Pope Benedict XVI prays with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, in his private chapel at the Vatican in April 2012. (CNS photo)
The Associated Press
is
reporting that Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI’s older brother,
has said that his brother “had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips
and had been considering stepping down for months”:
Talking from his home in Regensburg to
the news agency dpa, Georg Ratzinger said his brother was having increasing
difficulty walking and that his resignation was part of a "natural
process."
"His age is weighing on him,"
the 89-year-old said of his 85-year-old brother. "At this age my brother
wants more rest."