IT SHOCKED ME to learn that a favorite pope of mine, Pope Benedict XVI, has announced his resignation effective 28 February 2013. Since I was a child I thought that the Office of the Pope, the Seat of the Ministry of Saint Peter, entails an election for life. That once elected a pope, a Cardinal is expected to die a pope. But that's the presumption of a child. After reading the translated transcript of the Pope's announcement of resignation, it became clear to me that a pope has not been made for the ministry, but the ministry, designed to guide the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ through time, must take precedence even in the personal choices of the pope. Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign however does not flow from a personal desire to have a break from the demands of the ministry to which he was called eight years ago. His decision flows from an intimate discernment of the will of God for His Church today. And following that will of God means having to set a
LOOKING THROUGH LIFE