Unsurprisingly, most of today's national UK dailies feature an editorial cartoon about the Pope's shock resignation (see below for more cartoons). This one by Peter Brookes from The Times is my favourite though.
The scene is St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Two cardinals are discussing the Pope's decision to resign. One of them remarks: "1294 ... 1415 ... 2013 ... This is becoming a bit of a trend!"
EXPLANATION
Before Pope Benedict decided to step down, the two 'most recent' papal resignations occurred in 1294 and 1415. Overwhelmed by the demands of the office, Celestine V quit after five months as pope in 1294, and Gregory XII resigned in 1415 to help end a church schism. The cartoonist is poking fun at the Catholic Church's inherent conservatism, where changes take place over centuries rather than decades.
LANGUAGE NOTE
In spoken English, 1294 is "twelve ninety-four", 1415 is "fourteen fifteen", and 2013 is "twenty thirteen".
MORE CARTOONS
• Adams (The Telegraph)
• Mac (Daily Mail)
• Steve Bell (The Guardian)
• The Cagle Post
