Well I wasn't expecting to see this news reported!   Whatever I may think of his views or his papacy, it is a wise man who knows when to call it a day, and I respect Pope Benedict XVI for having the courage so to do.  I also think it is rather fitting that this elderly theologian can spend the last part of his life out of the spotlight pursuing those matters that energise him.  We pray for him, for his successor, and for the Roman Catholic Communion in this time of change.

On a less serious note: