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Will Benedict 'resign' or 'abdicate' as pope?
When Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would step down at the end of the month, an interesting debate sprang up: Do popes resign or abdicate?
In English, the pope said he is renouncing his role at the end of the month "because of advanced age." Â In some other languages, he uses the word "vacating."
This is a rare situation; the last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415.
But it turns out there is some specific language to help guide the linguistics of it all.
"Should it happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns from his office, it is required for validity that the resignation be freely made and properly manifested, but it is not necessary that it be accepted by anyone," according to laws that guide the church.
So according to those rules, the correct word to describe the pope's actions would be resignation.
But many people have been calling the pope’s announcement an abdication. That word normally applies in a royal context, when the person who leaves their position has an immediate successor in place.
In this case, the cardinals will vote on a new pope.
On Twitter
Pope said to have ties to Christopher Dorner. they both Quit their jobs!!!!lolololololololol ROTFL
OK IM DONE. I QUIT!!!!!!! ROTFL!!!
Abdication does normally apply in a royal context, but the Pope is a sovereign!
Abdication does not imply that "the person who leaves their position has an immediate successor in place." That is nonsense.
Abdication at least implies that the office or title holder left prematurely. Not necessarily true with a 'resignation'. Abdication usually has a negative connotation; not necessarily so with resignation,
Google abdication ..... king, queen, emperor, empress, pope are included in definition of abdication
Soon he will be 'ex cathedra' for real.
Learn Latin before you try and use it.
"ex cathedra" is Latin for "from the chair," as-in: The Pope makes a doctrinal statement "from the Chair of St. Peter," indicating its infallible nature.
You likely are thinking of "sede vacante" which is Latin for "empty chair". In this case, you would be correct... at least until a new pope is elected, which will be before Easter. Normally, this term is reserved for those who do not believe that the current pope is the real pope, ie: "Sedevacantist".
Let's get this straight: The Pontiff IS royal, and the word "abdication," is absolutely correct. CNN's assertion otherwise is just another example of all-too-common prejudice against Roman Catholics.
Next....there is NOT always a successor to royal houses....witness vairous kins/queens (i.e. Norway) who are in fact elected to their positions and whose positions, therefore, while hereditary in nature, must be confirmed by an outside agency.
The Church is similar.
"Pope," is by the way, short for Roman Pontiff, which is in itself short for "Pontifex Maximus."
In the Royal context, Abdication is correct, since the Papacy is, technically, the only absolute monarchy left on the planet. However, the more proper term is "Renounce," since the Latin term the Holy Father used is "renuntiare"...which just means he is giving it up.
Also, "POPE" is not actually "short" for "Roman Pontiff," although that is his title. "Pope" is catually from the Latin "papa" and/or Greek "pappas" which is a child's word for "father." It's that simple.
"Pontiff" comes from the Roman Latin "Pontifex" (High Priest) or "Pontifex Maximus," (Most High Priest) a title reserved for the emperor of Rome in its pagan days. Christianity "baptized" the term, so that it now applies to the true High Priest of Rome, the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
Additionally, "@Pontifex" is the Pope's Twitter handle.
"but it is not necessary that it be accepted by anyone"
Which means the College of Cardinals could reject the resignation. If they did, then what? Does the Papal Secretary of State increasingly anesthetize the Pope during his public appearances to keep him from embarrassing the Church?
How about the word "retire"? Can we use that? Is that acceptable? Of course, the Pope doesn't have a retirement fund or pension, so what does he do for money? I read somewhere else that he is expected to retire to a monastery and live a life of prayer, reflection and contemplation. For goodness sake, the man is 85 years old, exactly how much praying and contemplation does he have left?
No, it isn't, Chris. He is Abdicating the Papal Tiara and thus the Office of Pontifex Maximus of the Holy See, amongst other titles. No one would have a problem stating the Queen of England is abdicating. What's the deal with recognizing the Holy Father's royalty?
Anti Roman-Catholic prejudice? The only fashionable prejudice left?
The Pontiff, who will revert to his former title as a Prince of the Church, (namly Josef Cardinalium Ratzinger) will live just as our politicians do after they leave office – on the public, via the custodial funds of the Church (as do all religioius).
In a heartbeat, Chucko.
I'd guess that any rejection of a resignation would be part of a staged-managed event designed in advance to make a statement, organizational point, or theological issue.
Officially a Pope abdicates (as do all monarchy which he is considered part of) -- if he was the head of a major corporation, he would be resigning.
Yes it is considered an abdication as the pope is actually a King and the word cardinal mean price price of the church! I am surprised CNN do not know about this!
So, St. Peter is quitting on Christ?