Pope Benedict XVI attends a November 2012 mass.
(Image credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

This is why sleep is overrated. You'll miss news like, say, the resignation of a Pope! When the shock of the news wears off, we're left to wonder what this means. The last time a Pope resigned was all the way back in 1415.

Generally, when American political officials resign, a scandal is in the offing. But the former John Cardinal Ratzinger genuinely seems to be stepping down as Pontifex because he no longer believes he can do the job that he believes God has called him to do.

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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.