Catholic Christians awoke on Tuesday still trying to grasp the news that their pope will stand down at the end of the month.<br/> <br />Pope Benedict XVI stunned the Roman Catholic community on Monday when he announced he would resign his post, becoming the first pontiff to do so since the Middle Ages.<br/> <br />He cited declining physical and mental strength as reasons for his abdication.<br/> <br />While the news is splashed across the front pages of Italian newspapers, St. Peter's Square was quiet on Tuesday morning, with just a few pilgrims milling around.<br/> <br />Some felt optimistic about the papal shakeup.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) BELGIAN PILGRIM, IVAN VAN GELDER, SAYING:<br/> <br />"It's for the Church. Yes, yes."<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) PILGRIM, PAOLO PUCCINI, SAYING:<br/> <br />"It's going to be a delicate passage but I'm hopeful and I think soon there will be a new pope and we'll be here to celebrate."<br/> <br />Famously known as "God's Rottweiler" before he ascended the papacy in 2005, Benedict fought against the spread of materialist values in society.<br/> <br />He also strongly opposed any relaxation of the Church's traditional strictures against contraception, homosexuality and female priests.
