Pope Benedict Won't Monday-Morning-Pope His Successor

Unlike all the other dudes with Twitter accounts who claim to be authorities on everything, Pope Benedict has some theological justification for his claim on infallibility. Which means Benedict's nearly unprecedented abdication created the possibility of a retired pope second-guessing his successor — "His teachings are sententia fidei proxima, at best!"

Alas, a Vatican production of Two Popes, One Funny Hat is not going to happen:

"These powers go with the office, so they will pass to the next pope… Whoever renounces no longer has the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide the Universal Church," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a briefing.

Guess it's impossible to disagree with an infallible pope who proclaims himself fallible.

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Tags: Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, Religion, Vatican