This is more than idle speculation or flippant cocktail party chatter. There are real world implications for the Vatican, the Catholic Church, and the faithful around the world. The National Catholic Reporter: The Vatican, an institution bound up in centuries of tradition, is facing the unprecedented reality of having two popes living at the same time, and Lombardi frankly admitted that the Vatican is still working out the details on many unresolved issues. According to Edward Peters, a blogger and expert in church governance, while canon law explicitly allows the possibility of a papal resignation, what it doesn't "treat of -- and has not experienced for nearly 600 years -- is the status of a former pope." For instance, it is not clear what Benedict's status and role will be inside the Vatican and within the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Will he be called "bishop emeritus" of Rome, as normally happens for retired bishops, or will a new title be devised for him? Formally,...(Read Full Post)