Santa Rosa Bishop Robert Vasa looks to the future
Published: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 3:22 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 3:22 p.m.
Vasa, who leads the 165,000-member Santa Rosa Diocese, said Benedict often spoke of a "hermeneutic of continuity," or a desire for there to not be a major disruption stemming from a change in leadership.
"That certainly fits my hopes and expectations extremely well," Vasa said.
Asked about Benedict's legacy, Vasa referenced the 85-year-old pontiff's scholarly writings and his "great gentleness."
Benedict's papacy also was marked by clerical abuse scandals, the leaking of internal Vatican documents and disputes with other religious leaders and institutions. Vasa said he did not have "enough information to make any knowledgeable comments" about the abuse scandals.
Vasa said he was "very surprised" by Benedict's announcement to resign later this month, becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to do so.
Vasa predicted a muted reaction among the North Coast's Catholics. "I don't think there is any great grief or sadness. It's not like he is dying," Vasa said.
Worldwide, some Catholics have expressed shock that a pontiff is permitted under church law to resign what is billed as a lifetime post.
John Paul II, Benedict's beloved predecessor, continued to serve even as he coped with Parkinson's disease, in what some Catholics viewed as an uplifting testament to the religious tenet of suffering.
Vasa said Benedict "is of a different mind," and he said the pontiff decided he could serve the church as a "different type of witness."
"It has all the earmarks of a very prudent decision," Vasa said.
"That certainly fits my hopes and expectations extremely well," Vasa said.
Asked about Benedict's legacy, Vasa referenced the 85-year-old pontiff's scholarly writings and his "great gentleness."
Benedict's papacy also was marked by clerical abuse scandals, the leaking of internal Vatican documents and disputes with other religious leaders and institutions. Vasa said he did not have "enough information to make any knowledgeable comments" about the abuse scandals.
Vasa said he was "very surprised" by Benedict's announcement to resign later this month, becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to do so.
Vasa predicted a muted reaction among the North Coast's Catholics. "I don't think there is any great grief or sadness. It's not like he is dying," Vasa said.
Worldwide, some Catholics have expressed shock that a pontiff is permitted under church law to resign what is billed as a lifetime post.
John Paul II, Benedict's beloved predecessor, continued to serve even as he coped with Parkinson's disease, in what some Catholics viewed as an uplifting testament to the religious tenet of suffering.
Vasa said Benedict "is of a different mind," and he said the pontiff decided he could serve the church as a "different type of witness."
"It has all the earmarks of a very prudent decision," Vasa said.
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