Table Talk: Pope Benedict XVI's Resignation

What will happen to the Pope?s Fisherman?s Ring?

It is one of the Pope?s symbols of ?power.? He placed it on his finger after the election, he removed it every Good Friday during the recital of the Passion, and if, instead of giving up the papacy, he had died, his advisers would have seen to breaking it. The ring, like the seal that Pope Ratzinger uses on all his pontifical documents, is one of the never-before-encountered problems that the canonists and Vatican experts now have to resolve. The Fisherman?s Ring will be broken a few days after the resignation. The ceremony will not be public, and it will take place in the presence of the Camerlengo in a situation of vacancy.

Will he maintain papal infallibility?

It sounds harsh, but he will no longer be infallible. Father Lombardi explained that ?as theology teaches, papal infallibility is connected to the position? and ends with it. The question of whether he will maintain infallibility after his resignation ?is not eve posed.? Joseph Ratzinger, after Feb. 28, ?will no longer have this particular assistance from the Holy Spirit.? Photo: Pope Benedict XVI greets the faithful at the end of the Ash Wednesday mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a solemn period of 40 days of prayer and self-denial leading up to Easter. Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful Wednesday that he was resigning for "the good of the church", an extraordinary scene of a pope explaining himself to his flock that unfolded in his first appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Where will he live?

His new residence will be a former cloistered monastery in the Vatican gardens, inside the Leonine Wall, which for Benedict XVI has always been a place of prayer, recitation of the rosary, where he walked with his personal secretary Georg. For months, restoration works have been taking place on the four-story building, but only a few officials were aware of the fact that one day it would become the residence of the Pope. Photo: A view of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, right, next to the Tower of San Giovanni, inside the Vatican State where Pope Benedict XVI is expected to live after he resigns, on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. For months, construction crews have been renovating a four-story building attached to a monastery on the northern edge of the Vatican gardens where nuns would live for a few years at a time in cloister. Only a handful of Vatican officials knew it would one day be Pope Benedict XVI's retirement home. On Tuesday, construction materials littered the front lawn of the house and plastic tubing snaked down from the top floor to a dump truck as the restoration deadline became ever more critical following Benedict's stunning announcement that he would resign Feb. 28 and live his remaining days in prayer. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

How much will this monastery cost?

?I think it will be rather inexpensive. The Pope has modest needs. He leads an extremely simple lifestyle. I really believe that there will not be any great burden on the Holy See,? said Father Lombardi. Photo: A view of the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery inside the Vatican State where Pope Benedict XVI is expected to live after he resigns, on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. For months, construction crews have been renovating a four-story building attached to a monastery on the northern edge of the Vatican gardens where nuns would live for a few years at a time in cloister. Only a handful of Vatican officials knew it would one day be Pope Benedict XVI's retirement home. On Tuesday, construction materials littered the front lawn of the house and plastic tubing snaked down from the top floor to a dump truck as the restoration deadline became ever more critical following Benedict's stunning announcement that he would resign Feb. 28 and live his remaining days in prayer. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Will Father Georg stay with him?

Mons. Georg Gaenswein, recently nominated Prefect of the Papal Household and promoted to the rank of archbishop, may not follow him, except for the very first days. ?The role of Prefect of the Papal Household is a role that does not expire,? said Lombardi, ?and as far as I understand, knowing the Holy Father?s style, I don?t think he thinks he needs a bishop as his personal secretary in his retirement.? At any rate, Georg, who also has the role of special secretary to the Pope, will decide himself whether to follow him to Castel Gandolfo and then to the Vatican Monastery where the ex-Pope will reside. We do not know, explained Father Lombardi, ?where he will end up and what his role will be? after the Pope?s resignation. Photo: Pope Benedict XVI, right, followed by his personal secretary Rev. Georg Gaenswein, arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday Jan. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

What will he do on his last day?

On the morning of his last day, on Feb. 28, the Pope will take leave at a hearing by the Cardinals in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican. At 5 p.m., he will leave for Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. Benedict XVI will officially abdicate from the papacy at 8 p.m. Photo: In this Sept. 12, 2006, file photo, Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd at the end of a papal Mass in Regensburg, southern Germany, some 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) northeast of Munich. When Benedict steps down on Feb. 28, 2013, he reputation as a brilliant theologian will remain intact. But he fell short of the mark he set for himself on unifying the church, building relationships with other religions and restoring the church's influence in broader society. During his 2006 visit to Regensburg, he was sharply criticized by Muslims when he quoted a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman." (AP Photo/Wolfgang Radtke, Pool, File)

What will he be called? How will one address Joseph Ratzinger after Feb. 28?

?Currently we don?t know with what title to address him after his abdication,? said Father Lombardi. The director of the Vatican Press remarked that ?it is not just a secondary and purely formal thing. The implications are legal: we are thinking about it. Even the Holy Father is thinking about it. But we do not have an answer yet.? One must also think about what appellation to give Ratzinger, who will no longer be Pope. He will be a bishop emeritus of Rome, but it is not certain that he will be called that. Photo: In this Thursday, March 25, 2010 file photo Pope Benedict XVI gestures from his popemobile as he leaves a youth gathering, in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican. When he became pope at age 78, Benedict XVI was already the oldest pontiff elected in nearly 300 years. He's now 85, and in recent years he has slowed down significantly, cutting back his foreign travel and limiting his audiences. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

What will he do his first night in Castel Gandolfo?

?He will arrive in Castel Gandolfo and then I suppose he will have dinner, he will pray in the chapel, greet those who are receiving him,? Father Federico Lombardi answered with a touch of humor. ?As usual.? Photo: Calendars of Pope Benedict XVI are seen at a newsstand outside the pope's summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, in the town of Castelgandolfo, south of Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Immediately after his resignation on Feb. 28, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI will spend some time at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, overlooking Lake Albano in the hills south of Rome where he has spent his summer vacations reading and writing. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Will the Pope receive a pension?

?I do not know, but he will obviously be taken care of,? responded Lombardi. Photo: Souvenir mugs and plates with prints of Pope Benedict XVI and Filipino Roman Catholic cardinals are displayed in a Catholic boutique Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. Benedict announced his resignation Monday but taking effect on Feb. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Did he have to die a pope?

?There is no law that a pope must die a pope. He has the right to leave his post, obviously not his Christian soul.? Father Lombardi defined the Pope?s gesture as ?a precious moral direction for everyone ?. The Canon Law foresees the possibility of resigning the papacy and I believe that what Benedict XVI has offered, with a decision made for the good of the Church after responsibly considering the seriousness loss of strength due to aging, is a precious moral example for every Christian and every person.? Photo: A poster of Pope Benedict XVI hangs on a store of religious paraphernalia next to the Baby Jesus Church in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. Benedict announced he would resign Feb. 28, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Must he submit a formal act of resignation?

?The resignation of the Pope is already valid, even juridically. The statement made last Monday in Latin, in front of the Cardinals, is the official act of the resignation of Benedict XVI,? explained Father Lombardi. ?There is no particular significant and juridically relevant moment that amounts to a symbolic act for terminating the Papacy. ? The resignation was announced and it does not need to be accepted by anyone, nor delivered to anyone.? Photo: Seller Jorge Sanchez shows an image of Pope Benedict XVI at a religious store near to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign Feb. 28, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

How will he dress? What robe will he wear? Will he continue to wear white?

?That is a type of question,? said Father Lombardi, ?that may appear secondary, but that also symbolically has significance in the life of the Church -- in our imagination, in our way to think about and refer to the figure of the Pope.? Photo: This April 19, 2005 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI greeting the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica moments after being elected, at the Vatican. On Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 Benedict XVI announced he would resign Feb. 28, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis/FILE)

What will he do during the Conclave?

?We can reasonably assume,? emphasized the Vatican spokesman, ?that in his discretion he will not think of participating or having particular relationships with the Cardinals, so that their full independence in the election will be clear. Probably also for this reason,? added Lombardi, ?the Pope decided to go to Castel Gandolfo, which indicates the discretion with which he is preparing to live out this moment in the life of the Church.? Photo: In this Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, file photo, Pope Benedict XVI holds the pastoral staff as he celebrates Christmas midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Declaring that he lacks the strength to do his job, Benedict announced Monday Feb. 11, 2013, he will resign Feb. 28 _ becoming the first pontiff to step down in 600 years. His decision sets the stage for a mid-March conclave to elect a new leader for a Roman Catholic Church in deep turmoil. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Will he participate in the Conclave?

It is not expected that he will participate in the Conclave, nor will he have an operational role in the papal departments. Of course, he will not interfere in any way in the ministry of his successor. He is a very discrete person and he will certainly not interfere. Of this we can be sure. Photo: In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI reads a document in Latin where he announces his resignation, during a meeting of Vatican cardinals, at the Vatican, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign Feb. 28 - the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

How will the Papal apartment be sealed?

Usually it is sealed when a pope dies. Father Lombardi believes that ?the Pope will remain in his normal apartments for the time necessary before transferring to the monastery? in the Vatican hills, where he will live after the election of his successor. Photo: The lights are on in Pope Benedict XVI's apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, early Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope has done in more than half a millennium, stunning the world by announcing his resignation Monday and leaving the already troubled Catholic Church to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/15/table-talk-pope-benedict-resignation_n_2695883.html

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