It came as quite a shock when Benedict XVI resigned as pope in 2013, The now-Pope Emeritus stated that his advanced age as well as declining physical and mental health were the reasons for his abdication. However, his surprise resignation remains the subject of speculation. It’s said that he was forced to resign following the “Vatileaks” scandal which involved leaked internal Vatican documents that exposed alleged corruption and power struggles with the Vatican bank, to say the least (Benedict’s longtime butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested of leaking such confidential documents). However, Benedict has denied the forced resignation.