Listen to Pope Benedict Announce His Resignation

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Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI publicly announces his resignation from the papacy, effective February 28 for reasons of health. The resignation comes two months before his 86th birthday after serving as the head of the church for nearly eight years. This is the first such abdication of a leader of the Roman Catholic Church in almost 600 years. (This report contains an English translation of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks.)