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National "Catholic" Reporter. Should be known as National Anti-Catholic Reporter. I read it as a form of penance for my sins every day and to keep an eye on the enemy within. If you go to their website, there is a graphic on the upper right corner of their homepage to the effect of "News about Pope Benedict XVI's resignation" or some such. It is in dark red with contrasting letters. Click on that graphic. you will then find yourself on a page of B-XVI news.

In the upper right hand corner of that page is an article by Joshua McElwee with a title to the effect: Benedict XVI to move to a monastery upon resignation." The headline, like much of NCR, is somewhat misleading. B-XVI is moving into a cloistered (public will have no access to him there) convent in the Vatican. He will stay at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo until renovations at the convent are complete in anticipation of his residence there.

Sorry not to be able to provide links since I am a computer technological illiterate and it is hard to teach this old dog new tricks.

I would be flabbergasted if B-XVI were not accorded a full papal burial. Of course, even the Vatican officials will have to wait until he has assumed room temperature. I would imagine that his funeral mass would be said by the then reigning Pope rather than by the Dean of the College of Cardinals as occurs when a pope dies in office and, by Vatican Law no conclave would have been held to choose a successor (such conclaves are to begin between 15 and 30 days after a vacancy arises).

In the case of the conclave to choose B-XVI's successor, the conclave MUST convene between March 15 and March 30 since his resignation is effective by its own terms on February 28 at 8:00 PM. Also, since Easter falls this year on March 31, they will want to convene the conclave early (probably 3/15) to make it unlikely that there will be no new pope by Easter. The entire week preceding Easter is full of important liturgies for just about every day and Vatican authorities will no want the entire voting age membership of the College of Cardinals locked up in the Sistine Chapel and unavailable for those liturgies. Also, just a guess but starting the conclave at a very early date might suggest several candidates are viable potential popes (papabile) who might be chosen by the conclave. A late start may suggest that there is a consensus candidate who is very likely to be chosen quickly.

It is reported that Benedict XVI presided over his last public liturgy as pope today, the Mass for Ash Wednesday, and that it was moved from another smaller Vatican church to the quite spacious St. Peter's Basilica to accommodate an expected giant turnout. The Dean of the College of Cardinals (IIRC) is Angelo Cardinal Sodano and he is not very well known to the public. He is 86 years old and ineligible to vote in conclave (i.e. less than 80 years old).