[GoDuke]

I don’t ask this somewhat rhetorical question to be snarky, but, shouldn’t his, (and all of our) strength come from God? This seems highly unusual, especially coming from a Pope that is such a traditionalist.

[Arthur McGowan]

He’s getting old. Getting old doesn’t signify any lack of faith.

What this shows is humility.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I don’t ask this somewhat rhetorical question to be snarky, but, shouldn’t his, (and all of our) strength come from God? This seems highly unusual, especially coming from a Pope that is such a traditionalist.

I've thought the same thing. But it's not really a contradiction. There is room here for free will and human judgement, regarding the decision to resign because of incapacitation. The pope has prayed about it, and according to him, this is the decision that he feels called to.

The previous pope believed that he could witness to the value of suffering and aging, by staying in office.

Both are reasonable decisions.

[Cronos]

interestingly, as JPII got old, there were calls for his resignation. Cardinal Ratzinger stuck by him. Pope John Paul II's frailty, to ME, seemed to be a message about how the bishop of Rome is a man at the end, buoyed up by the Holy Spirit. When I saw Pope JP II, this man who in his prime was an alpin skier, a big tough guy, hunched over and moving with obvious pain, it seemed to me that the ONLY thing moving him, was God's grace. No man by himself could do what he did in when in such an age.

JP II was a lesson in that we should give up to God and ask the Holy Spirit to carry us

Pope Benedict's resignation is another example of a person humbly stating that the glory of God is paramount. in a different way