Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI will lose his infallibility 
 
 By Agence France-Presse 
 
 Wednesday, February 13, 2013 12:15 EDT 
 
 Pope Benedict XVI will lose his infallibility — his supreme authority in Church matters — as soon he steps down on February 28, the Vatican said on Wednesday as it struggles to explain a virtually unprecedented situation. 
 
 “These powers go with the office, so they will pass to the next pope…. Whoever renounces no longer has the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide the Universal Church,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at a briefing. 
 
 The issue is complex for many Catholics who believe the election of a pope is divinely inspired and are accustomed to popes remaining in office until death. 
 
 Benedict will be the first pope to resign in more than 700 years and only the second to do so voluntarily in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. 
 
 Though papal infallibility was only set in stone in 1870, the idea had long been part of Church history and debate, and the notion of the Bishop of Rome as a preserver of apostolic truth was first mooted in the sixth century. 
 
 The special power has been used only once by a pope — in 1950 when Pius XII established the Assumption of Mary as Church dogma — and is limited to “ex cathedra” statements of doctrine or faith that apply to the whole Church. 
 
 While Benedict will have to drop his claim to being right all the time, the Vatican said that as ex-pope he will enjoy a pension of sorts when he retires as planned to a monastery with flower beds and a vegetable garden inside the Vatican walls. 
 
 “We will ensure he can live a dignified existence,” Lombardi said. ||||| ROME --Former Pope Benedict XVI, who shocked the world by resigning in February, has reportedly revealed that God told him to do it during a "mystical experience." 
 
 The first pontiff to step down in six centuries, Benedict said, "God told me to," when asked about his decision to dedicate himself to a life of prayer instead. 
 
 The 86-year-old pope emeritus said he had not witnessed a vision of God but had undergone a months-long "mystical experience" during which God gave him the "absolute desire" to forge a deeper relationship with him. Benedict also said that the more he witnessed the "charisma" of his extremely popular successor, Pope Francis, the more he understood how his stepping aside was the "will of God." 
 
 The former pontiff's comments were reported by the Catholic news agency Zenit, which did not disclose to whom Benedict made the remarks. But the report was backed by a senior Vatican source. "The report seems credible -- it accurately explains the spiritual process that brought Benedict to resign," the source told The Times. 
 
 When announcing his resignation to cardinals on Feb. 11, Benedict had focused on his ill health, stating his strength "has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me." 
 
 Observers have also speculated that Benedict was demoralized both by the leaking of his personal correspondence by his butler and by the lobbying of an alleged group of gay clergy within the Vatican. 
 
 Zenit reported that in the last six months, Benedict has received few visitors at the secluded house he now occupies in the Vatican's gardens. 
 
 "During these meetings, the ex-pontiff does not comment, does not reveal secrets, does not make statements that could be understood as 'the words of the other pope,' but is as reserved as he has always been," Zenit said. 
 
 Francis last month joked about having two popes under one roof, telling reporters: "The last time there were two or three popes, they didn't talk among themselves and they fought over who was the true pope!" But having Benedict living in the Vatican, he added, "is like having a grandfather -- a wise grandfather -- living at home." 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 Syria rebels say scores dead in poison-gas attack 
 
 Mexico legislators seek to change freedom-of-information law 
 
 Britain defends detaining the partner of Edward Snowden journalist ||||| Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience at the Vatican. (Filippo Monteforte / AFP/Getty Images / ) 
 
 VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI was given a rapturous reception by the public at a general audience Wednesday, and the Vatican said he may offer his successor advice on papal duties after he resigns at the end of the month. 
 
 Benedict, 85, announced Monday that he would step down due to failing health, breaking with a 600-year tradition of popes serving until they die. 
 
 The German pontiff has decided to move to a former monastery on the grounds of the Vatican to pursue of secluded life of prayer after he resigns, but Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict could yet offer guidance to his successor. 
 
 "They are free men," he told The Times. "If the successor asks, why should he not respond?" 
 
 Concerns have been raised that even in retirement, Benedict will overshadow his successor, who will live in the Vatican's papal apartment a few hundred yards away. 
 
 Speaking to reporters, Lombardi said Benedict had not consulted cardinals before picking his retirement home, but he called it a "very wise" solution. 
 
 “The successor and cardinals will be very happy to have nearby a person who more than anyone understands the spiritual needs of the Church and his successor," he said. "He will be discreet and sustain his successor with spiritual service." 
 
 Benedict has a busy schedule of events planned before his resignation on Feb. 28, when he will be flown by helicopter from the Vatican to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. There he will likely sit out the March conclave to elect his successor before he returns to the Vatican. 
 
 At his general audience Wednesday, the first time he has met the public since announcing his retirement, a standing-room crowd of 8,000 at the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican cheered him on and waved national flags as he entered. 
 
 Benedict said he had decided to step down "in full freedom for the good of the church, after much prayer and having examined my conscience before God, knowing full well the seriousness of this act, but also realizing that I am no longer able to carry out the Petrine ministry with the strength which it demands." 
 
 Smiling and waving at the crowd, Benedict said his resignation would not hurt the church. "I am strengthened and reassured by the certainty that the church is Christ's, who will never leave her without his guidance and care," he said. 
 
 Benedict thanked a group of Italian schoolchildren for singing one of his favorite hymns in German. 
 
 Thanking the crowd, he said, "Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future Pope. The Lord will guide us." 
 
 Benedict has arranged meetings with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and President Giorgio Napolitano this weekend; on his last day at the Vatican as pope, he will meet with cardinals for a send-off. 
 
 The following day, cardinals will begin to hold informal meetings in Rome ahead of the conclave, which must be held between 15 and 20 days after Benedict departs. One hundred seventeen cardinals under the age of 80 will elect the next pope. 
 
 Lombardi said Vatican experts are still scrambling to work out the protocol covering a resigning pope, the first in 600 years. Asked if there was any progress made on what to call Benedict after he resigns, Lombardi said, "We don't have an answer," adding that Vatican officials and the pope himself were working on a solution. 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 Vatican reveals that Pope Benedict XVI has a pacemaker 
 
 Pope's resignation, 'a generous act,' could transform Vatican 
 
 Speculation on pope's successor turns to Africa, Latin America 
 
 Kington is a special correspondent
– When Pope Benedict steps down as pope later this month, he loses some serious bragging rights: No longer will he be infallible, reports AFP via Raw Story. “These powers go with the office, so they will pass to the next pope," says a Vatican spokesman. "Whoever renounces no longer has the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide the Universal Church." For the record, the pope isn't deemed infallible in all things all the time, but only when he lays down the law on church doctrine in what's known as an "ex cathedra" statement, explains Slate. Those statements are exceedingly rare, and Benedict, like most popes, never had the pleasure. But even though he's losing his chance at infallibility, Benedict still is expected to advise his successor on the occasional papal matter, reports the LA Times.