Many peoples started to send good thoughts to the pope, considering his age and health. The rivers of ink and the seismic waves over the internet will continue for sure in the electoral campaign to elect a new "holly parent". I have no idea why some considers that Benedict resignes, since the pope's mythologycal boss is not among us to accept his resignation... As supreme leader of the Catolic Church, he answer only to a not existing god and his own conscience (in the case he has one), so the right word should be retirement.
Beyond the conflict of opinions about subjects as religion (or lack of it), Catolich Church and the its leader's position, one thing is sure: Benedict's retirement is an historcal case. In almost 2 thousand years of existance this "resignation" starting today is the third decision of this kind, the last one being about 6 centuries ago. The tradition is that the Pope is keeping his job to his death, no matter his medical or mental state, or to his replacement for political and financial reasons (as usual, in all the institutions that runs huge amount of money every year there are such things - people are "eating" each other for money). The more traditional people, the ones found on lower hierarchical levels of Catolical Church, started to comment or even to protest about the Pope's decision: the Pope is not dead, he is just old and ill, he should continue as the other Popes before him, to heep his job to his death.
From my point of view this retierment is a proof of responsability: if you are not capable to run a task or do your job as you should then you have to let someone else to do it, some one more fit for the job (at least more fit than you). This applies to any situation possible when there are other people that can do the same thing as you... including the case of Benedict the XVIth. He is not the only person in the world that is qualified to run the Church, there are better leaders than him. This old guy (I am not saying without respect, but he is 86 years old) is too sick and probably too tired to run his business Church in an efficient way, so he decided to let someone else to do it better. For this he deserve my appreciation... I almost wrote "my respect", but as I am Atheist it would have been too much.
It's a personal decision, but affecting about 1,2 billion Christians. Their tradition says different, but it may not be a right thing. When greater good is involved the tradition should always loose ground.
