When Beth Buller and found out Monday that Pope Benedict XVI would resign at the end of February, she was surprised.
“When we found out he chose to resign, we were very shocked,” she said.
Citing advanced age as his reason for
stepping down, the 85-year-old Benedict is the first pontiff to resign
in 600 years.
Buller, a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception, said she first thought the announcement was made because
Benedict had died.
“I had never heard of a pope resigning,” she said.
Bill McCall, also a parishioner at Immaculate Conception, said he saw Benedict three years ago on a trip to St. Peter’s Square
in Vatican City and was impressed with his ability to speak so many languages.
“There were people from all over the world, and he spoke German, Italian and other languages,” he said. “He was, and still
is, a very intelligent man.”
Janet Stoma, also a parishioner of
Immaculate Conception, said she believes that Benedict put plenty of
thought into his decision
to resign.
“I’m sure he has prayed a lot on it,” she said. “I feel he did what he had to do. We have to know he knows best.”
Buller, who serves as a eucharistic minister, said she admired Pope Benedict’s decision to think “more of the church than
himself.”
“We’re in awe of his humility,” he said. “A worthy successor will be chosen soon and will hopefully be someone who is a very
good Catholic who will ... lead the church how it’s supposed to be led.”
Brenda Hollenbeck, a parishioner at St. Martin De Porres Catholic Church, said Benedict’s successor should be a “passionate
and intelligent leader.”
“I think the things I like best were
the compassion of Pope John Paul II and how he related to the masses,”
Hollenbeck said.
“Benedict was very intelligent. I would want someone with the best
of those qualities. There’s a lot that the Catholic church
has been dealing with.”
Most Rev. Glen John Provost, bishop of Lake Charles, issued a statement about the resignation on Monday morning:
“Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,
today has announced formally in Rome his intention to renounce the
commission of ministry
as the Bishop of Rome effective February 28, 2013. While this
decision will catch many by surprise and is indeed rare in the
2000 year history of the Catholic Church, Canon Law allows for the
possibility (Canon 332 §2). There are also precedents.
According to many historians, at least five popes have resigned
the papacy — St. Pontian 235, Benedict IX 1045, Gregory VI
1046, Celestine V 1294, and Gregory XII 1415.
“With gratitude to our Heavenly Father,
we recall the almost eight years of Pope Benedict XVI’s service to the
Church as Pope.
Even prior to his election as Bishop of Rome, his extraordinary
scholarship, spiritual depth, and strong leadership were an
inspiration to many and to me personally. As Bishop of Rome, he
spoke and wrote eloquently on the faith and the need for spiritual
renewal. His apostolic journeys reached out to troubled areas of
the world, and he diligently worked for unity amongst Christians
and within the Church. We all assure him of our prayers and
support.”
The potential leading candidates to
succeed Benedict include two Cardinals from Africa — Cardinal Peter
Turkson from Ghana
and Cardinal Francis Arinze from Nigeria. The names of Cardinal
Marc Ouellet from Canada and Italy’s Angelo Scola also were
prominently mentioned in the news media Monday.