An unprecedented action in our time

Shane Wade
Opinion Editor

I don’t have much in common with Pope Benedict XVI: I’m not Catholic. I never became Pope. My Twitter account isn’t the slightest bit popular.

But on Feb. 11, I found out we both had something in common: We both know when to quit.

Pope Benedict XVI, expressing his concern for his age and declining health, has decided to resign as Pope, effective Feb. 28. It’s a highly unprecedented act, since last time a Pope resigned was nearly six centuries ago.

Benedict’s decision will be one discussed by Catholics, detractors from the faith and conspiracy theorists for centuries. But regardless of what speculators say, he made the right decision.

Being Pope, presiding over one of the largest religious establishments and being judged by people all over the world for your every decision, isn’t an easy job.

The Pope is an international icon; being put on such a high pedestal is the epitome of power and stress. The decision to stand down is an outstanding statement of faith within the institution and its constituents. It also shows Benedict’s true competence as a leader.

The average age of elected Popes is now 62. Benedict, at the age of 78, was the oldest person to be elected Pope in about 300 years. He’s now 85, outliving his predecessor by just a year. His mere presence as a candidate for Pope was an outlier, let alone his succession.

In stepping down, Benedict performs one final act of devotion to his people. He allows them to choose a new Pope with greater deliberation and peace than granted by every previous Pope for the last 600 years. The act should set a precedent for future leaders of both the Church and other institutions, religious and secular.

We live in an unconventional era, where dramatic changes in our daily lifestyle are highly dependant on technology and can occur over just a few years, as compared to our evolutionary past, when changes that affected our daily routine would take decades to implement.

Experience and competence alone should not be the qualification for leadership; even in an institution as ancient and conservative as the Church. The future of the Catholic Church and its success lies in its ability to be just as courageous as Benedict XVI. It will mean making difficult, unprecedented decisions, like supporting and encouraging the use of condoms as a means of combating sexually transmitted diseases, as Benedict has done to some small degree. It’ll mean becoming a more accepting and hospitable environment for homosexuals. It’ll mean operating the Church as less of a colonizing power within developing countries.

Sometimes quitting is the right decision. It’s a tough decision, but we all as individuals need to embrace our own personal limitations, particularly when we get older or when we adopt new responsibilities. That goes for everyone, from college students—taking on internships, full-time and part-time jobs and school work—to politicians, bogged down by personal scandals, do-nothing legislative bodies and general dysfunction.

Knowing our own limitations, whether based on principle or an economic benchpoint, allow us to make decisions that are not only best for us, but best for those affected by the decision.

Benedict XVI proves there’s nothing too big to quit.