Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Admirable Decision


I, like most people, have no idea that a Pope can resign. When the Vatican shocked the world by announcing the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, my first question was whether that is even possible.

It seen that it is, though Pope Benedict XVI would be the first Pope to resign in over 600 years. Even though I’m not a Christian, I agree that it is a momentous announcement and one I have to admire Pope Benedict XVI for.

Pope Benedict XVI made the surprise announcement saying he could no longer fulfill his duties due to his declining strength and energy. At 85 years of age, that is understandable but his announcement is still shocking because no Pope in living memory had given up his position due to his own personal frailties. I dare say that if Pope Benedict XVI had decided to continue on in his position, no one would say anything. I mean it is so unusual that the Vatican is still deciding what title and what to call Pope Benedict XVI once he resigns.

Instead he made the harder choice and gave up his position and power to make way for a younger, more energetic man. That is admirable and a decision I’m not sure I would have been able to make. Frankly, I don’t care about the Pope or Benedict XVI (like I said, I’m not a Christian) but with this decision, he has my admiration.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about LKY? Dont`t you admire him? He resigned in 1990 at the age of only 67 and handed over all the powers to GCT to enable a younger generation to take over.

Anonymous said...

Ooooooooo... I admire LKY

Ghost said...

Sure! He did gave up his position as PM and gave way to a younger generation. He wasn't strong enough to give way totally though and stayed behind to look over the shoulder of the younger generation, but in his own way that is also an admirable decision.

Anonymous said...

What an insight - LKY is being compared to the pope.

Yes, His Lee-ness is a truly noble person, giving up the premiership, and at only 67!

I genuflect to His Gracious Lee-ness. I kiss his hand with gratitude and humility.

Here is a man who put 2 million on a small island ahead of himself and his ambitions. (We will overlook that His Lee-ness went into a sulk for 6 months at a Changi bungalow, after some idiot Tengku ended His Glorious Lee-ness' ambitions to rule Malaysia. That His Holy Lee-ness couldn't have cared less that there was a new country which needed direction. His ego needed salve-ation.)

The pope is hardly in His Divine Lee-ness' league. The pope is the leader of a mere 1 billion around the world. They should not be mentioned in same sentence.

Amen

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha don`t get worked up. Ghost can be boring at times. You can still admire LKY even if you do not believe in ghosts.

Ghost said...

This is why people don't take comments on the internet that seriously. Where did I ever compare LKY to the Pope? Please, point that out to me. I said LKY did an admirable thing giving way to a younger generation. How does that means I am comparing him to the Pope?
Sometimes I feel that Singaporeans' heads are truly too big for our own good. Comparing LKY to the Pope is stupid because the Pope is far more important than any Singaporean of note. The Pope is the leader of over 1 billion Christians; Singapore is arguing if we can hold 5.9 million people on our island!