Pope Benedict XVI to Resign - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday morning he is stepping down as head of the Catholic Church, effective at the end of the month citing health reasons.

Benedict has dealt with health issues for some time, and the 85-year old announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals.

The decision means the Catholic Church will be without a pope for a period or time until the cardinals can select a new successor. A papal spokesperson says he expects the church to be without a leader for as brief a period as possible. The cardinals expect to hold a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.

Born Josef Ratzinger, the German became pope in April 2005, when the cardinals selected him to succeed Pope John Paul II. One of his biggest tasks as pope has been to oversee the church's response to the priest sex abuse scandal. He issued a public apology for people being abused at the hands of clergy and said the church made serious mistakes in responding to the allegations.

Benedict becomes the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the position. A Vatican spokesperson says the Pope's resignation is in full compliance with church law, and the decision was taken freely.