He didn't take his mission seriously. Being pope is not meant to be a job that you can quit.. Usually even if you are in a coma, your mission ends when God decides it ends. Well, when he got elected Pope he knew about the mission, that is to be pope until you die. Usually you die in pretty bad health, so that is to be expected to have old / ill pope, that's part of the fantasy, fetichism, christians have about suffering for their imaginary friend's will and stuff like that, our sins and whatnot. So that pope is a big joke, but the catholics immediatly try to put a reason and try to find that wonderful, I've read about "the modern pope", "brave act, taken with God's approval" and stupid things like that, just like they do eventually when science shows one more dogma is just not possible, then they work their way around it to fall back on their feet like a falling cat. I hope the next pope is a black woman in her 20s and naked, that would be modern.
With his background supporting pedophiles, moving them parish to parish instead of removing them altogether his position was totally untenable imho.
There have always been cases of peadophillia within the Catholic church, it was just kept quiet until fairly recently. The whole thing with confessing your sins and its all ok seems like a 'get out of jail free' card to me. The reason for his sudden departure seems to be the reports of Gays within the Vatican being blackmailed, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblicca. He has obviously resigned in an attempt to avoid the 'scandal' assiciated with this, but the big question, to me, is: What scandal is he avoiding? The Blackmail? or Gays in the core of the Catholic church? I write for a Gay news site and I often cover stories (mostly same sex marriage) which have a deep religious core at the centre of the debate, this may well negate any of these so called arguements.
As far as I am aware Ratzinger was the 2nd in charge under John Paul 2 and was the guy that moved them around rather than removing them altogether. It came up in convo last week and that's what my sister told me has happened. I can't say I know it's correct.
It could be a combination of the 2 I guess, I have heard rumours that he was also connected to Hitler, but according to the press it is to do with the Gay influences withing the Vatican and that they were being blackmailed. The Vatican has always moved around the priests when they found out about their 'activities', to me it just makes religion a joke.