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Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI felt he had a “duty” to resign from the papacy because of his declining health and the rigorous demands of papal travel.
While his heart was set on completing the Year of Faith, the retired pope told Italian journalist Elio Guerriero that after his visit to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012, he felt he was “incapable of fulfilling” the demands of another international trip, especially with World Youth Day 2013 scheduled for Brazil.
“With the program set out by John Paul II for these (World Youth) days, the physical presence of the pope was indispensable,” he told Guerriero in an interview, which is included in the journalist’s upcoming biography of Pope Benedict.
“This, too, was a circumstance which made my resignation a duty,” the pope said.
An excerpt of Guerriero’s book, Servant of God and Humanity: The Biography of Benedict XVI, was published Aug. 24 in the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica.
Benedict said that although he was moved by the “profound faith” of the people of Mexico and Cuba, it was during his visit to the two countries in 2012 that he “experienced very strongly the limits of my physical endurance.”
Among the problems with committing to the grueling schedule of an international trip was the change in time zones.
Upon consulting with his doctor, he said, it became clear “that I would never be able to take part in the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.”
“From that day, I had to decide in a relatively short time the date of my retirement,” he said.
Guerriero noted that while many believed the pope’s retirement was a defeat for the church, Benedict continues to seem “calm and confident.”
The retired pope said he “completely agreed” with the journalist’s observation.
“I would have been truly worried if I was not convinced – as I had said in the beginning of my pontificate – of being a simple and humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard,” he said.
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