Pope says he will resign on Feb 28

Pope Pulls Pin.

Brave move yet kudos to him for doing it, not slowly and painfully deteriorating like JPII did. Lets hope the cardinals elect someone younger and a real mover and shaker in Catholicdom.

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he told the cardinals. "I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiriual nature, must be carried out not only by words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary - strengths which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately the ministry entrusted to me."

He'll go down in history as the first Pope to have a twitter account.

They need a younger, sexier, more accessible Pope to better the image of the papacy.

lol.

The Catholic Church needs to elect a younger, more liberal Pope. Namely one who will reverse the ban on condoms which contributes to the misery of millions in the form of HIV.

Bookies have already installed Cardinal Turkson of Ghana as the hot tip - 5/2. First black man as pope? Could be good PC spin for the organisation.

seen on twitter in the past few minutes - everyone is a comedian these days.

BREAKING: The #Pope is to leave Vatican City and join Vatican United

What we need this time is an African #Pope. African leaders never resign due to old age

The Pope has stepped down as manager of Catholic FC after a recent run of poor results

So begins another game of #pope . Current champs Germany looking strong but you'd have to fancy the Italians because of the home advantage

if I've understood this week's news properly,an unemployed pope has found a horsey lasagne in Richard III's car park

The economy must be bad. Even God's making people redundant

The #pope's resignation should come as no surprise. Pulling out is what Catholics do best!

I bet God's crucified chosen one wishes he'd known resignation was an option

Last time a Pope resigned was over 100 years before Richard III was buried in a car park.

Despite Emperor Palpatine's resignation, the Death Star will be completed on schedule

The Ravens may have won the Superbowl, but the Cardinals are due for a smoking start to next season.

I think an African or South American pope is the best way forward for Catholicism. The US market is saturated, Europe isn't particularly interested, the Middle East and India have their own brand loyalty and the last thing China needs is a ban on condoms. A CEO needs to know his markets.

Well that was unexpected. The timing was a little unsettling how close it was to the start of lent but there should be a new Pope by the time Easter rolls around so I can watch the mass. I think that the death of Pope John Paul II was exceedingly difficult and seeing his own health decline Pope Benedict saw fit to spare us of the event. While not as popular internationally his time and service will be remembered.

The Catholic Church needs to elect a younger, more liberal Pope. Namely one who will reverse the ban on condoms which contributes to the misery of millions in the form of HIV.

Your idea of liberal and the Church's idea of liberal are two very different things. Cardinal Turkson would be the most 'liberal' card on the table and his views on contraception are that it's possible they may be used in be useful "in the situation of a married, faithful couple where one partner is infected", although he warns that, as the quality of condoms in Africa is poor, their use could engender false confidence.

Bookies have already installed Cardinal Turkson of Ghana as the hot tip - 5/2. First black man as pope? Could be good PC spin for the organisation.

Turkson is a great Cardinal but he's to, for lack of a better word, liberal just as Timothy Dolan is to conservative and I feel like the Church is trying to appeal to nations outside the Western power bases. The Church is trying to move slowly forward and they'll likely elect a Pope that will act as a strong transitional figure. There are several other candidates and there may very well be one from Africa or North or South America. If they decide to stick to Europe the Cardinal of Vienna would be a traditionally safe bet but the decision would be entirely dependent on which direction Church establishment decides to take.

The last time a Pope resigned was a long time ago, and we have not had a woman Pope for centuries... Now we know why Hillary Clinton had to quit her job.

Resume sent.

Pick someone in their 50s or even younger. We are living longer but having the starting age of such an important position be in the 70s or so is not a good idea.

The Catholic Church is in negotiations with me now for the job.

RR

now that the head has resigned, can the Catholic Church be placed into administration and its assets sold off to compensate the people sexually abused by its representatives over the years?

Wow, bring on a black African pope, that would upset so many Americans, what with all the drug legalization and Tea Party-ism and gay marriage.

makes popcorn

An African is a hot tip on Australian TV News.