Pope Benedict Resigns

Cardinals have set Tuesday as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope.

Cardinals from around the globe have descended on Rome for meetings ahead of the election of a pope to succeed the recently retired Benedict XVI.

The Catholic Church has awoken with no leader following Benedict XVI's resignation, in which he pledged obedience to his successor and described himself as "simply a pilgrim" starting the final part of his life.

Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican for the last time as pontiff on Thursday, flying by helicopter to the Vatican's vacation retreat hours before becoming the first pontiff in 600 years to resign.

The Vatican is playing down an Australian cardinal's comments that Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign was "slightly destabilizing," saying cardinals are not media savvy.

Pope Benedict XVI has promised "unconditional reverence and obedience" to his successor in his final greetings to cardinals before retiring.

Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday from a massive crowd at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesday, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope.

Pope Benedict's decision to resign has set off a round of mudslinging that now appears to have brought down the highest-ranking Catholic leader in Britain.

Pope Benedict XVI has changed the rules of the conclave that will elect his successor, allowing cardinals to move up the start date if all of them arrive in Rome before the usual 15-day transition between pontificates.