Because I don't think we need religion anymore. It served its purpose for centuries if not millennia, when our curious human nature needed answers and existential validation. No other species questioned its existence until ours. The massive array of religious beliefs that have existed or still exist today came from that question and that need for justification. My point was that it's my belief that organised religion will steadily and unavoidably die out. The answers we sought when we created religion are much more easily obtained through science now. Religion does still offer comfort to some people, and if you're so inclined you can relax within that. I think fewer and fewer people will do so though over time. So, back to the Pope. The last one, Pope Benedict, didn't resign voluntarily, why would he want to be the first one to do so in 600 years? He was pushed out because the Vatican recognised that it's presence was failing, at least in the western world, and it needed a new image. That's why I wish Pope Francis wasn't such a nice guy. I want to see the catholic church lose its influence and fade away, so that we can move on with our existence. Pope Francis hard not to like, he says all the right things. But, in my view he is just a poster boy for a struggling church that is desperately trying to save itself from its inevitable demise.