Far less than meets the eye

My photo
Ecumenism is the Universal Solvent of Tradition .

Many think that Pope Benedict XVI's abdication letter read like this

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce one-half of the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be sorta half-vacant and a Conclave to elect the new one-half Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

It was not that long ago that the Principle of Non-Contradiction was acknowledged in the Catholic Church (it was apparently sempiternally suspended during Vatican Two) but now, according to the hearsay of the friend * of Bishop Emeritus Ratzinger, we are supposed to think that two subjects - Ratzinger and Bergoglio - are both supreme.

And that sort of thinking suggests to ABS that Fr. Ratzinger was in favor of Lumen Gentium's teaching that two subjects - Pope and College of Bishops - both have supreme authority.

Supreme ain't what it used to be....**


https://onepeterfive.com/abp-ganswein-pope-benedict-part-enlarged-papal-ministry/

** When Benedict XVI abdicated the papacy at the end of February that year he unilaterally made a series of decisions that had the real potential of inhibiting the pontificate of his then still-unknown successor.
Before the conclave even got started, he decided to take the title “Pope-emeritus”. Almost every respected canon lawyer, theologian and Church historian immediately voiced perplexity at the choice. They noted that the proper title should be Bishop-emeritus of Rome.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who continues to head the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization that Benedict created, is the latest to contest the use of pope-emeritus.
“I’ll respect it, but will not use it,” he said recently. “Theologically, it poses more problems than it resolves,” said Fisichella, who is considered one of Italy’s leading theologians and was a close aid to the former pope.
Etymologically, the term “pope”, or the Italian papa, simply means “dad” or padre. It is not even one of the seven official titles of the man whose first and most important title (and function) is Bishop of Rome. And at least two Orthodox Churches (the Egyptian Copts and the autocephalous Turks) also call their top leaders pope. But, again, these are forms of address, not proper titles. Using the term pope-emeritus would be like calling your retired parish priest, “monsignor-emeritus.”
Benedict XVI also decided to continue wearing the white papal cassock, modifying it only slightly by eliminating the white shoulder cape. This, his supporters argued, was a sign that he had renounced his juridical power as Roman Pontiff. However, the retired pope did retain the gold ring, pectoral cross and white zucchetto, giving up only the red papal slippers that Pope Francis does not even wear.