In that order.
It is astonishing to me how so few questions are seemingly being asked about the first Pope to abdicate voluntarily in something like 1,000 years. He’s not the first to get old in the office. He’s not the first to see declining health: on the contrary, this is the RULE.
This article by Christopher Hitchens is a must read for anyone claiming to be genuinely curious about how the world works: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/03/the_great_catholic_coverup.html