Gulf Pine Catholic
•
September 9, 2016
3
Gulf
Pine
Catholic
(ISSN No. 0746-3804)
September 9, 2016
Volume 34, Issue 1
The
GULF PINE CATHOLIC
,
published every other week, is an
official publication of
the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi.
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SEPTEMBER 15, 10 am
Bishop Morin’s Calendar
Sept. 11 Mass at Nativity BVM
Cathedral, 11 am
Sept. 15 Presbyteral Council
meeting, 2 pm
Sept. 18 Mass at Nativity BVM
Cathedral, 11 am
Sept. 20 Jubilee Mass at St. Joseph,
Gulfport, 6 pm
Sept. 23 Mass at Our Lady of
Fatima, Feast of San
Lorenzo Ruiz, Patron of
Philippines, 6 pm
Sept. 24 Notre Dame Seminary Gala,
6 pm
Sept. 26-29 Mission Bishops Conference
in Illinois
Retired Pope Benedict says it was his ‘duty’ to
resign from papacy
BY JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Retired Pope
Benedict XVI said in an interview that he felt
a “duty” to resign from the papacy because
of his declining health and the rigorous de-
mands of papal travel.
While his heart was set on completing
the Year of Faith, the retired pope told Italian
journalist Elio Guerriero that after his visit
to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012, he felt
he was “incapable of fulfilling” the demands
of another international trip, especially with
World Youth Day 2013 scheduled for Brazil.
“With the program set out by John Paul
II for these (World Youth) days, the physi-
cal presence of the pope was indispensable,”
he told Guerriero in an interview, which is
included in the journalist’s upcoming biog-
raphy of Pope Benedict. “This, too, was a
circumstance which made my resignation a
duty,” the pope said.
An excerpt of Guerriero’s book,
“Servant
of God and Humanity: The Biography of
Benedict XVI,”
was published Aug. 24 in the
Italian newspaper,
La Repubblica
.
Pope Benedict said that although he was
moved by the “profound faith” of the people
of Mexico and Cuba, it was during his visit
to the two countries in 2012 that he “experi-
enced very strongly the limits of my physical
endurance.”
Among the problems with committing to
the grueling schedule of an international trip
was the change in time zones. Upon consult-
ing with his doctor, he said, it became clear
“that I would never be able to take part in the
World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.”
“From that day, I had to decide in a rela-
Retired Pope Benedict XVI attends the
opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s
Basilica at the Vatican in this Dec. 8, 2015,
file photo.
CNS photo/Stefano Spaziani, pool
tively short time the date of my retirement,”
he said.
Guerriero noted that while many believed
the pope’s retirement was a defeat for the
church, Pope Benedict continues to seem
“calm and confident.” The retired pope said
he “completely agreed” with the journalist’s
observation.
“I would have been truly worried if I was
not convinced -- as I had said in the begin-
ning of my pontificate -- of being a simple
and humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard,”
he said.
The retired pope added that while he was
aware of his limitations, he accepted his elec-
tion in 2005 “in a spirit of obedience” and
that despite the difficult moments, there were
also “many graces.”
“I realized that everything I had to do I
could not do on my own and so I was almost
obliged to put myself in God’s hands, to trust
in Jesus who -- while I wrote my book on
him -- I felt bound to by an old and more pro-
found friendship,” he said.
The retired pontiff spends his days in
prayer and contemplation while residing at
the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in Vatican
City. For 19 years, different contemplative
orders took turns living in the monastery
with a mission focused on praying for the
pope and the church.
Benedict said that upon learning that the
Visitandine nuns would be leaving the resi-
dence, he realized “almost naturally that this
would be the place where I could retire in or-
der to continue in my own way the service of
prayer of which John Paul II had intended for
this house.”
Among the visitors Pope Benedict re-
ceives is Pope Francis, who “never fails to
visit me before embarking on a long trip,” he
said.
Asked about his personal relationship
with his successor, Pope Benedict said they
shared a “wonderfully paternal-fraternal
relationship” and he has been profoundly
touched by his “extraordinarily human avail-
ability.”
“I often receive small gifts, personally
written letters” from Pope Francis, he said.
“The human kindness with which he treats
me is a particular grace of this last phase
of my life for which I can only be grateful.
What he says about being open toward other
men and women is not just words. He puts it
into practice with me.”
Pope Francis, who wrote the book’s pref-
ace, expressed his admiration for the retired
pope and said his spiritual bond with his pre-
decessor “remains particularly profound.”
“In all my meetings with him, I have been
able to experience not only reverence and
obedience, but also friendly spiritual close-
ness, the joy of praying together, sincere
brotherhood, understanding and friendship,
and also his availability for advice,” Pope
Francis wrote.
The church’s mission of proclaiming the
merciful love of God for the world, he added,
has and continues to be exemplified in the
life of Pope Benedict.
“The whole life of thought and the works
of Joseph Ratzinger have focused on this
purpose and -- in the same direction, with
the help of God -- I strive to continue,” Pope
Francis wrote.
