COPY OF POPE LETTER OF RESIGNING

The full copy of Pope
Benedict XVI’s resignation
letter has been released
after the pontiff made his
decision last week. Read the Pope’s
resignation statement in
full below: Dear Brothers,
I have convoked you to
this Consistory, not only
for the three
canonizations, but also to
communicate to you a decision of great
importance for the life of
the Church.
After having repeatedly
examined my conscience
before God, I have come to the certainty that my
strengths, due to an
advanced age, are no
longer suited to an
adequate exercise of the
Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this
ministry, due to its
essential spiritual nature,
must be carried out not
only with words and
deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.
However, in today’s world,
subject to so many rapid
changes and shaken by
questions of deep
relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern
the bark of Saint Peter and
proclaim the Gospel, both
strength of mind and body
are necessary, strength
which in the last few months, has deteriorated
in me to the extent that I
have had to recognize my
incapacity to adequately
fulfill the ministry
entrusted to me. For this reason, and well
aware of the seriousness
of this act, with full
freedom I declare that I
renounce the ministry of
Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to
me by the Cardinals on 19
April 2005, in such a way,
that as from 28 February
2013, at 20:00 hours, the
See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant
and a Conclave to elect the
new Supreme Pontiff will
have to be convoked by
those whose competence
it is. Dear Brothers, I thank you
most sincerely for all the
love and work with which
you have supported me in
my ministry and I ask
pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust
the Holy Church to the
care of Our Supreme
Pastor, Our Lord Jesus
Christ, and implore his
holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal
Fathers with her maternal
solicitude, in electing a
new Supreme Pontiff.
With regard to myself, I
wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of
God in the future
through a life dedicated
to prayer.