ANALYSIS: Catholicism at crossroads as Benedict bows out

THE signs have been evident for some time — a pope no longer in control, unable to act decisively, resulting in embarrassing publicity and a leader showing increasing signs of being overwhelmed by the problems of a Church in deep crisis.

Even the recent chaos within the papal apartments themselves, when confidential documents were stolen from the Pope’s desk and leaked to an Italian journalist by his own valet, tell a worrying story.

The most telling phrase in the statement from the Pope himself — that he was forced to recognise his “incapacity to govern” — is indicative of a problem bubbling beneath the surface in the Vatican for at least two years.