It is incredible how people will look at interviews conducted with Pope Benedict XVI after his invalid resignation and say, “He said this or he said that,” in order to show that he really resigned, but these same people will not closely read or not read at all Pope Benedict XVI’s Declaratio of February 11, 2013 which is the ONLY act that has juridical value, that is, has a legal effect.1 Please don’t be fooled by such people. Even if Pope Benedict XVI were to go today on live television, kneel before Jorge Bergoglio, kiss his ring, and say, “You are the one and only true pope,” it would still have ZERO juridical value. Pope Benedict XVI would remain pope. If Pope Benedict XVI truly wants to go from pope to non-pope, he must do again a juridical act and this time unequivocally renounce his office (munus). Nothing less will do.
1In reality even the Declaratio has no juridical value, that is, it is null and void because Pope Benedict XVI attempted to hand over the active exercise of his ministry to another which he cannot do since the Author of the papacy is Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Did Pope Benedict XVI really intend to hand over the active exercise of his ministry to another? Beyond speculation, how do we know with certitude his intention?
Since the Keys and binding and loosing power go with the Office and since he purposefully retained the office while declaring his intent to no longer administer it, even should the appearance be that “Bergoglio took his daddy’s car and he’s cruisin’ to the hamburger stand, now”, there was no authority to take the keys; they were stolen and the bad guys EVERYWHERE are attempting to take us all on a FiP “joy” ride that we’re suppose to resist.
Why don’t we just get out of the anti-church car and recognize that BiP? Because we don’t like him! Because not sede but in reality, yeah, sede because NEVER BiP. Trump Derangement Syndrome but it’s actually Benedict Derangement Syndrome.
According to the sense of the words of the Declaratio, Pope Benedict XVI did intend to hand over the active exercise of the ministry. However, he cannot do that because that ministry belongs to him as pope, the office designated by Christ. That is why I said that the Declaratio is null and void.
Have you seen this explication regarding your point regarding a possible ministry that a pope has the right to set up and then exercise? (It comes from an article posted by Bp Gracida on Sept 14th at his blog, Abyssum.org but the bold emphasis is mine.)
“So Pope Benedict, by explicating the ‘spiritual essence’ of the Petrine Office in no way does an injustice to that Office as established by Christ. For, the nature of the Petrine Office certainly demands that the exercise of the Power of Order in a personal way cannot be isolated from the public exercise of that Power of Order.” (p. 11) AND
‘Throughout the history of the Church, many “innovations,” ministries if you will, were introduced into the Vatican’s operating structures according to the needs of the time. … Hence, as long as there was a real need and as long as the proposed additions or changes were not opposed [to] the nature of the Papacy or the Divine Law, those changes were certainly legitimate.
Until it is proved otherwise we must admit that Benedict was by no means ignorant of the history of the Church, of Canon Law or of the teaching of the Church that the Papacy is strictly a monarchy. Moreover, having argued from the wording of his resignation that Benedict intended to maintain the Petrine Office and that with no extraneous intimation whatsoever that he wished to share the Papacy with anyone, it ought to be accepted that he did not attempt to set up a Diarchy. Indeed, as Pope he could add any kind of ministry which was NOT contrary to the nature of the Papacy or to any Divine Law, according as he saw fit for the situation in the Church confronting him. So it is necessary [to] look to what he actually did. And for this purpose we turn to Dom Gänswein, Benedict’s Secretary and Prefect of the Papal Household, who provides the arrangement that Benedict instituted. We provide herewith three paragraphs from his 20 May 2016 talk wherein the details are set out, and then present an analysis of those three paragraphs in order [to] show that Benedict in no way established something contrary to the nature of the Papacy.’ (p. 25) AND
‘The point here is that, although the exercise of the powers of an office are not the office itself, it would be a grave injustice for the holder of an office, capable of carrying out some type of “ministry,” while intending to maintain the office, to resign from the “ministry” only and then refuses to undertake some type of obligation (duties or “ministries”) proper to that office. Therefore, having resigned from the usual “ministry” for commensurate and just reasons, Benedict intends to undertake some type of “ministry.” He cannot act in the usual manner, but there are other possible ways to “minister” within the nature of the Petrine Office. As Pope and prior to the date set for his withdrawal from the “ministry as usual,” he arranges for the change or addition of a certain type of “ministry” and the reduction of the size of the Curia. It is Dom Gänswein who sets the program out. However, before looking at his explanation, it should be added that if a Pope were to be totally and absolutely incapacitated by some ill-fated accident, or even reduced [to] a vegetative state, he would still be Pope.’ (p. 29)
The remaining six pages of the article posted by Bp Gracida on Sept 14th explain in greater detail the ministry that Pope Benedict may have been conducting since Feb 28, 2013.
I read this article before. I am not as confident as Fr. Abdicta about this opinion that Pope Benedict XVI has some greater plan than meets the eye. We will have to wait and see.
Thank you, Mr. la Rosa. Waiting on Our Lord and Our Lady.