"The 'authoritative historians' and 'other theologians', in my opinion, are neither true historians nor theological ones. The speculations they propose are absurd to me. To say that in my resignation I would have left 'only the exercise of the ministry and not also the munus' is contrary to clear dogmatic and canonical doctrine... If some journalists speak of a 'creeping schism,' they deserve no attention."

This is what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote in a letter dated August 21, 2014, to Monsignor Nicola Bux, who had asked him about the doubts and perplexities that had accompanied his resignation from the pontificate the previous year.

The text of this document is being published for the first time as an appendix to the book "Reality and Utopia in the Church," written by Nicola Bux himself with Vito Palmiotti for "Libri della Bussola." The announcement was made by the portal "La nuova bussola quotidiana."

Benedict XVI, responding to the objections presented to him, deemed the resignation of a Pope "fully" valid and the parallelism "between the diocesan bishop and the Bishop of Rome with regard to the question of resignation" "well-founded." He also defended the right of a Pontiff to speak and write outside "the office of Pope," as he himself did by continuing to write books during his pontificate, such as those dedicated to Jesus, which he considered "a mission of the Lord."

And he reveals that Wojtyla had also considered resigning: "I know that Pope John Paul II, as his 75th birthday approached, seriously considered whether it would be right to retire from his Petrine ministry. His decision not to retire was correct, but he himself was convinced of the parallel."

(Unioneonline)

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