Word: papally
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...that puts John Paul in a decidedly more modern light and has much deeper implications for the church's future. Oder confirms lingering rumors that the long ailing Pope had approved plans that would have allowed for his resignation from the papacy for health reasons, effectively ending centuries of papal commitment to lead the church until death...
...carrying out the functions of my apostolic ministry." He also charged his then doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now known as Pope Benedict XVI - to investigate the implications for the church of having a living "Pope Emeritus" while his successor tried to establish his reign. The vexed question of papal resignation has become increasingly important as a result of modern medicine's ability to potentially extend a Pontiff's life long past his ability to effectively run a 1 billion-strong global church. (See pictures of spiritual healing around the world...
...known whether Pope Benedict, who at 82 is considered in excellent health, has signed any specific new directives about his own succession. John Paul's stance on the issue, however, is largely seen as signaling a green light on papal retirement that Benedict may very well take into account if his own health begins to deteriorate. Conservative Catholic writer Vittorio Messori, who has co-authored books with both John Paul and Benedict, noted that the "canonical" question of resignation was never in doubt, citing Celeste V's decision to step down in the 13th century. (See the top 10 religion...
When Pope John Paul II stepped into Rome's central synagogue on April 13, 1986, the man in white was met by a thunderclap of applause. After centuries of Jews suffering through pogroms, ghettos, Nazi death camps and arm's-length-at-best cohabitation with Christians, the first-ever papal visit to a Jewish house of worship - entering the synagogue side by side with Rome's avuncular chief Rabbi Elio Toaff - was much more than a photo op. It was a shared embrace to begin to heal the wounds of history...
...archives, one senior Vatican official tells TIME that he is confident that Pius would not have been elevated to venerable status without solid evidence in the records showing he had tried his best to save Jews during the Holocaust, either by sheltering them or by not issuing a public papal denunciation, which could have just accelerated the killings. "We also need to try to see those events as they were being lived at the time, and be much more understanding about the value in the prudence that was exercised," he said. "History is not that tidy." (Read: "Pope Benedict...