What Caused The Pope To Resign: Conspiracies?

Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the papacy, citing advanced age and deteriorating mental and physical health. This move follows two years ago when he became the first pope to resign in almost 600 years. However, modern popes have felt that resignation is unacceptable and could encourage factions within the church to pressure.

In 2013, Benedict XVI was the first pope to do so in six centuries, and the move sent shock waves around the world. The pope’s resignation was supposedly prompted by a 300-page dossier on the Vatican leaks scandal. Conspiracy theorists speculated that a “gay lobby” in the Vatican had blackmailed the pope. No other pope had stepped down since Gregory XII in 1415, and Benedict was the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294.

Two years into his retirement, the former pontiff still faces questions about why he left the Vatican. Messages transported by small planes over Italy’s beaches this summer have spread the debunked conspiracy theory that Pope Francis is not the legitimate head of the Catholic Church. Carlo Maria Vigano was found guilty of schism after years of fierce disagreement with the pontiff.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI took effect on 28 February 2013, following his announcement on 11 February. The Vatican insists that it was the 85-year-old’s own personal decision to step down. Pope Benedict XVI’s German biographer, Peter Seewald, confirmed that insomnia was the “central motive” for his resignation.