Suffice it to say I did not see the resignation of Pope Palpatine Benedict coming. I didn't realize he even had the option. I always thought, in that job, there was only one way out of it. 
Nonetheless this a big deal. There has been no Pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII did so in 1415. And he really did not do so voluntarily-he pretty much had it forced upon him by the circumstances of the time.Three rival popes had been selected by separate factions of the church, and a group of bishops called the Council of Constance was trying to heal the schism. Gregory XII had offered to resign so that the council could choose a new pope whom all factions would recognize. It took two years after Gregory XII’s departure to elect his successor, Martin V.
It's not quite the same in this situation. Benedict is probably doing a noble thing-in offering to allow selection of a Pope while he is still in some sembalance of health and avoid the usual situation where the moles of the Vatican Curia essentially run the Catholic Church-unaccountable to anyone. ( Some say they are accountable to God, of course, but recent history shows they don't seem to actually understand that fine point).
So Benedict is doing a good thing right?
Maybe not. If you subscibe to the ideas put forth by Saint Malachy, whoever succeeds Pope Benedict will be the last Pope. Or at the least the Pope who presides over the destruction of Rome. ( Would anyone miss it?)
There have been 267 Popes in all. Malachy's 112 lines of Latin supposedly predict all since Pope Celestine II. And the successor to Benedict will be the 112th pope in the sequence. The final Pope is supposed to be Peterus Romanus. (Peter of Rome). Basically, if you believe people hooked on depressing Bible Prophecies-like Hal Lindsay-this Pope sells out the farm to the antichrist. ( Of course its been 40 years since Lindsay said that the European Common Market was the beast with 10 heads-so take his predicitions with a grain of salt).
And as an extra added bonus, sure to screw up your day on this subject-the "We need a pope from Africa" crowd is pushing a Cardinal named Peter Turkson from Ghana as a front runner to succeed Benedict. I don't think he will get elected-but you never know………………
So we got all that going for us.