Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

He may not participate in the conclave but he could give advice and stuff.

Yes, we'll be lucky if we get a Pope who will consider maybe talking about being a little less Draconian on condom usage to avoid AIDS.

Yeah, Gregory XII in 1415, I was relying an earlier news report, and no, he is not allowed to participate in the conclave. However, since he and John Paul II only appointed conservatives - the cardinals under 80 who are allowed to vote, you can rest assured that it won;t be a liberal who replaces him.

And is he not permitted to participate in the conclave?

I have read that Gregory XII (I think that's the one) is the last one to resign, more recently than the one you cited, Big.

The last Pope to abdiacte was Pope Celstine V in 1294, 719 years ago.

Benedcit XVI will not participate in the conclae electing the next Pope who is likely to be the first non-European. Cardinal Ouellet of Quebec, 68, would be my guess although I would not be surprised to see an African or South American cardinal elected.

OscarGuy wrote: He says it's because of health issues, but we all know it's because of the child abuse scandals that have plagued his reign.

I read someone on Twitter speculate that he's stepping down while he's alive so he can have a hand in selecting his successor to make sure that they don't elect a progressive or even moderate.

He just wants to be on next season's Dancing With the Stars.

Apparently the last time was Gregory XII almost 600 years ago...

He says it's because of health issues, but we all know it's because of the child abuse scandals that have plagued his reign.

Pope Benedict XVI resigns.

Has this ever happened before?