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Pope Benedict XVI announced today he will step down on Feb. 28, citing his advanced age. The head of the Catholic Church is 85 years old. Below is the text of his announcement.

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

The publication on Monday of a previously secret Justice Department memo attempting to legally justify the killing of American citizens has opened the door for front-page questions about the entire drone program.    

- The Washington Post revealed the existence of a previously secret drone base in Saudi Arabia, established two years ago when the campaign against al Qaeda in Yemen was Intensified. The story notes that John Brennan, a former CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations for the base.

- In London, the Guardian headlines the secret base, and notes that “Iranian state media highlighted the story, which is also likely to be seized upon by jihadi groups. Saudi Arabia has previously publicly denied co-operating with the US to target al-Qaida in Yemen.”

- The Associated Press notes a growing number of a growing number of Members of Congress seeking to limit the claimed authority for drone killings and predicts it will be a hot topic in the confirmation hearing tomorrow of John Brennan for CIA Director.

- Bloomberg reports remarks by Pakistan Ambassador to the U.S. Sherry Rehman at a Christian Science Monitor news breakfast in Washington. Rehman called the continuing drone strikes in Pakistan a “direct violation of our sovereignty” and international law as well as a red line that Pakistani authorities are constantly urging the U.S. not to cross.

- The New York Times, noting that Brennan “has taken a particular interest in Yemen,” devotes a long lead story to the drone strikes in that country. It raises the questions about the program: Why are both the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA carrying out drone campaigns in Yemen? Are the strikes creating more militants than they are killing?

- At the White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon, the first question to Press Secretary Jay Carney was about the drone memo. The money quote of his answer, from the official transcript, was “We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, prevent future attacks, and, again, save American lives.  These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise.”

- And, for the last word, NBC News has Mary Ellen O’Connell, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and an authority on international law and the use of force, saying about the leaked memo: “Anyone should be concerned when the president and his lawyers make up their own interpretation of the law or their own rules. This is a very, very dangerous thing that the president has done.” 

The Associated Press reports that the Senate has confirmed John Kerry as Secretary of State with a 94-3 vote. Earlier today, the Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the nomination.  Kerry, a Vietnam veteran and five-term Senator, replaces Hillary Clinton as Secretary.

Ben Emmerson, a U.N. special rapporteur, is beginning an investigation into drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, according to the Guardian.

“About 20 or 30 strikes – selected as representative of different types of attacks – will be studied to assess the extent of any civilian casualties, the identity of militants targeted and the legality of strikes in countries where the UN has not formally recognised there is a conflict.

“The inquiry will report to the UN general assembly in New York this autumn. Depending on its findings, it may recommend further action. Emmerson has previously suggested some drone attacks – particularly those known as "double tap" strikes where rescuers going to the aid of a first blast have become victims of a follow-up strike – could possibly constitute a 'war crime.'"

Several nations, including Pakistan, have requested the investigation.