Why did the late Pope Benedict resign?

By Herbert Vego

THE year-end death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on December 31, 2022 brought sadness to Roman Catholics worldwide. But it was not unexpected of the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church who had turned 95 years old.

His wake at the Saint Peter’s Basilica is ongoing, to be followed by his funeral and burial on January 5.

His place in Church history is unique. The German-born Joseph Ratzinger was the first pope to resign in 600 years after a reign of only eight years.

As to what caused his resignation in February 2013 remains a question mark, though.  Saying it was due to “failing health” raises eyebrows because nine more years would pass until his death.

As a non-Catholic, this writer would not like to swallow the aforementioned health reason.  There could be more than meets the eye, since the late former pontiff was an open-minded theologian.

Let us remember that in the year 2005 when Pope Benedict XVI ascended the papal throne to succeed the late Pope John Paul II, he said in his inaugural address: “My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church.”

Among the ideas he listened to, was the clamor for women to be admitted into priesthood one of them? Since the resigned pontiff has sealed his lips about it, It can never be ascertained.

However, a review of the controversial stories of that era would show a group of nuns – led by Sister Joan Chittister of the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery at Erie, Pennsylvania — campaigning for integration of women into the Roman Catholic priesthood.

You must have seen Sister Joan on “Ophra,” the popular TV show of Oprah Winfrey, where she reiterated her insistent stand on “priesthood for women”.

It must have disappointed Pope Benedict that he could not please the Benedictine sisters without stirring the hornet’s nest. The ban on women priests had been amplified by no less than his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who, in a 1994 papal document, stated ex cathedra that women could not be priests because they are not suitable to represent the male figure of Christ.

Although Sister Chittister, now 86, has not changed her stand, the incumbent Pope Francis has refrained from disciplining her, probably to avoid provoking wider dissent.

So, are gay priests more “suitable”?

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NO PUBLIC APPLAUSE FOR BBM’S CHINA VISIT

YESTERDAY, President Marcos and his entourage flew to China on a state visit from Jan. 3 to 5.

He must be so eager to talk business with Chinese President Xi Jinping that not even the resurgence of Covid-19 outbreak there – as dramatized on TV newscasts but with no official figures on casualties — could postpone his trip.

Marcos hopes to secure a number of agreements that will boost bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.

In the words of Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, “The visit will pave the way for further strengthening our trade and investment relations, particularly as we work to recover from the pandemic and position the Philippines as a regional hub for sustainable and innovative manufacturing and services industries.”

If truth be told, however, we remain on the losing end because China benefits more from us than the other way around. In 2021, you see, we imported $26.8 billion China products but exported only $11.55 worth of ours in return. It would be wishful thinking to see a trend reversal.

According to an analysis by CNN’s Laure He, Xi’s leadership has “wiped more than $1 trillion off the market value of Alibaba and Tencent — the crown jewels of China’s tech industry — over the last two years. Sales growth in the sector has slowed, and tens of thousands of employees have been laid off, leading to record youth unemployment.”

Alibaba’s billionaire founder Jack Ma has been reportedly hiding in central Tokyo with his family for nearly six months after criticizing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for  stifling innovation, and saying that Chinese banks suffer from “pawnshop mentality”.

The PR people of Malacañang have vaguely reported that Marcos’ would prevail upon Xi to honor the 2016 ruling of the International Arbitration Court in The Hague recognizing the Philippines’ sovereign rights to areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Sorry, folks, after hundreds of failed diplomatic protests over incursions of Chinese vessels in the zone, we see no indication of that in the horizon.

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MORE POWER’S CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

KUDOS to MORE Power for ending the year 2022 right by exercising its corporate social responsibility to benefit the needy.

Iloilo City’s distribution utility chose ten institutions as its year-end beneficiaries, namely Asilo de Molo, Philippine Red Cross-Iloilo Chapter, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish Clinic of St. Clement’s Church, Colegio de San Jose, Jaro Archdiocesan Social Center, Iloilo Two Hearts Foundation, Friend of Cancer Kids Iloilo Foundation, Assumption Iloilo Educational Foundation, Carmelite Sisters and the Philippine Action for Community-Led Shelter Initiatives Inc. (PACSI).

Each of them received a check for P50,000.00 with which to discharge their charitable missions.

To quote Ms. Janice Luce Jimenez of the Friends of Cancer Kids Iloilo Foundation (FOCC), “This is a big help for us to continue helping children with cancer.  Many of them need to undergo chemotherapy to survive.”