Benedict XVI’s resignation and his enigmatic life as Pope Emeritus have inspired ludicrous conspiracy theories. It’s time to put them to rest

Are there really two popes?

by Damian Thompson - associate editor of The Spectator and editorial director of the Catholic Herald

On December 8, Pope Francis pushed open the Holy Door of the Basilica of St Peter’s. He thus became the first person to walk through one of the “Doors of Mercy” in cathedrals and churches all over the world that symbolise forgiveness for Catholics in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

And the second person to walk through? Benedict XVI, dressed in the white cassock reserved for popes alone.

Five years ago, no one could have imagined this surreal spectacle: a reigning Pope embracing a “Pope Emeritus” inside St Peter’s. Now Catholics are getting used to the notion of a Pope Emeritus. Whether they are comfortable with it, or understand what it means, is less easy to say.

Benedict is, like most 88 year-olds, very infirm; visibly more so than he was on February 11, 2013, when he shocked his cardinals by telling them, out of the blue and in Latin, that he was vacating the chair of Peter.

We know he is infirm because, contrary to expectations, he has not become invisible to the Church he once led. He continues to make rare appearances in semi-public settings – most recently, at a concert of German Christmas music in the studios of Vatican Radio.

Benedict has said very little since his retirement and not once criticised Pope Francis. But his rare utterances have been fascinating, all of them the purest Ratzinger, and it’s small wonder that his words have been pored over by Catholics intrigued by his enigmatic presence.

Mysteries and rumour surround the frail, almost doll-like figure of the Pope Emeritus. They raise questions that I’ll try to answer.

What follows contains lots of speculation, for which I don’t apologise. No one can understand the workings of the Catholic Church without speculating. Senior prelates, Vatican officials and their press officers are as secretive, evasive and sometimes untruthful as their secular equivalents in Westminster, Brussels and Washington DC.

1. Why did Benedict XVI resign? ...

2) Would Benedict have resigned if he knew Francis would succeed him? ....

3. Why did Benedict assume the style and dignity of “Pope Emeritus”? ....

4. Why does Benedict wear white? ....

5. Do some Catholics believe there are two popes? .....

6. Does Benedict still seek to wield influence in the Church? .....

7. Is Benedict XVI anxious to preserve his legacy? .....

8. Does Benedict approve of the direction in which Pope Francis is taking the Church? .....

9. Did Benedict seek to influence the outcome of the 2015 synod on the family? .....
10. Does the retired Benedict have any influence on the Catholic Church, even if he does not seek to wield it? .......

.........

Read more: www.catholicherald.co.uk