Yes, Pope Benedict Did Abdicate

Would we even be talking about this if the 2013 papal conclave had given us another Gregory the Great?  Somehow I doubt it.  But the 2013 conclave did not give us another Gregory the Great, and so here we are, talking about this.  

There is no specific required form for a papal abdication.  It should therefore be sufficient for the Pope to make clear his intention.  Did Pope Benedict sufficiently express the intent to abdicate?

From the Declaratio of Pope Benedict addressed to the consistory of February 11, 2013:

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.

The intent to abdicate the throne of Peter, such that a conclave must be convened to elect a new Pope, seems pretty clearly stated.

From the last General Audience of Pope Benedict, St. Peter's Square, February 27, 2013:

I ask you to remember me in prayer before God, and above all to pray for the Cardinals, who are called to so weighty a task, and for the new Successor of the Apostle Peter: may the Lord accompany him with the light and strength of his Spirit....

...I will continue to accompany the Church with my prayers, and I ask each of you to pray for me and for the new Pope....

Yes, elsewhere in this General Audience he talks about sorta kinda not completely divorcing himself from the papacy, possibly pursuant to some modernism-tainted notions about the papacy; but he pretty clearly refers here to a conclave to choose a new Pope, and he refers also to the new Pope, who obviously will not be himself.  There is really no other way to interpret this.

And, the killa dilla, from the Farewell Address of Pope Benedict to the Cardinals, February 28, 2013:  

Before I say goodbye to each one of you personally, I would like to tell you that I shall continue to be close to you with my prayers, especially in these coming days, that you may be completely docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in the election of the new pope. May the Lord show you the one whom he wants. And among you, in the College of Cardinals, there is also the future pope to whom today I promise my unconditional reverence and obedience. For this reason, with affection and gratitude, I cordially impart to you the Apostolic Blessing.

So here, Pope Benedict refers to:

- The upcoming conclave;

- The election of a new Pope, not himself;

- The future Pope, not himself;

- The reverence and obedience that he promises to the future new Pope -- obedience that Benedict would not owe to any man if he were to continue as Pope.

By this series of outward signs, spread out over a period of weeks, the reasonable conclusion would seem to be that Pope Benedict XVI validly abdicated.  At that point, a conclave was convoked, which conclave elected Jorge Bergoglio, whom the Church peacefully, if apprehensively, accepted as the new Pontiff, and there have been no other serious claimants to the Throne of Peter since then.  

Could I be wrong about this?  Of course.  I can even sympathize with the desire to look upon Pope Francis as an antipope, because that would certainly make him a lot easier to cope with.  But (a) I am going by the evidence as it stands right now, guided by common sense, and (b) I do not have the ability to pass a final judgment on this issue anyway, so (c) God is not going to send me to hell for being wrong on this if I am wrong, which means (d) nobody has the right to tell me I am blaspheming for refusing to accept the contrary.

There is another possibility, namely, that Pope Francis was validly elected but forfeited his office due to heresy and schism.  A number of theologians, including saints, have speculated about this possibility, but the Church has never defined what is to be done in this situation.  All we can say for certain is that, beyond doubling down on prayer and penance, this problem lies far beyond the competency of Joe Pewsitter to deal with.  A future Pope will have to tackle this.

So yes, I am afraid things really have gotten that bad in the Church, that such a man as we now have on the Throne of Peter could actually be the true Pope.  The reality is that he is a typical cleric of his generation; and once we raised up such a generation, it was only ever a question of time before we got one like him as Pope.  So we have to hold fast to the promises of our Lord, and remember that, however close to the abyss the Holy Ghost may allow the Church to teeter, He will never let her fall in.