Somebody tell me again why Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) stepped down.
Nobody knows. It would only have been if he thought that his resignation would prevent some worse damage to the Church. It occurred after two events: the receipt of the report on moral corruption, mostly homosexuality, and unorthodoxy in the higher clergy, and the strange freezing of Vatican accounts because of financial corruption...possibly as a warning to him not to continue with the clean-up process he had set in motion. It’s also possible that these two things were linked.
But they certainly wanted him out of there, and as you recall from the Vatileaks affair, there was definitely a conspiracy.
Pope Benedict Gay Blackmail Allegation May Be More Than Just Speculation