Benedict XVI is the first pope to resign since Celestine V did so in 1294 after little more than 5 months in office. (Some commentators name Gregory XII, who resigned in 1415, as the most recent papal retiree. It all depends on how voluntary one thinks resigning is. Gregory stepped down under tremendous pressure as ..
Scandal is nothing new for the Vatican. That’s been a common take on the arrest of the pope’s butler as part of the ongoing response to documents being leaked from the highest levels of the curia. Reuters called it “reminiscent of Renaissance conspiracies inside the Vatican.” And it’s true. Popes have behaved badly for millennia, ..