The Case That Pope Benedict XVI Can Only Have Resigned Because of Scandal, Part 1
Let's start with this fallacious talking point that the last pope to resign did so about 700 years ago. That's not really accurate at all, and I have yet to see a single journalist or religious scholar challenge this idea. What truly happened, according to recorded history, is that in 1415 Pope Gregory XII resigned to end the 40+ year schism that was tearing Europe apart (and to allow for the ascension of John XXIII, who was certainly considered the one true Pope by a large percentage of those present at the Council of Constance). That was not so much a resignation as a dissolution, akin to Jefferson Davis admitting to the illegitimacy of his Confederate rebellion.
Before Gregory XII you'd have to go back further to 1294 when Celestine V resigned AFTER 161 DAYS when he was found to be simultaneously grossly incompetent, corrupt, and susceptible to outside influence. This is a Pope so notorious that every single one of his decrees was annulled, and in almost 1000 years no one has since chosen to recycle his name. He was such a horrendous failure that Canonical law was forever altered, requiring that all future popes would be elected in the style of Conclave that we are about to see take place (FYI, the selection of Celestine took 2 YEARS. It only ended after the diet of the participants was restricted to bread and water by an angry populace).
So now we have to go back further, to Gregory VI in 1046, who was forced to resign after it was proven that he had bribed the previous pope (Benedict IX) to resign in 1045. In 964 Benedict V resigned when it was decided by Otto, founder of the Holy Roman Empire, that he was not the legitimate heir to St. Paul's seat.
And before that -- well, the ONLY other popes to have abdicated are all shrouded in mystery. Some left Rome, only to retain power in exile, or it is in dispute as to whether or not they actually stepped down (as historical records are spotty at best or apocryphal).
My point is that it could truly be argued that no pope has EVER resigned without extreme external pressure (see Holy Roman Emperor), or after the greatest of scandals. This is an institution that purposefully makes changes on par with glacier movements, and adheres to traditions and appearances like no other group that I can think of. And to resign now without true historical precedent leads me to suspect that there is some SERIOUSLY ugly business taking place here. Is he being pushed out to avoid a scandal? Is it something else?
I invite comments, particularly if they can accurately refute my historical information and theory.
