Pope Resigns, Benedict XVI: Due to Declining Health The Pope is Stepping Down, Vatican Denies "Depression" as Reason

Pope Benedict XVI announced on February 11, 2013, that he will resign the Papacy, effective a little over 2 weeks from today on February 28th, citing his waning health. He is the first pope since Pope Gregory XII in 1415 to step down. The office will remain empty until a successor is chosen by the traditional conclave of cardinals. In his announcement about his resignation, Pope Benedict stated:

"I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter."

Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, will move to Castel Gondolfo into the papal summer residence after the resignation. He will then move into a "cloistered residence" in the Vatican. Vatican officials, who were shocked at the Pope's choice, had learned of the resignation plans a few weeks prior to the announcement. Pope Benedict's eight years as the Head of the Roman Catholic Church marked a conservative junction and were scarred by controversy in the Vatican and a marked conservative turn. Despite rumors of depression and/or uncertainty as the reasons for his resignation, A Vatican spokesperson assures that it is just for his health. Founder of BNO News, Michael van Poppel, tweeted the following this morning, revealing some more resignation explanations:

Controversy started early in regards to Benedict. As a child in Germany, he was a member of the Hitler Youth. Obviously stirring up controversy, this revelation was a big arguing point against Benedict's appointment. Though he admits to his involvement in the Nazi youth program, he has explained that it was not his choice but what all German boys had to do. As a German bishop, Benedict's resignation was constantly called for in response to his handling of sex-abuse cases in the Church. In 1985, he had signed a letter preventing a convicted child-molesting priest from being defrocked. Also in 2001, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he wrote a letter declaring the Church's authority in keeping sexual abuse investigations classified. After becoming Pope, Benedict would meet and console sexual assault victims, while publicly apologizing for how the Church handled the situations. Despite this, he did next to nothing to change the institutional nature towards sex-abuse accusations. To add to the list of milestones during his reign, Benedict called Islam "evil and inhuman," compared gay marriage to abortion and euthanasia, and even joined Twitter.