VATICAN CITY—The looming retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, who will soon become the first living ex-pontiff in some six centuries, has created a quandary for the Roman Catholic Church: What to make of a former pope who will continue to live under the roof of a new one? "The face of the church is at times disfigured by the sins against the unity of the church and the divisions of the ecclesial body," said Pope Benedict, presiding over Ash Wednesday celebrations from the pulpit of St. Peter's Basilica. But his unprepared comments to his priests at the emotional meeting in the Vatican's modern audience hall was the first time the pope had spoken specifically in public about how he will spend his time after his resignation. After February 28, when he becomes the first pontiff in hundreds of years to resign instead of ruling for life, Benedict will first go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, and then move permanently into the four-storey Mater Ecclesiae convent, in the gardens behind St. Peter's Basilica. "In my opinion, once he resigns he should put aside the white cassock and put on the robes of a cardinal," said Father Thomas Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and an author of books on the Vatican. "After the new pope is elected, he should attend his installation along with the other retired cardinals and pledge his allegiance to the new pope." But many in the Church have been calling for the election of someone who they say will be a better listener to other opinions within the Church.
– What do you do with an ex-pope? If you happen to know, call Rome, because the Church isn't sure yet. Many fear Benedict will become an implicit rival to the new pope, despite his apparent desire to keep a low profile. He told Roman diocese priests yesterday that he would be "withdrawing into prayer," Reuters reports. "I will always be close to all of you," he said, "even if I remain hidden from the world." The "close to you" bit is somewhat literal; Benedict has announced he'll be living in the Vatican. That's caused some controversy, the Wall Street Journal reports, but one senior papal adviser says it's "better to have him here than somewhere else, where he could become another center of power." Benedict is likely to exert influence over the next pope by picking a new head of the embattled Vatican Bank, and he'll keep writing as a respected theologian. The Church also hasn't decided what vestments he'll wear, whether he'll give audiences, or even what to address him as—a decision that has "juridical" ramifications, a spokesman said. One thing's for sure: He won't be infallible anymore.