Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church and indeed the whole world on Monday when he announced that he would stand down. Being the first pope to do so in 700 years, he said to the surprise of everyone that he no longer had the mental and physical strengths to carry on.
According to reports, Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution, but the decision could lead to uncertainty in a Church already besieged by scandal for covering up sexual abuse of children by priests.
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