VATICAN'T? - Should The Pope Be Able To Retire ???

I was very surprised to read that Pope Benedict XVI was to retire.
I didn't think that Popes ever retired

Is RETIREMENT a concept that is a little too secular
to be considered acceptable for reigning Popes?
If the Pope's position and authority comes, as the Catholic Church teaches.
directly from God, then what right does anyone have to change (or even question)
the Supreme Pontificial status of any living man.
"What God hath put together, let no man put asunder.
What God hath created only God can destroy".

Popes HAVE retired...
The last Pope to do so was Pope Gregory XII, in 1415
but this retirement was provoked by a set of very unique circumstances within the Church.
During Pope Gregory XII's nine year reign there were also TWO ANTI-POPES
one in Avignon and the second in Pisa.

This situation began in 1378
when several French Cardinals broke with Rome
over the election of Pope Urban VI - which they considered invalid.
Instead they followed Clement VII as Pope, based in Avignon.
By 1409 another schism occurred and a third Pope reigned from Pisa.
This situation, where disagreements led to ever more splits and schisms,
was untenable.
The Catholic Church needed to regroup under the leadership of ONE SUPREME PONTIFF
A Pope recognised as the one and only leader of the Catholic Church
by ALL of the worlds Roman Catholics (as well as the Avignon and Pisan Catholics).

In 1415 the Pisan line was discontinued
whilst the Roman and Avignon Popes both retired
in order to allow the election of a new Supreme Pontiff
who would again reign over a unified Catholic Church
again based in it's traditional Roman home - Vatican City.

The retirement of Benedict XVI had no such motive.

Also, the sheer expense of the Popes retirement needs examining.
Although no longer a reigning Pontiff
Cardinal Ratzinger still carries awesome authority and respect.
His retirement pension includes the use of several mansions and palaces,
Papal helicopters, aeroplanes, yachts and private train carriages.

Pope Benedict XVI (Retired) formerly Arch-Bishop Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
(and previously head of the Inquisition) is an absolutely new concept.
A living person who is a former Pope.
To simply pension him off with an eye to fiscal responsibility (as with other retired clergy)
was never an option.
But to keep him in the style and luxury of the Pope
whilst not using him for functions of a serving Pope
seems to be an extravagance too far
(Especially as his successor Pope has declared that his first priority is
towards ending extreme poverty).

Every day, in every Catholic institution,
the collection of donations never stops.
Today several ancient and medieval Churches
will be condemned due to a lack of maintenance funding.
At the same time many thousands of the donations made
(many donated by the very poor - who show more concern for
the health of their souls, than of their bodies)
will be spent on supplying a former Pope
with the accommodations, transportations, entertainments
and blue ribbon level wining and dining of an Arabian Prince
or a 21st Century Pharaoh.

Can Only God Retire A Pope???
Can Only God Afford To Keep A Retired Pope???

The pope, although (supposedly) appointed by God, has specific duties to discharge. Popes are usually really old people. Old people can deteriorate. No doubt Benedict feels he can no longer do those things he is required to do.

So is it better for God, and the church, to have a pope who cannot do what he has to do, thus requiring cardinals to preform Papal duties. Or is it better to recognize physical inability and allow someone else, with legitimate power, to do the damn thing?

I'm on the side of retirement if the person in power feels they can't do it anymore.