any form. Where is your tolerance for their diversity of opinion and their constitutional right to religious freedom? There is none because 'liberal tolerance' is an hypocrisy, an oxymoron, and a one-way street.
And while you're demanding equal protection under the law and all things constitutional you might think on the fact that the founding fathers said that all of those rights were inalienable because they were given by your Creator. Funny how you demand those rights but don't believe in the Creator that assures them. Just rememeber that if they don't come from your Creator they come from the state - and what the state grants, the state can take away. You really want to keep heading down THAT road?
@washcomom  I understand what you're saying, and I listen to the Christians on this forum saying how evil and disgusting and hellbound the gays are every time there's an article about anything related to homosexuality. They're entitled to that archaic opinion, but when they use it to deny service to someone, or tell them that they don't deserve their Constitutionally guaranteed right to equal protection under the law, I'm going strongly disagree and tell them how stupid it is to use their fairy tales as a basis for a legal argument.
I have many coworkers and clients who like to tell me about their religious views, and I patiently tolerate it .... until they start to tell me how that effects their political views and then I have to end the conversation. I can tolerate other people's religions, but I will never tolerate them telling me that in order to properly "respect" their religion, I have to accept their rules or let them dictate my rights and freedoms. And I will bluntly tell them why that's absurd.
But thanks for the advice and have a great weekend! =)
@badcat Just a word of caution: You said, "I tolerate Christians all day long and treat them fairly when doing business, doesn't mean I can't mock your foolishness." So when someone else "mocks the foolishness of gays and lesbians", will you be up in arms like @ormom?Â
Basically what I'm saying is - Karma comes around in various forms. I like you, and I wanted to give you a word of caution on this. Tolerance has many ways of "being". Sometimes, it is just biting our tongue and not saying what we really want to say, because we know that it will come back to get us.Â
I'm not trying to convince you of anything. You think you "know" things and even if I had a time machine that could show you "creation" is a false myth, you'd still believe it. And if you thought that all things were equal and actually cared about a rich woman's frozen embryos that were created on purpose, you'd be protesting the fertility clinics instead of just condemning the poor women at the abortion clinic. That's hypocrisy.
As to tolerance, what you don't understand is equal protection under the law. People like you think that "tolerating" gays means you have to celebrate them, or be gay yourself. It doesn't. It means that in the public arena you have to treat them fairly, with respect, and the same way you'd treat anyone else. But because your superstitious beliefs are the justification for your intolerance, you think it gives you a pass to discriminate and deny someone their legal rights. It's not that difficult to understand, but people like you have some serious problems with comprehension. It's got to be tough trying to understand the world when you've promised the invisible man that you won't employ logic and reason.
@badcat Â
I guess I don't recognize your definiton of tolerance.
I'm not in the least stumped. I know they are human and were never meant by any natural biological plan in creation to exist outside of a woman's body. I know that the same people who think it's OK to take a pill to flush an embryo out of a womans body think it's OK to flush frozen embryo's down the drain. I know there are lot's of people who think it's not killing a human but I also know they are wrong.Â
If you can show me anyone on this earth that didn't start out the same way then you might have a chance at changing my mind. But if you can't, then you had better start thinking about what it means to kill a human life at any age.
OMG i heard tmz is reporting that the pope had an alter boy under his dress during the final lie session.
@Pers Retiree Nice....what to keep it classy. Nothing like being disrespectful. Well I can play that game too. IDIOT!!
@scoreboard  Isn't that supposed to be "You hockey puck!"
@scoreboard We all enjoy it ...dont we?  lets all keep playing the game!  thots N preyerz
better to resign than have God fire you
@Phuzz the catholic god doesn't fire anybody until they get to purgatory, then he lightly toasts them.
Religion is a monumental waste of time. A virus. The Bronze age belongs buried in the past.
@MONSTERÂ
Keep whistling in the dark. Fear that there really may be a God and He won't be pleased is the only thing that explains the need to go on the offense and bash religion and declare it superstitious when no one is forcing you to believe anything. Â
@ormom The "god" who lets his priests rape children and doesn't do anything about it? If I knew a child was being raped, I would stop it. Your god -- who supposedly can do anything -- doesn't do anything at all. According to your legends, "god" created viruses and bacteria and cancer that make innocent children die the most horrible deaths, and he doesn't do anything to stop it. Your "god" created humans brains that can be so badly wired that some people rape little kids -- their own children sometimes -- and he doesn't do anything about that either. But you're so superstitious that you can't even stop to wonder whether a god like that is worth worshipping.
@badcatÂ
whatever, badcat. I'm sure you know best and all there is to know on the subject. Case closed. Keep whistling tho...
@ormom That explanation was laughable. All bad things are of this world and aren't god's fault, even though he invented and created all of it ... and all good and beautiful things are otherworldly because god invented and created them. Ok, sure. I'll never understand how people who are capable of maintaining a job and a checking account are able to delude themselves with such ridiculous lies and illogical beliefs. It's truly remarkable. How about this -- "all theology is deficient" because god doesn't exist and there's no such thing as a "religious truth".
@I812
Time will tell won't it? Hopefully we will meet on the other side and have a good laugh about this conversation.
@ormom Let the force, or in this case "farce," be with you. People are who they choose to be and don't require coercion and threats to determine how to act. Your theology is deficient. That is why you accept a cop out explanation for the currently unexplainable or not yet understood.
@badcat@I812Â
Your theology is deficient, that's why you think God is responsible rather than the reality of what sin does to us and the world around us. We all have free will and there is a force for evil in the world that we can tap into or reject, just as we can choose to tap into the grace of God or reject that as well. This world is not the only reality and yes it stinks sometimes, and yes even popes and clergy can be evil just like moms and dads and bosses and anyone can be evil. But there is also great beauty and love in the world too, that transcends the evil of this world if you choose to look for it, and it is definitely not of this world.
@ormom @MONSTER You mean the god that told the catholics to kill those that didn't believe what they were told and could prove otherwise? You mean the god that told all those preists to molest innocent children? You mean the god that creates all the pedophiles, rapists, murderers, and assorted other miscreants? Do you also believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Wizard of Oz, magic and fairy tales?
@MONSTER an thus you name "Monster, and evil a scourge a thing which people hate.. So you have aptly name your self, for if it were not for religion we would not have Hospitals, we would not have charities and there would be a great deal more like, people raping kids ... Hate to say it but religion provides a moral compass, take tht moral compass away and you have nothing but chaos, Disease and a great deal of other things.. Go a head prove me wrong..Look at all the hit and runs of late, as Oregon and the rest of the US pushes God away there will be even greater Corruption you think that the people in office are bad right now? Heh, you haven't a clue as to what is on its way. Better get used to it, because the way I see it..There will be more and more corruption and no one will do a thing about it..
Have a nice day :)
@lee986321You are all over the place. Not sure if I even want to engage you in discussion. Can you focus on one thing at a time? My on screen name was inspired by a motorcycle I sold. The motorcycle was called a Ducati Monster. It was available (in all caps), so I took it. But you're read is that my online name, reflejucts my personality. That's a FAIL on your part. I like yours. A little hard to remember, but, you know, I'm not able to discern anything about your personality from a few characters on my screen. I doubt you are either. You don't like my posts, so you attack me personally. Not good debating technique.Â
Morally? Who's to say about how you initially engaged me. Some would have no problem with it while others may think that you're approach was tactless and came from someone without a strong "moral compass". You following where I'm going with this? Morals are a subjective concept. Hence, your argument about societal decay with the lack of a overarching "moral compass" is blown to smithereens.Â
Or it could be that hit and runs are fairly constant in the larger picture. Or it could be that more pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile traffic are fighting for space on our roadways causing more accidents. Or maybe it's that the media is reporting them more vigorously as of late. Or perhaps it's because God is Punishing us. I'll assume the last example makes the most sense in your mind.Â
Corruption? In our government you say? Tell me it's not so...
MONSTER Â
More Catholic hate from hypocrites please......
@trololol You'll have to wait. They are currently at Mass.
@trololol catholicks are all eveil phonies who think they can go to confesshum and wipe out the ongoing sins!  and the priests, i hear, are all peddies and gay, but some of them do the nuns
@Pers Retiree Bad Catholic joke: "I heard that priests and nuns can fool around, so long as they don't get into the habit."
@Mikey @Pers Retiree We'll have nun of that!
@Pers Retiree People might take you more seriously if you would learn how to spell and use proper grammar.
@scoreboard Thx, but the next time i will give a rats about my spelling and grammar will be in 5 years when i fill out my sos sec benny form.  :/  and besides..as a troll i enjoy the responses from neurotic nutbags like you! Â