Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he takes place for his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News
Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday that he had reached his decision to resign after prayer led him to conclude that it would be for the "good of the church."
His words came in his first public appearance since he announced Monday that he planned to step aside at the end of the month because of his advanced age and declining health.
Benedict, 85, said in a Monday statement that the papacy required ?strength of mind and body,? and that both had deteriorated. He said that he had made the decision ?after having repeatedly examined my conscience before God.?
Although the Pope's announcement that he would abdicate his position seemed sudden, Benedict reportedly made his decision in 2012 after a trip to Cuba and Mexico. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
The pope's brother, Georg Ratzinger, said Tuesday that Benedict, the former Joseph Ratzinger, had also been troubled by problems such as the "Vatileaks" scandal in which a butler leaked secret documents.
"You notice that the aging process impacts body and soul, and especially on his strength," Ratzinger said. "And he thinks that with a reduced workload he couldn't carry on this great responsibility, that a younger person is needed to capture the problems of today's time and who has the power to do what has to be done.??
Benedict on Wednesday thanked the public for their "love and prayers," and asked for continued prayers for him and the Catholic Church, Reuters reported, adding that he said he was certain that the church would sustain him with prayer.
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