Pope Francis has suggested that Benedict XVI has paved the way for future popes to stand down and that he too may one day do so. Here, a Vatican historian says Francis’ view is correct and that those who claim otherwise are not disinterested observers Disbelief was the initial reaction to Pope Benedict’s resignation in February 2013. The prevailing view – especially in the media – was that the abdication of the Vicar of Christ would demystify what was considered a sacred and infallible office.Such a view is a sad legacy of nineteenth-century Catholic language which prefers hyperbole to accuracy in matters concerning the Successor to Peter. In fact, the 1917 Code of Canon Law stated that full and supreme power in the Church is vested either collect­ively in the