It did not at all satisfy people's natural questions about whether it was free, non-coerced, total, or even canonical. And within days it got even more garbled.
If he's not freely and entirely renouncing the papacy, why is he still dressed in papal garb? (If he's NOT still pope, it's actually improper for him to wear papal dress: white cassock with matching white cape and with white fringed sash, pectoral cross, and white skullcap)--- this may seem trivial to some, but actually Pope Benedict was very cognizant of the significance of different kinds of ecclesial dress.
What's with this novel title of "Pope Emeritus"? It's not canonical; and of course he has the right to call himself that if he wants, but the thing is, it's undefined and ambiguous, which was emphatically NOT the way Benedict did things.
Even more significant: he still wears the papal pectoral cross and,I believe, the "Fisherman's Ring." In the past, on the Pope's death, the Cardinal Chamberlain used to deface and smash the Fisherman's Ring with a hammer as a symbolic representation of the end of the late Pope's authority.
Still wearing the ring ---it seems to me --- is like labeling yourself with an ever-present caption that says, "I'm still pope!"
I mean, somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the Fisherman's Ring? And I'm fairly sure I've even seen pictures of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict both in their identical Bobbsey-twins white cassocks, and Francis kissing Benedict's ring. (What the Holy Sanctus is going on here?)
There's more. Benedict still lives at the Vatican and more-or-less in isolation with the ever-present Ganswein. If he considers himself retired, wouldn't he now be what he was before, a cardinal? -- albeit a retired one? Wouldn't he move out of the Vatican, say, to Castelgandalfo?
And more: Ganswein (I don't trust him, but he's Bendeict's personal assistant / aide / spokesman / handler (?)) gave a "clarifying" (actually equivocating) statement to the Vatican Press Office saying that Benedict had kinda-sorta only half-resigned. Like he was "sharing the petrine ministry" with Francis, and Francis would be the active Pope while Benedict would hang out as the "silent partner," with Benedict in continuous contemplative prayer while Francis was doing the governing.
That's not only non-canonical, it's actually against the nature of the petrine ministry. When Our Lord singled out Peter for his role --- when He gave Peter the significant threefold charge of feeding and caring for the flock as a whole, confirming the brethren, bearing the keys and so forth, it was Peter. Not even the other close companions were singled out in quite this way. It wasn't even the usual threesome of "Peter, James and John."
There are other things that I won't discuss just now, but if you want to get just a little deeper into the tinfoil-tiara stuff, check this out (scroll about halfway down) Torch of the Faith covers some stuff that sure looks like some kind of post-hypnotic suggestion or behavior-modification or whatever you want to call it.
Is Benedict being "run" by someone? Have they given him operant conditioning? Does't he look zombiefied? Geez, it's so easy, they could do it with Ambien. Here, Holy Father, this will help you sleep.
OK, I'm done for now. Call me paranoid: but remember, as Joseph Heller said in Catch22, 'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.'
Pray for the true Holy Father, whoever that may be. I'm serious.
Pray, for Christ's sake, for the Church.