I applaud Pope Benedicts decision to retire

As a non-Catholic I can sit back and look at Pope Benedicts retirement objectively and without prejudice. By retiring before he is so weak and feeble that he must be carried and assisted to stand he has set the platform for future Popes to retire before their health fails or that they die in the service of Catholics around the World.

With the advent of new technologies and the media coverage we, for decades now, have watched Popes struggle to speak, to stand and we have wondered who was really in charge. It was like watching Ronald Regan in his final term it was sad and difficult to watch, you knew something was not right but his advisors kept him in the forefront for the "good of the country".

If nothing else Pope Benedict will be known as the Pope who retired before senility set in and before he was a burden to those around him. FINALLY the powers that be at the Vatican don't have to lie about a Popes health and state of mind.