What do you do when a pope resigns?
It sounds like the beginning of a joke or a riddle. And while it is no joke--it appears that to a certain extent it is a bit of a riddle. Where will he live? What will he be called? How will he relate to the new pope? Will he still be infalliable?
Protestants, of course, have wrestled with some of these very issues when it comes to the retirement of long time pastors. As clergy of various denominations retire they are faced with similiar questions. Should I retire in the community where I have served as a pastor? Should I start attending a different church? Will I play any role in the ongoing life of the congregation? Will I have a title? (No worries among Protestants about infalliability! Every pastor knows his or her predecessor was infalliable!)
On a more serious note, however, these are not inconsequential issues--for the Pope or for more mundane clergy. And as our poluation continues to age, these questions of how the retiring generation relates to those that follow is a conundrum in all walks of life. As a society we continue to undervalue the wisdom of age, and we often fail to take advantage of the lessons based on expereince older folks have to offer.
Joan Chittister, OSB, in her insightful book The Gift of Years, writes: "[I]t is important to come face-to-face with what it means to age, to be older, to be old, to become an elder in society." (vii) Perhaps the Pope's resignation will help us all address the issues of aging in new and creative ways.
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