The COED defines “abdicate” as:
1 (of a monarch) renounce the throne.
So why do all reports say that the pope, who is a monarch with a throne, has resigned?
The answer comes from Wikipedia:
A papal resignation (Latin: renuntiatio) occurs when the reigning pope of the Roman Catholic Church voluntarily steps down from his position… Despite its common usage in discussion of papal resignations, the term “abdication” is not used in the official documents of the Church for resignation by a pope.
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