What Does The Pope’s Resignation Mean for the Catholic Community?

        With all the hub-bub over recent changes in the Christian community, such as the passing of a bill to allow homosexuals to wed in the eyes of God, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI comes as no surprise to some.

    It was reported by the BBC, amongst hundreds of other publications the world over, that the Pope has decided to stand down from the 28^th of February this year. He has been the head of the Catholic Church for 8 years and is the first Pope to resign for 700 years. The only reason provided was Benedict’s declining mental and physical state.

    The decision has left to uncertainty in the Church and for its overall future. Could the recent revamps in the community have anything to do with Benedict’s sudden change of heart? Despite his opposition to homosexual acts in all forms, many countries across the world have legalised gay marriage whilst Benedict has lead the Church.

    However, he has apologised for the Catholic connection to sexual abuse against children and its failure to prevent it on many an occasion. Although such allegations have led to severe decline in young people attending mass in the West, the Church has done very little to encourage a restoration of the faith.

    The 85-year-old leader is expected to go into isolation after his official resignation and a new leader of the Catholic Church is expected to be elected as soon as the 24^th of March this year. Several frontrunners have already been highlighted to take over the role and Benedict has stated he will not interfere in his successor’s affairs. 

    Will the Church continue to change in the future? Will the new Pope bring about even more variations to the faith? There has been a great deal of confusion for years with regards to what is moral in the eyes of God and what the Bible means or which Christian denomination is the right one. But with apparent uncertainty from the Church’s leader, the future seems somewhat bleak.