IT was breaking news of global proportions. When Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation on Monday, citing age and declining health as reasons, he made a decision that though legally permissible, has never been done since Gregory XII left office under different circumstances almost six centuries ago.
The news is of special significance not only to members of the Roman Catholic Church, who number about 1.196 billion at the end of 2010 according to the Census of the 2012 Annuario Pontificio (Pontifical Yearbook), but the world at large.
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