On 11 February 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from his position as Bishop of Rome. He cited his increasing age and declining health as the primary reasons for his decision, stating, “I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.” The Catholic church is among the largest and most influential organizations in the world. A papal resignation hadn’t happened in over 400 years, so this unprecedented move quickly gripped the world’s attention.
Previous to his announcement, the Church had already been facing countless allegations of sexual misconduct among priests around the world. Many voices decried the organization for not taking larger actions to reverse and prevent damage made by corrupt church leaders. Upon Benedict’s announcement, many news reporters asserted that these scandals played a primary role in his decision. The day following the announcement, Father Federico Lombardi conducted a press conference with the media to discuss how the Church would move forward. He addressed questions pertaining to the pope’s health and how the conclave to select the next Pope would function under these new circumstances. Lombardi made no mention of the sexual abuse cases playing a role in the pope’s decision to step down, and consequently most major news reports focused instead on the material he’d shared pertaining to the next pope’s election.
analysis
Few events have gripped the world’s attention like this unexpected step-down from the papacy. A lot of people were unsure of how to process it, and sought to look at the countless possible reasons behind it. Given the breadth of the organization, they had the capacity to make sure to orchestrate this situation very carefully, and they largely succeeded in doing so. Pope Benedict’s initial announcement to a gathering of Cardinals in Rome was shocking, but very thoughtfully worded.
The next-day press conference was also well-presented, although Lombardi was pressed with numerous questions which he didn’t have an answer prepared for. This left room for reporters to make assumptions and fill in gaps; several reporters took that room and ran with it. The church likely could’ve done more to clarify their position – that this was unrelated to the abuse cases – but a statement could also draw more attention to the question than there otherwise would’ve been, so choosing to be quiet and move forward was the best decision.