Former Pope Benedict has revealed he resigned after God told him to during what he described as a "mystical experience".
Benedict, whose formal title is now Pope Emeritus, announced his shock resignation on February 11.
Just over two weeks later, he became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years, opening the way for the current Pope Francis to be elected.
The Catholic news agency Zenith quoted Benedict as saying "God told me to do it" to a visitor to the convent in the Vatican gardens, where he is living out his retirement in near isolation.
Benedict told his visitor, who asked to remain anonymous, that God did not appear before him in a vision but spoke to him in what he called "a mystical experience".
Italian media had previously claimed that Benedict's decision to step down was influenced by the various scandals that blighted his eight-year papacy.
Among them was the arrest of his personal butler for leaking private documents alleging corruption in the Vatican.
His successor Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, was elected as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.
According to Rome-based Zenith, Benedict told his visitor that the more he observes the way Francis carries out his papal duties, the more he realised the choice was "wanted by God".
Last Sunday, Benedict spent a day at the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to escape the heat of the capital.
The visit indicated that the 86-year-old's health was good enough for him to travel. There had been media reports that since his resignation, Benedict's health had deteriorated dramatically.
Source: Skynews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment