Ben Greenman: “At the end of this week, when Pope Benedict XVI’s formal resignation takes effect, he will be the first Pope to voluntarily step down from the papacy in more than five hundred years. As the search for a new Pope begins, here are some songs about Popeitude”: http://nyr.kr/15jhadH 

As the Pope, Benedict XVI reversed the excommunication of frighteningly racist and illegally appointed bishops, and discreetly transferred child-molesting priests to other parishes, among other questionable acts. In today’s Daily Comment, Jane Kramer considers his seemingly “rational, considered decision” to resign: “It may be that, however weakened, Benedict was crafty… A new face, with a new infallibility chakra under his papal hat, may be the Church’s last best hope for…continuing its long march backward.” Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/13loRwU

Photograph by Stefano Dal Pozzolo/Contrasto/Redux.

VATICAN (The Borowitz Report) – Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world for the second time in twenty-four hours today by announcing his decision to come out of retirement. Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/WZWODy